Israelis are voting in an election centered on Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, the October 7 security failures and the country’s direction after three years of war. Netanyahu campaigned on the threat from Iran, while opponents promised accountability and political changes; the article says the opposition entered the vote with stronger organization and voter motivation, though its parties faced late infighting.
Key Facts
The election is the first opportunity for voters to judge Netanyahu over the security failures before the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and his record during the subsequent war.
Netanyahu made Iran a central campaign issue and warned that Iran was moving closer to building a nuclear weapon.
Israeli officials said Netanyahu sought President Donald Trump’s approval for a strike on Iran before the election, but Trump did not agree.
The officials said IDF chief of staff General Eyal Zamir refused to prepare for a potential strike, warning it could trigger escalation and disrupt the election.
Netanyahu opponent Gadi Eisenkot called for accountability over October 7, a national commission of inquiry and drafting ultra-Orthodox men into the military.
Netanyahu’s opponents criticized claims that some of his advisers and his campaign manager received money from Qatar; Netanyahu said he did not know his advisers were paid.
The article described Netanyahu’s bloc as divided and unpopular, while the opposition had stronger organization and turnout efforts.
The article said more than 50,000 Israelis who had left the country returned to vote, and that Arab turnout was expected to be unusually high.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Two London men, both 24, have been charged under the UK’s National Security Act 2023 following an investigation into a suspected plot near RAF Fairford. Police have said Iranian state involvement was highly likely; five other men arrested in the investigation remain on bail.
Key Facts
Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim is charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Nouman Essghir is charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.
Both men are 24 and from London.
They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
The incident took place near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on 27 September.
Five other men arrested during the investigation remain on police bail.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the charges followed a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Australia’s public broadcaster, the ABC, plans to send One Nation a cease-and-desist letter over the party’s use of Bluey in a political cartoon. ABC managing director Hugh Marks said the character was used without permission and that the broadcaster believes the video infringes its intellectual property. At a Senate hearing, Marks also discussed a former news director’s termination payout and changes to Four Corners after a review found flaws in some programs.
Key Facts
The 2024 One Nation video, titled “State of Melbourne,” has received about 1.3 million YouTube views.
The cartoon shows Bluey and political figures being struck by an SUV; some scenes depict characters putting bodies in the vehicle’s trunk.
Marks said the ABC had sought legal advice and contacted Bluey distributor BBC Studios and creator Ludo.
Marks said One Nation had not sought permission to use Bluey and that the ABC planned to issue a cease-and-desist letter.
The Senate hearing took place a week after an alleged attack outside independent MP Helen Haines’s electorate office that left her without both legs.
Former ABC news director Justin Stevens received a $353,230 termination payout after Marks decided he should not work out his notice period.
Marks said the ABC found substantial flaws in much of former Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal’s work and had replaced the program’s leadership.
The ABC said it was reviewing its editorial guidance on anonymous sources.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
UK prosecutors charged two men under the National Security Act over a September incident at RAF Fairford, an English airbase used by the United States. One is accused of assisting Iran’s intelligence service, while the other is accused of entering a prohibited place; both are due in court Tuesday.
Key Facts
Mohmed Abdulkarim, a 24-year-old British-Iranian dual national, is charged with assisting Iran’s intelligence service.
Nouman Essghir, a 24-year-old British citizen, is charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.
Essghir was arrested outside RAF Fairford on September 27.
Police and army bomb-disposal experts searched the area, and dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes.
Abdulkarim was arrested in the week before the charges were announced.
Six other men have been arrested and released on bail while the investigation continues.
RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, was used by US bombers during the US-Israeli war on Iran this year.
UK counterterrorism police said they believed Iran was the country Abdulkarim was assisting; Iran’s ambassador to Britain denied that activity at the base was coordinated in Iran.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Ahead of the UK budget, the government announced five cost-of-living measures it calls “everyday fixes,” including changes to mileage tax relief, parental pay and Carer’s Allowance rules. Unison welcomed the mileage change but said rising food and fuel costs require bolder, longer-term policies.
Key Facts
The government plans to make the 55p-per-mile tax-free rate permanent for the first 10,000 business miles and raise the rate for additional miles from 25p to 35p.
The Treasury says about three million employees and self-employed people who drive their own vehicles for work will benefit from the mileage changes.
The Treasury estimates the mileage changes will save a worker who drives 6,000 business miles £120 a year in tax, and someone who drives 15,000 miles up to £300.
The government plans to extend parental pay to more than 150,000 additional parents a year, including some self-employed fathers and partners, with eligible parents receiving two weeks of support.
The budget will scrap the Carer’s Allowance rule that can remove a carer’s entire allowance for earning just over the weekly limit.
Unison general secretary Andrea Egan welcomed permanent higher mileage rates but called for policies that make wealthier people pay more and improve working-class communities.
The measures were announced ahead of the UK budget, which is due the following day.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The opinion article describes Israel’s competitive multiparty system and says voters may be able to replace the government through elections. It cites an October 23 Maariv poll that projected Netanyahu’s governing bloc short of a Knesset majority, while noting that opposition parties could face difficulty forming a government without Arab-party support.
Key Facts
Israel’s Knesset has 120 seats, and a government needs 61 seats for a majority.
An October 23 Maariv poll projected 48 seats for Netanyahu’s governing bloc.
The article says the poll projected that parties opposed to Netanyahu could hold a substantial majority.
The article identifies former military chief Gadi Eisenkot as the opposition’s leading figure and says his party was projected to be the opposition’s largest.
Several opposition leaders have ruled out relying on Arab parties, whose support may be needed to form a government.
Arab citizens of Israel can vote in national elections.
The article notes that Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank cannot vote for the Knesset.
The article describes Israel as having a multiparty system, an opposition, an independent press and a judiciary that has resisted political interference.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The article argues that replacing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would not resolve the main barriers to ending the war. It points to Ukraine’s legal rules on territory and wartime voting, public opposition to surrendering more of Donbas, and disagreements between Kyiv and the U.S. administration.
Key Facts
Donald Trump said on October 10 that Ukraine should get a new president and later said someone else should negotiate for Kyiv.
The Kremlin said it agreed with Trump’s call for a new Ukrainian president.
KIIS polling conducted October 8–9 found that 52 percent of respondents distrusted Zelensky and 43 percent trusted him.
Ukraine’s constitution requires an all-Ukrainian referendum to change the country’s territory and bars constitutional amendments under martial law.
Ukraine’s wartime law prohibits elections and referendums; Zelensky has said a vote would require 60 days and a real ceasefire.
Putin has demanded the rest of Donetsk as a condition for a ceasefire, according to the article.
KIIS polling from October 8–16 found that 61 percent considered withdrawing from the remaining parts of Donbas in exchange for Western security guarantees categorically unacceptable, while 35 percent could accept it.
The article quotes LSE Ukraine Programme director Luke Cooper saying a change in leadership would make little difference because Kyiv had been willing since spring 2025 to freeze the front line.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Russia and Ukraine began a local ceasefire in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky to enable a humanitarian operation. Russian strikes continued elsewhere in Ukraine, including Kyiv, where at least 15 people were injured overnight.
Key Facts
Ukraine’s presidential office chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said the ceasefire in Oleshky was in effect.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, traveled to the site to coordinate the operation.
Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones overnight, according to the article.
At least 15 people were injured in Kyiv.
The article reported attacks in multiple regions, including Chernihiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zaporizhzhia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian attacks targeted energy facilities, logistics and urban infrastructure.
Zelenskyy said delays in deliveries of interceptor packages for Patriot and NASAMS air-defense systems were helping Russia carry out attacks.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A cruise ship collided with two docked container ships in strong winds. German police are investigating the captain over a possible breach of duty of care; no one was injured, but the damage led the operator to cancel the ship’s planned Canary Islands voyage.
Key Facts
The cruise ship collided with two container ships.
Both container ships were docked.
The collision happened during strong winds.
German police are investigating the cruise ship’s captain.
The investigation concerns a possible breach of duty of care.
No one was injured.
Damage from the collision led the operator to cancel the planned Canary Islands voyage.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israelis have begun voting in an election that could affect Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future. He faces a challenge from former military chief Gadi Eisenkot as voters are divided over the wars in Gaza and Iran and Israel’s international isolation.
Key Facts
Voting has begun in Israel.
Benjamin Netanyahu faces a challenge from Gadi Eisenkot.
Eisenkot is a former military chief.
The election could determine Netanyahu’s political future.
Divisions over the war in Gaza are a major issue.
The war on Iran is also a point of division.
The article cites Israel’s growing international isolation.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Sir Tom Jones postponed concerts in Los Angeles and San Diego after developing a bad case of the flu. He said he was following his doctor's advice and apologized to fans; the shows have been rescheduled for 4 November and 3 November, respectively.
Key Facts
Jones postponed his Monday concert in Los Angeles and Tuesday concert in San Diego.
He said he had developed a bad case of the flu after completing 20 shows in the United States.
The San Diego concert will take place on 3 November at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.
The Los Angeles concert has been moved to 4 November.
Tickets for the original dates will remain valid; customers who cannot attend the new dates can seek refunds from their original point of purchase.
Jones is 86 and is on his Come Gather Round world tour.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israelis are voting in the country’s first parliamentary election since the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023 and the conflicts that followed across the region. BBC correspondent Yolande Knell explains why forming a new government may take time after the polls close.
Key Facts
Israel is holding a parliamentary election.
This is the first parliamentary election since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks.
The attacks were followed by conflicts in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
The article focuses on why government formation may take time after voting ends.
The report is by BBC Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A drone strike hit a market in Nyala, Darfur, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than 40, according to a medic and witnesses cited by AFP. The strike took place around 8 p.m. on Monday in a city that serves as the de facto capital of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Key Facts
A medic at Nyala Hospital reported 21 people killed and more than 40 injured.
The strike hit a market in northern Nyala around 8 p.m. on Monday.
A resident said armed men, especially RSF fighters, often visited the market.
Sudan’s military regularly strikes Nyala, where the RSF has declared a rival administration.
Sudan’s military and the RSF have been at war since April 2023.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A student-led movement reportedly won Serbia’s snap election, ending 14 years of political dominance by Aleksandar Vučić. Analyst Helena Ivanov said the result showed how sustained civic organizing can become an electoral challenge and could encourage anti-corruption movements in other countries.
Key Facts
The article reports an electoral victory for a student-led movement in Serbia.
Aleksandar Vučić had held political dominance for 14 years, according to the article.
Ivanov described the result as a historic turning point in Serbian politics.
She said the movement operated outside conventional party structures and sustained its campaign for two years.
Ivanov rejected Vučić’s claims that foreign powers orchestrated the protests.
She said the victory could inspire anti-corruption protests in Albania and elsewhere.
Ivanov emphasized that elections can give voters a way to hold leaders accountable.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israeli polls opened on October 27, 2026, in the first national election since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. Voters are choosing among parties, and the next government will depend on coalition talks in the Knesset.
Key Facts
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s record are central issues in the election.
More than three dozen parties are competing, and about a dozen are expected to win seats in parliament.
Israeli voters elect parties, not individual lawmakers; parties then seek a majority coalition in the Knesset.
Netanyahu’s coalitions have relied on ultra-Orthodox parties that seek exemptions from military service for religious students.
Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot has pledged to end those exemptions.
Other prominent candidates include former prime minister Naftali Bennett, national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Yair Golan, leader of the center-left Democrats.
The opposition’s ability to unite after the election could determine whether it can form a government.
Coalition negotiations could take weeks or months before a new prime minister is named.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
India is moving tens of thousands of people from its eastern coast as Cyclone Arnab strengthens over the Bay of Bengal. The storm is expected to reach the coast by Wednesday morning, bringing sustained winds of 115–125 km/h and gusts up to 140 km/h.
Key Facts
India’s Meteorological Department warned the coastal states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha about the very severe cyclone.
Arnab was centred about 260 km southeast of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh’s most populous city.
More than 12 million people live along the cyclone’s projected path, according to Andhra Pradesh’s disaster management authority.
Nearly 50,000 people had been moved to shelters in Andhra Pradesh by Monday night; the authority estimated that 400,000 people needed evacuation.
Odisha authorities planned to evacuate 48,000 people, according to The Hindu.
Railway authorities said at least 12 trains were cancelled and services on 53 southern coastal routes were suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Nepal advised tourists to avoid high-altitude areas because the cyclone could bring heavy rain, snowstorms and avalanches from Thursday night to Saturday.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The article argues that Qatar should build greater defence autonomy over the next five years while keeping alliances, rather than trying to fight a major regional power alone. It proposes strengthening Qatar’s ability to detect threats, withstand initial attacks, protect essential services and keep the country functioning during a crisis, with integrated air defence identified as the leading gap.
Key Facts
The article says Qatar’s security remains heavily dependent on the United States during a major crisis.
It says reliance on the Gulf Cooperation Council’s collective capabilities may not provide sufficient assurance for Qatar’s defence.
The proposed strategy rests on six pillars, including air and missile defence, early warning, critical infrastructure protection, air and naval power, cybersecurity, and multiple security guarantees.
The article defines defence autonomy as the ability to handle essential defence tasks without waiting for outside assistance.
Those tasks include detecting threats, protecting leadership and strategic centres, and maintaining energy, water, electricity, communications, ports and airports.
The article says Qatar should aim to impose costs on an aggressor and endure a prolonged crisis, rather than prepare to fight a major regional power alone.
The article identifies an integrated Qatari air defence shield as the most important capability gap to address.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Jean-Rémi Girard, head of the French teachers’ union SNALC, said past government choices helped create the problems behind France’s education crisis. He called the latest reform proposals a tentative step but said they lack concrete guarantees and funding, and warned that measures will not take effect without an approved parliamentary budget.
Key Facts
Girard said the government eliminated 8,000 secondary teaching positions during Emmanuel Macron’s first presidential term while student enrolment was rising.
He said schools still face teacher shortages, including difficulty replacing absent teachers.
Girard argued that Parcoursup, France’s university admissions platform launched in 2018, is not the main source of student frustration.
He said limited university capacity cannot meet growing demand for higher education.
Girard said student protests have drawn attention to serious problems shared by students, teachers and unions.
He said the government’s latest education proposals are a tentative step forward but lack concrete guarantees and secure funding.
Girard warned that promised measures will not become real without an approved parliamentary budget.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Several Chinese brands have ended or suspended commercial ties with Kylian Mbappé amid online backlash over unverified clips that appear to show him joking about a meme depicting him as a Chinese dictator. Mbappé and the French talk show have not commented, and the brands cited hurt national feelings without explicitly naming the clip.
Key Facts
The clips reportedly show Mbappé calling a meme that places his face on an image resembling Mao Zedong his favorite.
The original interview video is no longer on the show’s YouTube channel, and Mbappé does not name Mao in the reported remarks.
Chinese football forum Dongqiudi drew attention to the remarks on Monday night and called them inappropriate.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said words and actions that hurt Chinese people’s feelings would face opposition.
Dairy company Mengniu and drinks company Dongpeng issued statements opposing actions that hurt or offend Chinese people’s feelings.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV is reportedly suspending La Liga matches, according to the outlet The Paper.
The article says Mbappé is popular in China and has had major commercial endorsements there.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Wales First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth says the UK’s relationship with Wales is unequal and is seeking a new agreement that gives Wales more powers. He says the effort is intended to let Wales shape its future, not to dismantle the UK, and he will not seek an independence referendum during the current parliamentary term.
Key Facts
Ap Iorwerth formally asked the British prime minister to transfer powers over policing, justice, rail and natural resources to Wales.
He says the proposed changes would address what he calls historic unfairness.
Plaid Cymru, the centre-left Welsh nationalist party, took power in Wales in May, ending more than a century of Labour Party dominance there.
Four months into his term, ap Iorwerth signed a pact with Scotland and Northern Ireland affirming their right to self-determination.
The pact warned the British Parliament that its time was coming to an end.
Ap Iorwerth says Wales is on a path toward independence but will not hold an independence referendum during this parliament.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
