World, in brief

Ukraine attacked Russia overnight into Sunday with what Russia's defence ministry counted as 1,015 drones, over 15 Russian regions, Crimea and the Black Sea. [2][5]

In St Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, fires broke out at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot, said the city's governor, Alexander Beglov. [1][4]

One person was killed and at least five were hurt in the city. Twelve blocks of flats and two houses were damaged. [1]

Drones also hit a warehouse of Ozon, a big Russian online shop, and a data centre of VK, which runs Russia's version of Facebook. [1][5]

Pulkovo, St Petersburg's main airport, stopped flights for more than seven hours. In the Leningrad region around the city, about 20,000 people lost power. [3]

Ukraine says it hits Russian oil to cut the main source of money for Russia's war. It paused those strikes for three days after Trump announced an 'energy ceasefire' on 11 October, then started again. [1][2]

Zelensky says Russia attacked Ukraine's power network 76 times in the week after that announcement. [1] He wrote that Russia fired almost 2,700 attack drones, 1,700 aerial bombs and 66 missiles at Ukraine in that week. [4]

On Friday Trump signed an order pausing new US sanctions on Russia. On Sunday he said he did not want to drive Russia 'away from the bargaining table'. [5][6]

Trump also wrote that Zelensky 'doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did'. [6][7]

Trump has also paused sanctions on Russian diesel, to bring fuel prices down before the US midterm elections on 3 November. [6] Turkey's energy minister said Turkey will take some of that diesel. [9]

Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy, called Trump's order 'truly historic'. Zelensky told NBC that siding with Putin would be 'a historic mistake'. [7]

Zelensky also said the US had resumed sharing warnings of Russian ballistic missile launches, after cutting them off for three days. [8]

Why it matters. Watch whether Trump agrees to Putin's idea of a three-way summit with Xi in Shenzhen on 18-19 November, and whether the paused US sanctions come back before then. [10][6]

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has proposed a meeting next month with Trump and China's leader, Xi Jinping, the Wall Street Journal reported. [10][11] The aim would be to end the war in Ukraine on terms that favour Russia. [10] The idea came in the same 9 October phone call that produced the diesel deal. [10] Russia's government wants the talks held at the Asia-Pacific summit in Shenzhen, China, on 18-19 November. [10] A senior US official said Trump had not agreed but could be open to it. [10]

Why it matters. Ukraine would not be one of the three leaders at the table. [10] Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said all three sides accept that such a meeting is possible, but nothing about it is settled. [10]

France's President Emmanuel Macron went on television on Sunday and called for 'calm and order' after Saturday's protests over prices turned to looting and fires. [17] About 550,000 people marched, police arrested about 2,400, about 1,500 shops were looted or wrecked, and about 1,000 police officers were hurt. [17][18] Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, who runs the police, offered to resign on Sunday. [19] On Monday Macron blamed security 'failures' but refused the resignation. [20] Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu holds a crisis cabinet meeting on Monday. [18]

Why it matters. France elects Macron's successor next spring, and analysts call the riots a gift to Marine Le Pen's far right, the front-runner. [20] Unions have announced new mass marches in about two weeks. [18]

Trump gave Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his 'Complete and Total Endorsement' on Sunday, for the election on 27 October. [28] He had refused for months to say whether he backed him. [27] It is Israel's first national election since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. [28] Netanyahu's party, Likud, quickly posted a 35-second video of the two men together. [27] Many Israelis are unhappy that the war with Iran ended without reaching its main goals. [27]

Why it matters. Trump is popular in Israel, and Netanyahu has sold his closeness to Trump as a reason to keep him. [27] The race is expected to be tight, and nobody yet knows how much the endorsement will move it. [27]

Egypt's National Defence Council, chaired by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, agreed on Sunday to give Saudi Arabia 'all possible forms of support' against the Houthis, a rebel group in Yemen backed by Iran. [45][46] It gave no details. [45] Egypt's parliament met in an emergency closed session, because sending troops abroad needs a two-thirds vote. [46] The Houthis warned Egypt that joining in would 'pose a grave danger' to its own security. [46] Houthi drones and missiles have killed at least 19 people in Saudi Arabia. [45]

Why it matters. Saudi Arabia has been asking its allies for military help, and Egypt's pledge came a month after a visit by the Saudi crown prince. [45] Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan already signed a joint defence pact in August, and Egypt is weighing whether to join. [46]

The Kingdom Centre, a 99-storey tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, told the people who work there to work from home 'until further notice'. [44] It gave no reason, but Houthi attacks on the city have grown. [44] Tenants include the International Monetary Fund. [44] On Sunday a Saudi air strike in Saada, in northern Yemen, killed at least nine people, five of them children, the Houthi health ministry said. [43] A Houthi strike hurt at least six people in Saudi Arabia. [43]

Why it matters. Yemen's civil war has restarted after four years of ceasefire, and the Houthis now hit Saudi airports and energy sites almost every day. [43] Schools in Riyadh are teaching online for a second week. [44]

The Gulf Co-operation Council, the club of six Gulf monarchies, asked Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, to use Russia's seat on the UN Security Council to push Iran to stop attacking them. [47] They met in Manama, Bahrain's capital, on Sunday. [47] The council says Iran has fired more than 7,000 ballistic missiles and drones at its members since the war began on 28 February. [47] Lavrov offered a new plan for talks among the Gulf states and their neighbours. [47]

Why it matters. The Gulf states want Russia to use its power at the UN on their side against Iran. [47] Lavrov's plan would bring in neighbours such as Iraq and Jordan too. [47]

Iran's parliament approved Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi as defence minister on Sunday, with 237 votes in favour. [48][49] The last minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh, was killed on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, almost eight months ago. [48] Akhlaghi is a long-time weapons official, and the US and the UN have both put sanctions on him over Iran's missile programme. [49] He warned that a US attack would cause 'enormous damage' to the US and its allies. [48]

Why it matters. He spoke after CNN reported US plans to strike Iran's energy and nuclear sites with the 'Mother of All Bombs', one of the largest non-nuclear bombs. [49] President Masoud Pezeshkian nominated him on 5 October. [49]

Voters in Alberta, an oil-rich Canadian province, decide today whether to start the legal process for a second, binding vote on independence. [40][42] A yes would not make Alberta independent. [42] Polls say less than a quarter of Albertans want to leave. [40] So both sides are watching how many people turn out to vote. [40] Two former premiers from rival parties, Jason Kenney and Rachel Notley, have campaigned on one stage to stay. [41] Premier Danielle Smith called the vote but did not campaign to leave. [41]

Why it matters. Prime Minister Mark Carney says a yes would bring dangerous uncertainty in the middle of a trade war with the US. [40] Smith has put the cost of setting up a new country at about C$400bn. [41]

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Ukraine does not have Starshield, the military version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet. [12] Ukraine asked for it to carry out strikes deep inside Russia, and Rubio said that request is 'under conversation'. [12] He said Starlink is a commercial product, while Starshield is a military one. [12] On Sunday Zelensky told NBC that last week's slowdown of Starlink in Ukraine was 'a message from the American government', and that SpaceX carried it out. [8]

Why it matters. Ukraine says the speed limit is still slowing its fight against Russian drones. [13] Rubio's answer means the US government, not SpaceX, decides whether Ukraine gets the military system. [12]

A drone crashed in northern Lithuania on Sunday and its debris damaged a moving car, though nobody was hurt. [16] People in the area were told to take shelter, and NATO sent two Italian fighter jets. [16] Ukraine's foreign ministry said it regretted the incident, which it said may have been caused by Russian jamming pushing its drones off course. [14] The same night, someone tried to set fire to a Starlink base station near Vilnius, Lithuania's capital. [15]

Why it matters. Lithuania called the arson Russia-linked sabotage aimed at Ukraine, which steers many of its drones through Starlink. [15] Similar fires hit Starlink sites in Bulgaria on 10 October and in Poland in September. [15]

Taiwan's coastguard said on Sunday it had driven away 16 Chinese coastguard, research and fishing ships. [53][54] It said an 'unusually large' number took part at the same time, off Taiwan's east, south and south-west coasts and around Pratas, a disputed island to the south-west. [54] Some entered Taiwan's restricted waters. [54] The coastguard called it 'hybrid warfare', meaning pressure that stops short of open fighting. [54] China says Taiwan is part of its territory and claims the waters around it. [54]

Why it matters. China has long threatened to use force to take Taiwan, and this was an 'unusually large' move by its ships. [53][54]

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro held their first runoff debate on Sunday, a week before the vote on 25 October. [57][58] They called each other liars and traded claims of corruption. [57] Bolsonaro led the first round with 47% to Lula's 45%. [57] He is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, a former president under house arrest for trying to overturn the 2022 election. [57] Bolsonaro admitted his father's government did not get 'the best results' on Covid-19. [57]

Why it matters. Polls point to a close runoff, and the result decides whether Lula, who is 80, gets a fourth term. [57][58] Bolsonaro kept to the cost of living and crime, which Al Jazeera calls Brazilians' top worries. [57]

An alliance of Venezuela's opposition parties, the Unitary Democratic Platform, agreed on Sunday to back Maria Corina Machado as its leader. [55][56] Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize and has lived in exile since 2025. [55] Her party says she has been stopped from coming home at least seven times. [55] US forces captured the old leader, Nicolas Maduro, in January, and his deputy Delcy Rodriguez now runs the country. [55] The alliance asked for prisoners to be freed and for elections, but set no date. [55]

Why it matters. One opposition group is holding US-backed talks with Rodriguez's government without Machado, so the alliance is trying to speak with one voice. [55]

After masked Israeli settlers attacked European diplomats and beat a French mayor in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Netanyahu's office said the images did not prove who did what. [30] It warned of 'a coordinated campaign to smear Israel'. [30] The EU 'strongly condemns' the attack and asked for accountability. [32] The US ambassador, Mike Huckabee, called an attack on Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine 'a despicable act of terror'. [33] Levine said she felt 'insulted' that Netanyahu called it alleged. [31]

Why it matters. Israel's president and several former security and intelligence chiefs told Levine they were ashamed of the attack. [31] Netanyahu has blamed settler violence on a small number of troublemakers. [31]

Netanyahu said on Sunday that within two years a US president 'very hostile to Israel' could take office. [29] He was setting out his security plan nine days before Israel's election. [29] He said Israel must use the rest of Trump's time in office to make itself stronger. [29] He also said it should build alliances with other countries, naming India and Latin America. [29] Hours later, Trump endorsed him. [29]

Why it matters. Netanyahu has sold his closeness to Trump as a reason to re-elect him. [27] Here he told voters that the closeness may not outlast Trump. [29]

Trump wrote that 'France is burning' and blamed immigration, telling France to 'close your borders'. [21] Vice President JD Vance had written a similar post the day before. [21] Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar said the riots showed why Hungary keeps the 'toughest possible' line on migration. [22] Poland's Donald Tusk said Poland would not pay for other countries' mistakes. [22] At an EU summit last week, Macron warned against blaming immigrants, and Spain's Pedro Sanchez praised what they give. [22]

Why it matters. Macron blamed groups from the far left, joined by 'numerous delinquents', who came to marches about prices and schools. [19] Vance tied his post to the US midterms on 3 November. [21]

Young people and police clashed for a second day in Milan, Italy, on Sunday, around the main square by the cathedral. [23] Police have arrested more than 200 people since Saturday, according to the Ansa news agency. [23] Saturday's trouble began beside a legal march about the cost of living, and spread to Turin, Bologna and Bergamo. [24] About half of the first 50 arrested were children. [24] Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called a security meeting for Monday. [23]

Why it matters. Milan's mayor said the same thing is happening in many cities and feeds on itself. [23] Italy is already tightening the rules on protest. [24]

Student protests in Albania reached a sixth day on Sunday, with crowds outside Albania's Education Ministry in Tirana, the capital, chanting for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign. [25][26] Protesters threw rocks and petrol bombs and set fire to a police station; police used tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets. [26] Sixteen police officers were hurt. [26] Rama refused to go and blamed 'an outside hand'. [25] The students want cheaper fees, better universities and an end to corruption. [26]

Why it matters. Albania hopes to join the EU by 2030, and Rama says the protests put that at risk. [25] The European Commission condemned the violence. [25]

Four Canadian soldiers died and 19 people are in critical condition after a fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, an army training base in Alberta, on Saturday. [38] Officials said it began as a smouldering grass fire in a training area during an exercise. [38] Winds of up to 96km/h then drove the flames 1km in 30 to 60 seconds. [38] Thirty-nine people went to hospital. [38] Canada's defence ministry says there is no sign of terrorism. [39]

Why it matters. Prime Minister Carney called it one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada's military at home. [38] The four dead were named as Sergeant Morgan Wong and Privates Shaun Farrell, Aidan Goulding and Hayden Lykkemark. [38]

Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province, a group linked to Islamic State, overran an army base at Mairari, near Lake Chad, last week. [65] They killed 15 soldiers and five members of a local militia that helps the army, and burned the base. [65] On Saturday night, suspected Boko Haram fighters are feared to have killed four soldiers and a forest guard in two villages in Adamawa State. [66] Nigeria's army chief of staff visited troops in Borno on Saturday. [65]

Why it matters. The violence in Nigeria's north-east began in 2009, eased a decade ago, and has been rising again for two years. [65] Residents in Adamawa said the attackers tried to push on to the nearby town of Gombi. [66]

Rabiu Kwankwaso is running mate to Peter Obi for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). [67] On Sunday he said the NDC will not step aside for another opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in the 2027 presidential race. [67] He called talk of a last-minute deal 'unfounded'. [67] He complained that the other party's campaign had attacked him and Obi. [67] He said the opposition should not fight among itself while it challenges the ruling All Progressives Congress. [67]

Why it matters. Two opposition tickets will now split the votes of people who want the ruling party out. [67] Kwankwaso said his party would never work for the ruling party either. [67]

A drone strike blamed on the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting Sudan's army, killed several people, six of them women, in Bir Saliba in West Darfur on Saturday. [59] Most were displaced people working on farms. [59] In West Kordofan, an army drone hit a lorry carrying patients and shoppers and killed four civilians, a local monitor said. [59] On Sunday drones also targeted army sites in eastern Sudan, and several were shot down. [59]

Why it matters. Sudan's war is in its fourth year and has driven about 14 million people from their homes. [60] Money for aid has fallen by more than 47%. [60]

Congo's government accused former president Joseph Kabila on Friday of planning a 'general attack' on the country. [63] Last Monday Kabila became head of a new armed group with the M23, a rebel force backed by Rwanda that fights the army in eastern Congo. [63] Its name is the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation. [63] Kabila ruled Congo from 2001 to 2019, and a court sentenced him to death in his absence last year for helping the M23. [63]

Why it matters. The new group says its aim is 'putting an end to tyranny by any means, including force'. [63] Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said taking up arms 'means killing Congolese'. [63]

A court in Mombasa, Kenya, rules on Monday on preacher Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused, charged with murdering 191 children. [61][62] Prosecutors say his cult made children starve to death so they could 'meet Jesus'. [61] More than 400 bodies were found in shallow graves in Shakahola forest from April 2023. [61][62] Kenya's human rights commission recorded 448 deaths. [62] All the accused have pleaded not guilty. [61]

Why it matters. It is the first time Mackenzie faces a verdict on the most serious charges. [61] Fewer than one in ten of the bodies has been identified and given to families. [62]