World, in brief

Tigray's regional government, in Ethiopia's far north, said on Wednesday that its fighters had entered a "defensive war" against federal troops. [1]

Hours earlier, Tigrayan forces took the airport at Mekelle, Tigray's main city, from the national police, residents told the BBC. [2]

They also took the airports at Shire and reportedly Axum, and Ethiopian Airlines, the state airline, stopped flying to all three. [3][7]

Fighting spread east into the Afar region, and a foreign security source said Tigray's forces held the town of Abala. [3]

Getachew Reda, an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said the TPLF leadership had launched an "all-out offensive" on army positions in Afar and Amhara. [2][3]

Tigray's leaders said they were answering bombing by aircraft, drones and artillery on Tuesday, which AFP could not verify. [3]

On Tuesday drones and a fighter jet struck two empty schools in Alamata, a town in southern Tigray, and its mayor said 14 civilians died. [2]

Ethiopia's federal government has not acknowledged any of the drone strikes reported in Tigray since August. [4]

On Sunday the TPLF, the party that runs Tigray, joined six other armed groups in an alliance that aims to remove Abiy's government. [2][5]

Abiy's spokesperson said the alliance is paid for by Eritrea, Ethiopia's neighbour and old enemy. Eritrea has denied such claims before. [5]

The 2020-2022 war between the TPLF and Ethiopia's federal government killed about 600,000 people, by the African Union mediator's estimate. [4][6]

The 2022 peace deal signed in Pretoria left questions for later, above all Western Tigray, fertile land that Tigray claims and Amhara forces have run since the war. [4]

At the UN the same day, Ethiopia's president, Taye Atske-Selassie, said his country had shown "immense restraint" despite foreign interference. [5]

Why it matters. Watch whether federal troops move to retake the airports, and whether Eritrea, which analysts say wants a buffer zone on its southern border, sends soldiers in. [4]

Russian missiles hit Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, after 1am on Thursday, killing two people, one of them in the car park of a maternity hospital, the mayor said. [9] Three of the six injured were medical staff. [9] Earlier Russian attacks on Wednesday killed two and injured 45 across the city, and drones hit two petrol stations. [9][8] President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked Trump on Tuesday for an energy truce and more Patriot air-defence missiles, and no agreement was reached. [8]

Why it matters. Russia said on Wednesday that the grounds for peace talks are still not in place. [8] Ukraine expects a Russian winter campaign against its power grid, and the energy truce is its attempt to head it off. [8]

Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's president, gave his first UN speech since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. [12] He held up photos of Iran's late supreme leader and of schoolchildren killed in the war, and said Iran had "only defended" itself. [10] He told Trump that Iran is ready to talk but will not accept "the language of force". [10] AP pointed out that he wrongly claimed Iran had not hit civilians: sailors and migrant workers have died in its attacks. [10]

Why it matters. He spoke a day after Trump told the same hall he might "annihilate" Iran. [10] Hardline Iranian media attacked Iran's foreign minister for talking to Trump's envoys at all, even through go-betweens. [11]

Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi passed messages through Qatari mediators in New York, their first contact since July. [11] Iran's foreign ministry said its terms were "nothing new": an end to the US blockade of its ports and the release of its frozen money. [12] Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until those terms are met. [13] An Indian sailor died on Wednesday when a cargo ship was attacked in the strait. [14]

Why it matters. Before the war a fifth of the world's oil and shipped gas went through Hormuz. [11] Oil producers now pay shipping firms up to a quarter of a cargo's value to take the risk of crossing it. [11]

Politico reported that the Trump administration was preparing a 90-day ban on exports of diesel, and Trump's staff denied it. [13] Bloomberg then reported that Energy Secretary Chris Wright had told oil companies to prepare for possible limits. [13] Wright had said earlier on Wednesday that a ban would not work, though Trump said he would support one. [13] Diesel futures, contracts for future delivery, fell about 5% on the reports. [13]

Why it matters. Analysts warn a ban would do little about high fuel prices inside the US and could squeeze supplies for the countries that buy US diesel. [13]

Advisers from Iran's Revolutionary Guard helped direct the offensive that won Yemen's Red Sea coast for the Houthis this month, ten officials and soldiers told AP. [15] The Houthis, an armed movement that holds Yemen's north, took the coast in under 48 hours and entered the port of Mokha unopposed on 10 September. [15] They had broken into the communications of the main pro-government force, the National Resistance, whose leader fled to Saudi Arabia. [15] Iran's UN mission did not respond. [15]

Why it matters. The sources describe Iran's most direct help to the Houthis since Yemen's civil war began in 2014. [15] Holding the coast and nearby islands makes it easier for the Houthis to attack Saudi oil shipments in the Red Sea. [15]

Pakistan says it struck 10 places in Afghanistan's Khost province used to store and launch drones, after shooting down drones fired from there on Wednesday. [27] A Khost official said no one was hurt. [27] Pakistan accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of sheltering militants who attack it, and the Taliban deny it. [27] A suicide attack on a police building in northwest Pakistan last week killed at least 24 people and restarted the fighting after three calmer months. [27]

Why it matters. The two neighbours were once allies and fought their worst battles in years in February. [27] In March a Pakistani air strike on Kabul killed more than 400 people; the Taliban said it hit a drug rehabilitation centre. [27]

The Board of Peace, the US-led body set up under Trump's plan to end the Gaza war, asked countries for $2.45 billion for 66 first projects over six months. [16][17] It gave no start date. [16] The plan depends on Hamas handing its weapons and power to a committee of Palestinian officials, and Israel has rejected the step-by-step way of doing that. [16] The board puts the full cost of rebuilding at about $35.2 billion in the medium term and $71.4 billion over ten years. [17]

Why it matters. Israel now holds about 60% of Gaza, and most Palestinians there still live in tents or in the ruins of their homes. [17] Board officials believe Netanyahu will not cooperate until after Israel's election on 27 October. [16]

An Israeli strike on a car in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, killed two people on Wednesday, Gaza's health ministry said. [12] Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, named one of them as Mohammad Abu Alwan, head of Hamas's finance department, and said Israel would keep going after people on its list. [12] Medics reported more deaths in Gaza City and Deir al-Balah the same day. [18] Israeli strikes have killed 1,402 Palestinians since the ceasefire began last year, Gaza's health ministry says. [18]

Why it matters. Israeli forces have kept up strikes throughout the ceasefire, and Gaza's health ministry keeps detailed records that are generally seen as reliable. [12]

France's president, Emmanuel Macron, told the UN that Israel could not use Hamas to justify its actions in the West Bank, and he criticised attacks by Israeli settlers. [12] The UN interpreter gave one line as saying Hamas was never very active there. [20] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office called that a "grotesque absurdity" and pointed to the killing of a French-Israeli settler on Sunday. [19][20] A French diplomatic source said Macron meant that Hamas had never governed the West Bank. [20]

Why it matters. About 700,000 Israelis live in some 160 settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, alongside about 3.3 million Palestinians, and the settlements are illegal under international law. [20] Netanyahu addresses the assembly on Thursday. [19]

A Channel 13 poll on Wednesday gave the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, 52 seats, one more than Prime Minister Netanyahu's bloc. [21] Netanyahu's side lost three seats compared with the channel's poll a week earlier. [21] The same day Israel's High Court declined to rule on petitions for a state inquiry into the 7 October attack. [22] It said it would wait until after the election on 27 October. [22][16]

Why it matters. Board of Peace officials believe Netanyahu is holding back on their Gaza plan until after the vote. [16]

Syria's president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, told the UN that the occupied Golan Heights will remain Syrian. [14] He cited a 1981 Security Council resolution that called Israel's annexation of the area "null and void". [14] Colombia recognised Israeli rule over the Golan last month. [14] Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, answered that the Golan is part of Israel "forever", and its UN ambassador said no speech would change that. [14]

Why it matters. Both governments have now said in public, on the same day, that this strategically important land is theirs for good. [14]

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US and China agreed to extend their trade truce by two months while they work on a bigger deal. [23] He met the Chinese side at the World Bank's headquarters in Washington before Thursday's summit between Trump and China's president, Xi Jinping. [23] Bessent said China is buying the 25 million tonnes of soybeans it promised but is behind on $17 billion of other farm goods. [23] Both governments have also turned down calls to slow the race in artificial intelligence. [24]

Why it matters. The summit could take tariffs off $30 billion of goods that neither side sees as sensitive. [23] Trump told the UN on Tuesday that the US would oppose any "globalist scheme" to control AI. [24]

Taiwan's defence ministry said it expects US arms sales to continue as Xi visits the US. [25] After a Trump-Xi summit in May, the US paused a record $14 billion arms package, and Trump called the sales a "very good negotiating chip". [25] Taiwan's coast guard also said it has stepped up patrols around the Pratas Islands, a Taiwan-held outpost more than 400km from the main island, because of more Chinese activity there. [26]

Why it matters. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, and a US law requires the US to give Taiwan the means to defend itself. [25] Taiwan's defence budget will pass 3% of its economy for the first time in 2027. [25]

President Salva Kiir dissolved South Sudan's transitional government, its parliament and all ten state governments on Tuesday night. [29] The country is due to hold its first national election on 22 December. [30] Kiir stays in office with full powers through the campaign and is his party's candidate. [30] Last week he fired the head of the election commission without giving a reason; that official had said the vote needs $250 million and had received $21 million. [30]

Why it matters. His main rival, Riek Machar, is under house arrest and on trial for treason, which he denies. [29] A South Sudanese analyst, Abraham Awolich, called the process a smoke screen for one-man rule. [29]

Gunmen killed 11 people, including a pregnant woman, at a house party in KwaZulu-Natal province late on Tuesday. [31][32] A local broadcaster reported that the attackers forced everyone into one room before they opened fire. [32] Police are looking for three men and have made no arrests. [31] They said some of the dead were known to them from criminal investigations, and a feud between rival groups cannot be ruled out. [31]

Why it matters. South Africa recorded 5,427 murders from April to June, nearly 60 a day. [31] Soldiers were sent to help the police in some areas this year, but not to KwaZulu-Natal. [31]

At least 26 Turkish civilian ships have been attacked in the Black Sea in the past two months, industry sources say. [41] A drone hit the Turkish fishing boat Duru 67 off Crimea on 5 June and killed its captain. [41] Nobody claimed it, but Turkey's coast guard told the crew it was a Ukrainian drone that struck "by mistake". [41] Turkey's shipping chamber counts 226 civilian and commercial ships attacked since the war began, 163 of them this year. [41]

Why it matters. Russia and Ukraine are each trying to keep the other's ships off the sea, and Turkish crews sail between them. [41] President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the UN the attacks are unacceptable "regardless of who is responsible". [41]

Poland's army said a Russian military helicopter briefly crossed into Polish airspace on Wednesday from Kaliningrad, Russia's territory on the Baltic coast. [42] Romania's foreign minister said more than 100 drones or drone pieces have come down on Romanian land, and Romania has closed Russia's consulate in the port of Constanta. [42] Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, said Russia is trying to scare Europe into dropping its support for Ukraine. [42]

Why it matters. Poland's foreign minister said Polish F-16 fighter jets now take off almost every day. [42] Estonia's foreign minister said Russia is not able to attack NATO directly, and Russia denies carrying out sabotage in NATO countries. [42]

The EU took Alisher Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek metals billionaire, and Mikhail Fridman, a Russian-Israeli businessman, off its sanctions list, and extended sanctions on everyone else for three years. [43] Slovakia first pushed to remove Usmanov and France then backed it. [43] Hours later Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, pardoned Martin Ryan, a Frenchman serving ten years for spying, which he denied. [43] A second Frenchman is still held in Azerbaijan. [43]

Why it matters. Ukraine's foreign minister said Russia was "celebrating". [43] Latvia abstained on the EU decision and says it will put its own measures on the two men. [43]

Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's acting president, told the UN that there "will be elections" but gave no date. [36] She took over after US forces seized President Nicolas Maduro in a January raid; he is held in New York awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges. [37] She thanked Trump for being willing to restore relations. [37] Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been blocked from returning to Venezuela seven times. [36]

Why it matters. The opposition says an independent supreme court and electoral council must come first. [36] Critics say the US government has dropped its demand for free elections in favour of oil and investment deals. [36]

Paraguay's president, Santiago Pena, asked at the UN for Venezuela to rejoin Mercosur, the South American trade bloc that includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. [38] Venezuela was suspended in 2017 for breaking the bloc's rules. [38] Pena visited Venezuela's capital on his way to New York, reopening contact after the two countries cut ties in 2025. [38] Chile's president, Jose Antonio Kast, is due to meet Rodriguez on Thursday. [38]

Why it matters. A source close to Brazil's president, Lula, said Brazil is open to a gradual return, but that Paraguay would have to lead it. [38]

Argentina's president, Javier Milei, told the UN that the Falkland Islands, a British territory that Argentina calls the Malvinas, are "a national cause". [39] He said the UN fails to enforce its own call on both sides to avoid one-sided changes while the dispute is open. [39] Argentina has started sanctions against more than 60 companies and people linked to an oil-drilling project near the islands, and Britain calls that unacceptable. [40]

Why it matters. Argentina lost a ten-week war with Britain over the islands in 1982. [40] Milei's opponents say he is using the dispute to win support at home before he is expected to seek re-election in 2027. [40]

Morocco's Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), a liberal-centrist party, won 97 of the 395 seats in Wednesday's parliamentary election, according to preliminary results. [34] Its partners in the outgoing government came next: the RNI with 66 seats and the Istiqlal party with 65. [34] The interior minister gave the results at a press briefing. [34]

Why it matters. No party won a majority on its own, but the three parties of the outgoing government together hold 228 of the 395 seats. [34]

Judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague convicted Mahamat Said Abdel Kani of four crimes against humanity, including torture. [33] He ran a prison in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, where suspected supporters of the ousted president, Francois Bozize, were beaten in 2013. [33] He is the first member of Seleka, a mainly Muslim rebel alliance that seized power that year, to be convicted. [33] His sentence will be set at a later hearing. [33]

Why it matters. The court has also convicted two leaders of the anti-Balaka, the mainly Christian militias that rose up against Seleka. [33]

The US State Department pledged another $267 million against the Ebola outbreak centred on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [49] That brings the Trump administration's total for this outbreak to $886 million. [49] The outbreak was found in May and is already the second deadliest on record, after the one in West Africa in 2014-2016. [49] US officials hope other countries will help reach a total of $2 billion. [49]

Why it matters. The money is for treatment centres, tests and medicine for health workers close to where the virus is spreading. [49]

Ukraine has handed two North Korean soldiers, captured in Russia's Kursk region in January last year, to South Korea, President Zelensky told the UN. [44] They were the first North Korean soldiers taken alive since North Korea joined Russia's war in 2024. [44] South Korean media had reported that both wanted to go to South Korea. [44] South Korea said in June it would accept all North Korean prisoners of war. [44]

Why it matters. North Korea has sent 14,000 to 15,000 soldiers to help Russia, by Ukrainian and South Korean estimates. [44] Rights groups had warned that the two could be punished if they were sent back north. [44]

Pakistan tightened security ahead of a protest march by the party of Imran Khan, the former prime minister arrested in 2023. [28] His party's chairman, Gohar Khan, said the march will go ahead despite the blockade. [28] Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told police to respond forcefully if it turns violent. [28] More than a month ago Pakistan's government defied a court order and refused to let Imran Khan be treated in a private hospital. [28]

Why it matters. The march also draws on anger at inflation and fuel prices that goes beyond Khan's own supporters. [28] His arrest in 2023 set off riots in which protesters stormed military sites. [28]