World, in brief

A drone strike hit Amiet market, a trading hub north of Abyei town, at about 11am on Monday, and set a nearby fuel depot on fire. [1] The fire was still burning on Tuesday. [2]

Yohanna Akol Ngor, the caretaker information minister of Abyei's local government, said 153 people were killed, up from 73 the day before. [3][4]

An earlier statement from Abyei's authorities gave 53 dead and 27 wounded, and said 22 munitions were fired. [5]

Abyei is a border area that both Sudan and South Sudan claim. [1] A 2005 peace deal left it unsettled, and a vote on its future stalled over who would be allowed to take part. [1]

Ngor and South Sudan's foreign ministry blamed Sudan's army. [1] South Sudan summoned Sudan's ambassador to protest. [1]

A senior Sudanese army officer told AP the army hit fuel tankers from South Sudan bound for the RSF, the paramilitary force it has fought since April 2023. [1] He said the dead were RSF fighters and smugglers, which AP could not check. [1]

BBC Verify studied satellite pictures that show burnt buildings in one corner of the market. [6] Older pictures show the area usually full of trucks. [6]

More than 2,800 UN peacekeepers have been in Abyei since 2011. [6] One trader told the BBC the area is a weapons-free zone under UN protection. [6]

About 8,000 people fled their homes after the strike, Ngor told Reuters. [4] Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity, treated more than 20 wounded people, some with burns. [2]

On Sunday evening army drones hit a truck carrying about 200 mourners in Al-Dabab, in West Kordofan state, says the Sudan War Observatory, a group that tracks the war. [6] It says 145 people on the truck and five more at the funeral tent were killed. [6]

UN figures say drones killed more than 1,100 people in Sudan in the first half of this year. [5] The UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are accused of arming the two sides, and all deny it. [5]

The same day, the UN told the Security Council that Sudan's war is spilling into the Central African Republic, and warned against pulling UN peacekeepers out of it too early. [7]

Why it matters. Watch whether South Sudan does more than protest, and whether anyone outside Abyei's government counts the dead, since its own figures run from 53 to 153. [5][3]

Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, is due to meet Russia's President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday. [22] He met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, Norway's capital, on Tuesday. [22] Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Witkoff will offer Putin talks with Trump and Zelensky together, which would be the first such meeting since Russia's full invasion in 2022. [12] Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has ruled out any political concessions. [22]

Why it matters. Zelensky said land can only be discussed by leaders, and that Ukraine must help design any deal. [12] Europe and Ukraine say it is now up to Russia to answer. [22]

Zelensky said on Tuesday that the US is again warning Ukraine when Russia fires ballistic missiles, after the warnings seemed to stop last week. [23] 'Now it works,' he said, and called it life-saving. [23] The same day Trump said Zelensky 'can make a deal', and that the US had got 'nothing back' for its help except high diesel prices. [24] Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said Patriot interceptors are short worldwide and are not being held back on purpose. [9]

Why it matters. The warnings give people in Ukrainian cities time to reach shelter before a missile lands. [25] Last week's pause showed they depend on a decision in the White House. [23]

Russian missiles and drones killed at least nine people in Ukraine, officials said on Tuesday. [9] In the Bucha district near Kyiv one woman died and 21 people were hurt, eight of them children. [9] On the Kyiv-Odesa highway three people died when a shuttle bus and another vehicle caught fire; the bus carried visitors to Ukraine's national military cemetery. [9] Ukrenergo, the national grid company, reported power cuts in 12 regions. [9]

Why it matters. The strikes came while Zelensky was in Oslo asking for more air defence. [9] Russia said it shot down 136 Ukrainian drones over its own regions the same night. [9]

NATO said on Tuesday it will send more patrol planes, radars, drones and intelligence staff to the Black Sea after a string of attacks on ships near Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO members. [26][27] Russia's army said it hit five more cargo ships that day, three in Ukraine's port of Reni and two on their way to Odesa. [10] At least five ships have been hit near Romania and Bulgaria in two weeks, with 23 sailors dead or missing. [10]

Why it matters. Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, said the attacks cost Ukraine about 60 million euros a day in lost exports. [28] Most of what leaves by sea is wheat, maize and barley for buyers around the world. [28]

Kaja Kallas told the European Parliament on Tuesday that US negotiators have tried to push Ukraine into surrender for about a year and a half. [29] She said Ukraine has not given in on Putin's terms because Europe supports it. [29] The same week Trump said Russia 'has been fine on Ukraine'. [30] Trump has also eased US sanctions on Russia until April 2027 and agreed a diesel deal with Putin. [29]

Why it matters. European countries and the EU have given Ukraine 237 billion euros, against 115 billion from the US, says Germany's Kiel Institute, which tracks the aid. [9] Kallas wants Europe at the table to balance the US. [29]

The EU will ask Canada and the UK to give Ukraine more money, to fill a 70 billion euro hole in Ukraine's budget next year, EU officials told Politico. [31] The EU has promised a 90 billion euro loan for 2026 and 2027, about two-thirds of what Ukraine needs. [31] It expected Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Norway to give 45 billion euros more, but much of that is slow to arrive. [31] It will make the case at summits on 29-30 October and 20 November. [31]

Why it matters. The EU and its members already give 80% of Ukraine's foreign aid, said Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission. [31] With US help in doubt, more of the bill falls on its allies. [31]

South Korea will withdraw more staff from its embassy in Kyiv, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday. [32] The row began when Zelensky told the UN on 23 September that Ukraine had handed two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. [32] South Korea says that was meant to stay secret, and Ukraine denies there was any such deal. [32] South Korea already called its ambassador home this month and blames Ukraine's lack of a 'constructive response'. [33]

Why it matters. The two men were among thousands of North Korean troops sent to fight for Russia, and fear punishment if sent home. [32] South Korea will keep a small team in Kyiv to stay in contact. [32]

Up to 12,000 North Koreans work at a Russian drone factory at Yelabuga, in Tatarstan, under conditions a new report calls human trafficking. [34] The report, from two US research groups, CSIS and the George W. Bush Institute, came out on 14 October. [34] It says the plant gives Russia more than 5,500 drones a month, with parts mostly from China and a design from Iran. [34] North Korea keeps up to 90% of the workers' wages. [34]

Why it matters. A 2017 UN Security Council rule says North Korean workers abroad must be sent home. [34] A rights campaigner told DW that Russia and China, both permanent members of that council, ignore it. [34]

Britain will fly RAF Typhoon fighter jets over Saudi Arabia to shoot down Houthi missiles and drones, its defence ministry said on Tuesday. [17] The jets will only defend and will not strike the Houthis, the Iran-aligned group that holds much of Yemen. [17] Saudi Arabia asked for the help. [17] A Houthi missile killed 13 people at Riyadh's main airport this month. [35] Britain is also sending a transport plane and military advisers. [17]

Why it matters. It is the biggest military mission Andy Burnham has approved as prime minister. [35] Egypt will also send air defences to Saudi Arabia, but no troops to Yemen, an official told AP. [8]

A Houthi attack killed two teenage girls in a home district of Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, on Tuesday. [8] The Houthis have nearly surrounded Taiz and cut most roads into it. [8] Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, said civilians there are at 'grave risk'. [8] A UN official said food and fuel prices in the city have doubled, and the fuel shortage puts hospital patients in danger. [36]

Why it matters. The toll from Monday's Houthi missile strike on a training camp in Shabwa rose to 73, the deadliest since the war restarted this summer. [8][37] More than 200 recruits were wounded. [8]

Turkey's government sent the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement to parliament for approval on Tuesday. [18] Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed it in August, and it treats an armed attack on one as an attack on all, like NATO's founding treaty. [18] The text says no member may leave in its first 10 years. [38] Each country still decides how much help to send, and approval would not by itself send Turkish troops. [18]

Why it matters. Turkey has NATO's second-largest army, and its approval would bind that army more tightly to Saudi Arabia while the Houthis attack the kingdom. [38]

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief, met Iran's president, parliament speaker and foreign minister in Tehran on Tuesday to try to restart talks between Iran and the US. [39] President Masoud Pezeshkian told him the US must first lift its threats and sanctions. [40] Mohsen Rezaei, Iran's security chief, said 'not even a tiny bit' of Iran's enriched uranium will leave the country. [41] No breakthrough was announced. [39]

Why it matters. Pakistan's efforts helped produce a peace deal in June that fell apart weeks later, Reuters reports. [11] Iran wants its seven-point plan accepted first. [39] It offers to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if the US ends its blockade of Iran's ports. [40]

Three senior Iranian officials and an insider told Reuters that Iran is deliberately dragging out talks with the US to weaken Trump before the 3 November midterm elections. [42] They said Iran expects new US attacks and does not trust the US. [42] 'The clerical establishment is determined not to give Trump a political victory,' one official was quoted as saying. [40] The officials spoke on condition that they not be named. [42]

Why it matters. If they are right, there is little chance of a deal before Americans vote. [40] Trump has said the US will not strike Iran before 3 November. [40]

Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's top security council, said undersea internet cables, data centres and AI sites in the region could be attacked if fighting with the US resumes. [40] Qatar's foreign ministry warned that cutting cables in the Strait of Hormuz would hurt Iran too. [40] On Tuesday Iran's Revolutionary Guards, its most powerful armed force, said two oil tankers using a route near Oman that Iran calls illegal hit its mines and caught fire. [43][44] They also claimed to have shot down a US drone, which a US official denied. [43]

Why it matters. International sea law gives Iran no right to decide who passes through the strait. [43] Before the war it carried about a fifth of the world's oil. [44]

Inspectors from the IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, said on Tuesday that the UAE responded quickly and well when a drone hit its Barakah nuclear power plant in May. [45] The drone, launched from Iraq, struck a generator outside the plant's inner fence on 17 May, and the fire was put out. [45] A six-person team checked the plant's emergency plans from 12 to 20 October. [45] Dozens of countries and the EU condemned the attack at the time. [45]

Why it matters. The strike cut the plant's power supply from outside, and the inspectors found the plant and Barakah's regulators handled that properly. [45]

Israel's Central Elections Committee found on Tuesday that Likud, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party, broke election law by using army photos and videos in its ads without paying. [46] The law bars public property from campaign ads unless it is paid for. [46] The committee's chairman, Justice Noam Solberg, said army footage counts as public property. [46] Israel votes on 27 October. [47]

Why it matters. Polls show neither Netanyahu's bloc nor that of his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, near a majority. [21] Eisenkot leads by about one seat on average in the main surveys. [21]

Netanyahu told Army Radio on Tuesday that Iran and its allies want to interfere in next week's election, and said this was intelligence, not spin. [48] Asked whether Iran might attack by surprise, he said Israel was preparing for that. [48] Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel's army could seize more land in southern Lebanon if Hezbollah, the armed group Iran backs, joins any Iranian attack. [48] US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Israel in secret on Monday. [48]

Why it matters. Katz said people would be moved out of any land Israel takes, and it would join Israel's security zone in Lebanon for good. [48]

US Vice-President JD Vance declined on Monday to back Netanyahu for re-election, a day after Trump endorsed him. [49] 'I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections,' Vance said, adding that he backs American candidates. [49] Vance did campaign last spring for Hungary's Viktor Orban, whose party then lost. [49] Trump has written that if anyone but Netanyahu wins, the US will have to fight Iran itself and he is 'not inclined to do so'. [46]

Why it matters. Trump's words tie the US war with Iran to the result of Israel's vote. [46]

More than half a million Israelis will vote for the first time on 27 October. [50] A poll for the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth found more than 16% of them plan to back far-right parties, Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power or Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism. [50] Ben-Gvir, now Israel's national security minister, was once turned away by the army for being too extreme. [50] Polls also point to a big rise in turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel, about a fifth of its people. [21]

Why it matters. With the two blocs level, young voters and Palestinian citizens could each decide who governs. [50][21]

In Gaza, people are delaying weddings and rebuilding until after Israel's election, The National reports. [51] Munir Abu Wadi, whose supermarket in Jabalia refugee camp was destroyed, is waiting to see whether Netanyahu loses before he rebuilds. [51] Gazans have no vote in it. [51] Israeli strikes killed seven people across Gaza on Tuesday, among them a married couple in Gaza City, rescuers and hospitals said. [52]

Why it matters. Many Gazans fear Netanyahu could start a new escalation before polling day. [51] His main rivals also back a hard line on Gaza. [51]

Israeli forces demolished a two-storey family home near Bethlehem on Tuesday, saying it had no building permit, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. [53] The family was not allowed to take out its belongings. [53] A Palestinian commission counted 13 attacks by soldiers and settlers that day, including thefts of crops and sheep. [53] A settler rammed the car of a village council head east of Bethlehem. [53]

Why it matters. Jerusalem's church leaders condemned Saturday's settler attack on olive pickers and European diplomats near Ramallah. [53] The attacks fall on farmers during the olive harvest. [53]

ROPES, an Italian cable car consultancy, has turned down work on a planned cable car from West Jerusalem into occupied East Jerusalem, the fifth foreign firm to step away, the Guardian reports. [47] The 1.4km line would end at a tourist complex run by Elad, a settler group working to strengthen Israeli control of Palestinian areas. [47] Israel's government approved it in 2019, and its high court upheld it in 2022. [47] ROPES said it had another job in India. [47]

Why it matters. The route would take land and property rights from dozens of Palestinian families. [47] The Jerusalem Development Authority says the project is going ahead as planned. [47]

UNIFIL, the UN force that has watched the line between Israel and Lebanon since 1978, will most likely start leaving on 31 December, DW reports. [54] Lebanon's prime minister, Nawaf Salam, wants a new international force so the south is not left empty, but has not won an extension. [54] On Tuesday Israel's army said Lebanon's army was failing to stop Hezbollah south of the Litani River. [55] Lebanon's army called that baseless, hours before US-mediated talks between the two countries. [55]

Why it matters. The force has 7,565 soldiers from 46 countries. [54] Israel still holds a self-declared security zone inside Lebanon. [54]

A Lebanese judge on Tuesday ordered two Hezbollah officials to come for questioning about more than half a tonne of explosives seized at a checkpoint on 8 October. [56] Two suspected Hezbollah members were caught carrying them in a vehicle heading for Beirut, Lebanon's capital. [56] Hezbollah said the explosives were part of its weapons for use against Israel. [56] A judicial official told the AFP news agency about the summons. [56]

Why it matters. It comes as Israel says Lebanon's army is failing to disarm Hezbollah. [55]

Mohammad Al Sadegh, Iran's ambassador in Baghdad, said on Tuesday that Iraq has agreed to expel Iranian Kurdish opposition groups from its Kurdistan region, or hand them to Iran. [57] He spoke after a meeting of the two countries' joint security committee. [57] A 2023 deal already bound Iraq to disarm the groups and stop attacks on Iran from its soil. [57] Thousands of Iranian Kurdish refugees have lived in the region since the 1980s. [57]

Why it matters. Handing people to Iran raises serious legal and humanitarian concerns, The National notes. [57]

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will sell France about a tenth of the diesel it normally uses in the coming weeks, French government sources said. [58] The fuel will go through TotalEnergies, the French oil company, to bring prices down. [58] President Emmanuel Macron arranged it on a Gulf tour that ends in Qatar. [59] In Abu Dhabi, France and the UAE also signed an agreement on the Rafale F5, the newest version of France's fighter jet. [60]

Why it matters. The deal aims to bring down energy prices, which have drawn protests and anger in France. [58]

Majed al-Ansari speaks for Qatar's foreign ministry. [13] He said on Tuesday that the US-Iran talks Qatar helps run are still going on, with both sides taking part. [13] 'The fact that we are not hearing about it is a good sign,' he said. [13] Qatar's intelligence chief said Qatar moved its whole air defence system in six hours to meet Iran's threats. [13] Tom Barrack, a US envoy, told the same Doha forum that the US wants a deal but trust is missing. [13]

Why it matters. Qatar is one of the mediators between the US and Iran, along with Pakistan. [40]

King Charles welcomed Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, the first state visit to Britain by a sultan of Oman in 44 years. [61] At a banquet the king called Oman 'a trusted interlocutor to all parties' and thanked it for trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. [61] Oman has carried messages between the US and Iran since the war began in February. [61] The sultan meets Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday. [61]

Why it matters. Oman borders the Strait of Hormuz and is a close British military ally. [61]