World, in brief

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, flew secretly to Abu Dhabi on Sunday and met the UAE's president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. [1][2]

On Monday the UAE confirmed the meeting. It is the first time it has officially acknowledged one between the two leaders; in May it denied reports of an earlier trip. [3][4]

One person who said they had first-hand knowledge of the meeting told AP that Netanyahu asked Sheikh Mohamed to deny a report in Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper. [1]

Haaretz reported this month that Sheikh Mohamed phoned Netanyahu about ten days before Hamas's attack of 7 October 2023. [5][2]

In that call, Haaretz says, he warned that Hamas's leader in Gaza was planning a big operation, and Netanyahu did not tell Israel's security chiefs. [5]

Netanyahu's office called the Haaretz report an 'absolute lie', and on Monday it called the AP account 'fake news'. [5][6]

Two people briefed on the trip told AP the meeting lasted an hour. Three senior Israeli officials told Reuters it lasted six hours and was about Iran. [1][4]

Israel's Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu's office asked several times for the meeting, to try to get a denial. It said the UAE sees the matter as Israeli politics and does not want to get involved before the election. [7]

On Monday the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, asked the military censor to have Channel 12 prosecuted 'to the fullest extent of the law' for revealing the trip. [8]

Netanyahu's office said the report came out while his plane was still outside Israeli airspace, putting him, his wife and the head of the Mossad, Israel's spy agency, at risk. [3]

Netanyahu also denied on X that Egypt's former spy chief, Abbas Kamel, warned him before the attack. He blamed Ronen Bar, who ran the Shin Bet at the time. [7]

Why it matters. Watch whether the UAE says anything about the 2023 phone call, since only its president can confirm or deny it, and whether the military censor acts against Channel 12 before the 27 October vote. [7][8]

Ukraine's Third Army Corps said on Monday it had retaken another 51 square km in the north of Donetsk, a region in the east. [23][24] That brings the total for its Operation Vivaldi to 176 square km. [23] Its commander, Brigadier-General Andrii Biletskyi, said Russian soldiers surrendered in whole units. [25] The corps says it turned old Soviet armoured carriers into bombs it drove at Russian defences. [23] Russia did not comment, and said it had taken two villages of its own. [23]

Why it matters. Russia wants all of Donetsk in any peace deal, and Ukraine still holds about a fifth of it. [24] Ukraine wants the gains to show its allies, including the US, that Russia's advance there is not certain. [25]

A Russian drone hit the National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, during the working day on Monday, killing at least two people. [12] Zelensky said nine people were killed and more than 80 hurt across the country. [12] In Dnipro, a strike on a business centre killed three and injured 19. [12] Zelensky said 90 of the 120 drones Russia fired were jet-powered, faster than the propeller kind, and 57% were shot down. [12]

Why it matters. Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Russia is testing what the world will put up with, and asked allies for more air defences. [12] Zelensky said new interceptors are being tested but still need work before they are good enough. [12]

Qatari mediators planned separate meetings on Monday or Tuesday with Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in New York, and with the US side. [26] The talks were to cover a changed version of Iran's seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. [26] Trump said on Saturday he had rejected that plan. [26] Two of three officials who spoke to AP said the US has not formally rejected it, and one reported slight progress. [27] Trump called a report that he offered Iran sanctions relief 'a HOAX'. [28]

Why it matters. The war is in its eighth month, and Brent crude, the world's main oil price, is above $108 a barrel. [27] Trump said on Monday the US will win 'one way or the other', and quickly. [29]

Ethiopia's army and allied fighters took Alamata, a town about 120 km south of Mekelle, Tigray's capital, a pro-government militia said on Monday. [14] Two diplomatic sources told Reuters the town had fallen. [14] Tigray's forces, the TPLF, have pushed into the neighbouring Afar region, where at least 150,000 people are feared displaced. [30] Doctors Without Borders said patients at two hospitals rose from about 180 to more than 420 in 48 hours. [31]

Why it matters. The fighting has broken the 2022 peace deal that ended a war in which hundreds of thousands died. [31][30] Ethiopia's army chief blames Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt, and Eritrea and Sudan's army deny it. [14][32]

A Myanmar military fighter jet dropped two bombs near a market in Kyauktaw, a town in Rakhine state in the west, around noon on Monday. [11] The Arakan Army, the armed group that controls the town, said 33 people were killed and 36 hurt, and a rescue official confirmed it. [11][33] The market was the region's main wholesale centre. [11] The military did not comment; it says it only strikes military targets. [34]

Why it matters. It was among the deadliest air strikes in Rakhine since a hospital was bombed there last December. [33] Myanmar's army seized power in a 2021 coup, and Min Aung Hlaing, who led the military government, was made president by a military-backed parliament in April. [34]

British police released on bail the five men arrested near RAF Fairford, a base US bombers use to strike Iran. [36] They are British nationals from London, aged 23 to 25, and are still under investigation. [35][36] Britain's head of counter-terrorism policing said police are looking at whether they worked, knowingly or not, for a foreign state. [36] US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a 'foreign actor' was clearly involved, and gave no evidence. [36]

Why it matters. Iran's embassy in London rejected any link and said it may take legal action over media reports. [36] Trump said he would not have let the men out. [36]

A court in Rome sentenced three Egyptian security officers to 10 years in prison for kidnapping Giulio Regeni, an Italian student, in Cairo in 2016. [37][18] A fourth man, a former head of Egypt's state security, was cleared. [18] Regeni was researching Egypt's independent trade unions for a Cambridge doctorate, and his tortured body was found days after he vanished. [38] The men were tried without being present. [39]

Why it matters. Italy says it cannot find the men, Egypt denies any state role, and extradition is very unlikely. [18] The family's lawyer said the verdict shows democracies can put limits on arbitrary power. [38]

Congo's health ministry counted 8,067 confirmed Ebola cases and 3,901 deaths as of 26 September, in seven of the country's 26 provinces. [15] Almost half of the people infected have died. [15] Cases are falling in Ituri and Haut-Uele provinces but spreading elsewhere. [15] Africa CDC, the continent's disease agency, says 50 health workers have died. [15] A strike by health workers over late pay has slowed the response. [15]

Why it matters. By the same week, Congo had counted more than twice as many cases as the West Africa epidemic of 2014 to 2016. [15] The WHO says it is on track to pass that epidemic, which killed 11,000 people. [15]

No food has reached Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in southern Ukraine, through normal routes since May, ground reports say. [13] Ukraine has dropped food by drone across the Dnipro river since March. [13] Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson region's military administration, said Russian troops shoot the drones down and detain people found with food parcels. [13] Ukraine says Russia has not agreed to an evacuation the Red Cross is ready to join. [13]

Why it matters. A town official told ABC News that more than 100 bodies lie in the basement of the hospital, which has had no power for four years. [13] About 25,000 people lived there before the 2022 invasion. [13]

Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, said on Monday that the EU is applying to be an observer in a new naval coalition led by Saudi Arabia. [1] The coalition was formed to protect Saudi energy exports. [1] Kallas will also ask EU ministers for more ships for ASPIDES, the EU's own Red Sea force, which has six. [1] It escorts cargo ships through the Bab el-Mandeb strait against attacks by the Houthis, the Iran-backed armed group in Yemen. [1] What observer status would mean in practice is not clear. [1]

Why it matters. The EU faces record energy prices because of the war with Iran. [1] The Houthis sit beside the Bab el-Mandeb, which adds to pressure on world markets, and Iranian officials say they could help settle the Saudi-Houthi fight. [27]

The US was set to give Iraq a one-month sanctions waiver on Monday so Iraqi Airways can fly between Iran and Najaf, a holy city for Shia Muslims. [16] A person involved in the decision told Reuters. [16] Iraq had stopped flights to Iran on Friday under US sanctions. [16] Turkey, the UAE and Iraq have all cancelled direct flights with Iran under US pressure. [16]

Why it matters. The waiver eases pressure on Iraq's prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, who is trying to stay close to both the US and Iran. [16] Iran has threatened to stop air travel in the region if its links keep being cut. [16]

Zelensky said on Monday that North Korea is training another 10,000 soldiers to send to Russia. [41][12] He said 8,000 North Korean troops, first sent in 2024 to help push Ukraine out of Russia's Kursk region, are still there. [12] Ukrainian and South Korean estimates put North Korea's total so far at 14,000 to 15,000. [41] It has also sent Russia millions of artillery shells and ballistic missiles, Ukrainian and independent assessments say. [41]

Why it matters. South Korea and Ukraine are arguing over Zelensky's announcement that two captured North Korean soldiers were handed to South Korea, which South Korea says was meant to stay secret. [41] Zelensky has asked South Korea to help with Ukraine's air defence. [41]

Hungary's parliament voted on Monday to lift the protection from prosecution of Prime Minister Peter Magyar and two ministers from Viktor Orban's former government. [19] Magyar asked for his own to be lifted, to clear his name. [19] Prosecutors say he took a man's phone in 2024 and threw it into the Danube, and he calls the case a sham. [19] Former minister Balazs Hanko is accused of embezzling more than 40 million euros, which he denies. [19] Orban's Fidesz party boycotted the vote. [19]

Why it matters. These are the first corruption cases against top officials from Orban's 16 years in power. [19] Magyar's Tisza party won the election less than six months ago, promising to fight corruption. [19]

Gali Baharav-Miara, the attorney general who advises Israel's government on the law, froze the E1 settlement project near Jerusalem for one month, until after the 27 October election. [1] She said it could otherwise be used for election propaganda. [1] A tender to build about 3,000 homes was issued this year. [1] Bezalel Smotrich, the minister in charge of settlement building, accused her of interfering in the campaign. [1]

Why it matters. E1 would cut through a key part of the occupied West Bank, and critics say it would end hopes of a workable Palestinian state. [1]

French police arrested 164 people on Monday as protests by secondary-school students spread from the Paris region to other parts of France. [42] The students are protesting about crowded classes, teacher shortages and run-down buildings. [42] The interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said 12 police officers, 12 students and three staff were hurt, and 180 schools were affected. [42] Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the problems must be heard but violence must be condemned. [42]

Why it matters. A students' union called for school blockades on Tuesday, the same day unions for teachers, hospital staff and civil servants plan walkouts over pay and conditions. [42]

France's far-right National Rally and its allies won a record 14 seats in Sunday's election to France's Senate, about four times what they held. [43] It is the first time the party has enough senators to form its own group in the 348-seat chamber. [43] Senators are chosen indirectly, not by a public vote. [43] Marine Le Pen, the party's leader, called it a historic victory. [43]

Why it matters. France chooses a new president next year, when Emmanuel Macron steps down, and Le Pen is preparing to run. [43] The right, the centre and the Socialists still look set to stay the three biggest forces in France's Senate. [43]

A court in Turkey convicted the comedian Deniz Goktas on Monday of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then released him. [44] Prosecutors had asked for up to 12 years, and he had already spent 88 days in solitary confinement. [44] They objected to a line in a stand-up show, watched more than 15 million times on YouTube, calling Erdogan 'a shy dictator'. [44] Goktas said 'dictator' is a political description, not an insult. [44]

Why it matters. Rights groups say a wave of arrests in Turkey is aimed at crushing dissent, and journalists and Istanbul's elected mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, are still held. [44] Erdogan's party says the courts are independent. [44]

Argentina's president, Javier Milei, gave the UK two weeks to stop work on Sea Lion, an oilfield off the Falkland Islands. [45] Otherwise Argentina will ask the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, a court in Hamburg, to order a halt. [45] The islands are run by the UK and claimed by Argentina, and the two fought a war over them in 1982. [45] Oil from the field is expected from 2028. [45]

Why it matters. The tribunal can issue binding emergency orders but has no way to force the UK to obey. [45] Trump, a close ally of Milei, has suggested the US could drop its long neutrality in the dispute. [45]

An avalanche on Sunday on Mount Himlung, a 7,126-metre peak in north-central Nepal, killed at least two people and left 12 missing. [46] Helicopters rescued another 10. [46] All were Nepali, setting up a base camp for foreign climbers at the start of the autumn season. [46] Nepal's disaster agency said 21 more people died in floods and landslides across the country from Thursday to Sunday. [46]

Why it matters. Nepal is still recovering from floods in August that left more than 1,400 people dead and nearly 6,000 missing. [46]

Israel's immigration authority has frozen the applications of two Jewish activists, one British and one American, to move to Israel, Haaretz reported. [49] Both had first been approved by the Jewish Agency, which handles Jewish immigration. [49] Both had taken part in 'protective presence', where rights groups support Palestinian villages threatened by settler violence. [49] In messages Haaretz saw, a senior official said Israel does not let in activists 'who act against Israel'. [49]

Why it matters. Under Israeli law every Jew has the right to apply to immigrate. [49] The authority says both cases are still under review, and the British man, Lawrence Shenkin, has been unable to get back into Israel since April. [49]

Israel said it will expel Dutch diplomats based in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, within a week. [1] Its foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said it answers a Dutch ban, in force since 22 September, on goods from Israeli settlements. [1] The Dutch foreign minister, Tom Berendsen, said he deeply regrets the decision. [1] Israel also summoned a Spanish diplomat over a Spanish minister's 'from the river to the sea' remark. [1]

Why it matters. The Netherlands says the ban comes from a duty under international law, because it and many other governments consider the settlements illegal. [1]

A court in Paris found Swiftair, a Spanish airline, guilty of involuntary manslaughter over the 2014 crash of an Air Algerie flight in northern Mali. [20] All 116 people on board died, among them 54 French citizens and 23 from Burkina Faso. [20] The court gave the maximum fine, 225,000 euros, and said poor training had contributed. [20] Investigators found the plane's anti-icing system had not been switched on. [20]

Why it matters. One widow said families had waited 4,449 days for a verdict. [20] Spain had closed its own inquiry without charges, and Swiftair has 10 days to appeal. [20]

A US federal judge, Amir Ali, blocked the Trump administration on Monday from holding back anti-terrorism money to force changes in how elections are run. [21] The Department of Homeland Security planned to withhold 20% of the grants until states and cities adopted rules it favoured. [21] Those included paper ballots marked by hand and manual checks of at least 5% of votes. [21] Counties and cities in Texas, Ohio and Tennessee had sued. [21]

Why it matters. It is the latest court defeat for Trump's push for more federal control over elections before the 3 November vote for Congress. [21] The grants total about $1.1bn. [21]

A judge in Utah, a US state, ordered Douglas Carter released on bail after decades on death row for a 1985 killing. [50] A DNA test received on 22 September did not match him to blood on a doorknob or to the knife used in the killing. [50] He was convicted on a confession he says was forced, and two witnesses later took back their evidence. [50] He will wear a GPS tag while he awaits a new trial. [50]

Why it matters. Utah's Supreme Court ordered the new trial last year because of misconduct by investigators, and prosecutors have dropped plans to seek the death penalty. [50] The victim's family opposed his release. [50]

India's Supreme Court said on Monday that a string of rape cases in Delhi and nearby districts showed a failure of law enforcement, local media reported. [51] Hundreds of students protested last week after a teenager said three men raped her in a city park. [51] The court said parks and buses must not become high-risk places because of poor lighting and surveillance. [51] It started a public-interest case so it can keep following the issue. [51]

Why it matters. More than 80 rapes are reported to India's police every day, according to national crime records. [51] Delhi's chief minister, Rekha Gupta, has admitted lapses. [51]

The Orange Order, a Protestant group, tried on Sunday to march down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown for the first time in almost 30 years. [52] Protesters who oppose the march blocked the road, joined by Sinn Fein's president, Mary Lou McDonald, and Northern Ireland's first minister, Michelle O'Neill. [52] Police warned the Orangemen they had more than the 35 marchers allowed. [52] A primary school on the road closed for Monday. [52]

Why it matters. Gavin Robinson, leader of the DUP, the party sharing power with Sinn Fein, said Sinn Fein politicians broke the law and that the stakes for Northern Ireland's government could get higher. [52]