Families in northeastern Nigeria continue to search for relatives who disappeared during years of conflict involving Boko Haram. Relatives described searches that have brought no confirmation of whether their missing family members are alive or dead.
Key Facts
Falmata Mohammed disappeared in 2011 while travelling with her mother from Maiduguri to Port Harcourt; her brother said unidentified gunmen abducted them.
Kashim Mohammed said a man later claimed Falmata had been found in Benin, but he could not verify the claim or locate the man.
Adam Muhammad Bashir, known as Bakura, went missing around 2012 or 2013, according to his younger brother, Muhammad.
Muhammad said his family took Bakura’s photographs to a rehabilitation centre in Bulumkutu but no one recognised him.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Nigerian Red Cross Society have supported efforts to trace missing people and reconnect separated families.
Advocates cited an estimate of 17,000 people missing across northern Nigeria, while Kashim said his association’s records showed about 10,000 missing in Borno State.
The article says the estimates’ sources, geographic coverage, reporting periods and compilation methods have not been independently established.
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Israeli tourism, property purchases and political activity in Cyprus have increased, drawing attention from residents and analysts. Data cited in the article show rising Israeli investment and travel, while local sources describe a growing Israeli community and new political ties.
Key Facts
Israelis made nearly 600,000 trips to Cyprus in 2025, more than twice the number in 2022, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service.
In August, Israelis accounted for nearly one in four tourists arriving in Cyprus, a 28.4 percent increase from August 2025, according to the article's cited statistics.
Israeli buyers made 850 property purchases in Larnaca district in the 12 months to September 2025, more than buyers of any other foreign nationality, according to Cyprus Ministry of Interior data.
The Central Bank of Cyprus reported that Israeli investment rose more than sixfold from 2017 to 2024, reaching 5.1 billion euros.
Israel's embassy in Nicosia estimated that 15,000 to 20,000 Israelis consider Cyprus home, while the 2021 census recorded slightly more than 1,000 Israelis living in or registered on the island.
In October, six Cypriot lawmakers formed a pro-Israel caucus, according to The Jerusalem Post.
A billboard near Larnaca airport promoted Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot ahead of Israel's October 27 election.
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Severe thunderstorms affected large areas of eastern Australia on Sunday, with risks including hail, damaging winds and flash flooding. The Bureau of Meteorology said storms and flood risks could continue in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland through Monday.
Key Facts
The Bureau of Meteorology warned of severe storms across southern Queensland, western New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and eastern Victoria.
Wind gusts of up to 100 km/h were recorded in central-western New South Wales around midday Sunday.
Eight flood warnings were in place across southern Queensland after days of heavy rain.
The Mary River downstream of Gympie was forecast to reach major flood levels at Tiaro on Sunday evening and into Monday.
Some areas around the Sunshine Coast received 200 to 400 mm of rain in the week before Sunday.
The bureau’s outlook for November to January indicated above-average rainfall was likely across most of Australia, with the far north and much of Tasmania as exceptions.
The bureau’s long-term climate data shows Australia has warmed by about 1.5°C since 1910.
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Israeli election campaigns are using social media ads and AI-generated or doctored videos to influence voters, as polls show the blocs led by Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot in a close contest. The article also reports on a Likud turnout app and concerns about privacy and unequal access to campaign technology.
Key Facts
Polls cited in the article showed Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition bloc led by former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot in a virtual tie before the election.
Haaretz reported that online bots originally created to undermine Iran’s government were being repurposed to promote Netanyahu and Likud and criticize opposition figures.
Both political camps were using AI-generated and deepfake videos on X, including videos about Netanyahu’s record before the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.
Likud planned to use an app called Victory 26 to identify areas with low turnout and help activists target people who had not yet voted.
The Central Elections Committee restricted Likud’s use of the Elector app over privacy concerns; the article says Elector revealed voter identities, while Victory 26 does not.
Palestinian citizens of Israel make up about 20 percent of the population, and the article says they face particular privacy concerns because their political activity is monitored.
The article describes significant technology and campaign resources being used against the Joint List and Ra’am, two blocs generally supported by Palestinian citizens of Israel.
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Israel’s military says it will close all West Bank land crossings on Tuesday, election day, and bar Palestinian workers from entering settlements. The restrictions come as Israeli forces carry out an operation in Hebron after two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint.
Key Facts
The military announced a ban on Palestinian workers entering and leaving the West Bank and Jordan Valley on Tuesday, alongside closures of all land crossings.
Most Palestinian workers will also be barred from settlements from Sunday, with exceptions for industrial zones and a limited number of other areas.
Three Israeli soldiers were injured in the checkpoint attack; the two Palestinian gunmen were killed.
Israeli forces have demolished homes and businesses in Hebron and restricted movement in the city, whose population is about 200,000.
Israel’s defence minister said about 2,000 residents had been displaced by the operation.
Before the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, more than 100,000 Palestinian workers were permitted to enter Israel; only a small fraction have since regained permits.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened a “very big surprise” for the Palestinian Authority in a television interview.
Thousands attended an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv, organized by a group representing families of people killed or taken hostage in the October 7 attack.
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Serbians are voting in snap parliamentary elections after nearly two years of student-led protests that began following a 2024 train station canopy collapse that killed 16 people. The student movement’s Student List is challenging Aleksandar Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party; polls show a close race, while Vucic’s party denies allegations of corruption and repression.
Key Facts
The snap election was called by Vucic in September.
The canopy collapse in Novi Sad killed 16 people in 2024 and prompted student demonstrations.
The Student List is campaigning on fighting corruption and improving schools.
The Student List’s 250 candidates include professors, actors and farmers, and are led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic.
An Ipsos poll published Thursday put the Serbian Progressive Party at 47 percent and the Student List at 40 percent; other polls have shown the students ahead.
About 150,000 supporters of the student movement rallied in central Belgrade on Thursday.
Vucic resigned as president in September to run for prime minister again.
Vucic has denied accusations of repression, corruption and spying on opponents, and says the students receive foreign funding; the students deny that claim.
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Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said heated political rhetoric and imagery can be followed by an immediate rise in threats and abuse against politicians. Her comments came after independent MP Helen Haines was allegedly attacked outside her office in Wangaratta and suffered injuries that led to the amputation of both legs.
Key Facts
Barrett said she reviews a daily report of threats reported to the AFP, and some reports run for many pages.
She said the AFP does not seek to police free speech but that threats and abuse against parliamentarians go beyond political discourse.
Barrett linked periods of political conflict with increases in threats and abuse, sometimes occurring soon after the conflict.
The AFP has held emergency safety briefings for parliamentarians since Monday.
Barrett said men and women MPs face threats at similar rates, while women are more often targeted individually with threats of sexual violence.
Politicians from different parties said they want to preserve direct access to voters while addressing personal safety risks.
Labor minister Catherine King said she stopped using a mobile caravan because it lacked a second exit.
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Thousands of people have protested across Turkiye against journalist arrests and restrictions on independent media. Authorities have jailed reporters, taken control of opposition broadcaster Halk TV and blocked news websites; the government denies targeting journalists for their work.
Key Facts
Thousands protested across Turkiye.
The protests opposed arrests of journalists and restrictions on independent media.
Authorities have jailed reporters.
Authorities seized control of opposition broadcaster Halk TV.
Authorities blocked news websites.
The government denies targeting journalists for their work.
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Gunmen raided Binnari village in Taraba state, northeast Nigeria, on Friday, killing at least 10 people, looting shops and burning homes, police said. Residents reported at least 20 deaths, while Amnesty International said bereaved families reported up to 50; authorities said they were searching for more casualties.
Key Facts
Police said they recovered 10 bodies with gunshot wounds after responding to a distress call.
The attack took place in Binnari, in the Karim Lamido area of Taraba state.
The gunmen reportedly arrived on motorcycles shortly after midday prayers and were in the village for up to four hours.
Community leader Malam Abubakar Saifullahi said the attackers looted cash, food and other goods, and took motorcycles left behind by fleeing residents.
Police said the attackers had left before officers arrived and that searches for missing or wounded people were continuing.
Amnesty International said families it contacted reported as many as 50 deaths; its Nigeria director said an initial funeral included 37 people.
Amnesty International called for an impartial investigation and accused authorities of failing to protect rural communities.
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Bulgarians are voting in a presidential election shaped by Russia’s war in Ukraine and drone attacks on merchant ships near the country’s Black Sea coast. Polls show incumbent Iliana Iotova leading Andrey Gyurov, but analysts expect neither to win outright, making a November 1 runoff likely.
Key Facts
Twenty-seven candidates are competing in the election.
Alpha Research polls put Iotova at 41 percent and Gyurov at 28 percent.
The president’s role is largely ceremonial, but the president leads the armed forces, can veto laws, signs treaties and appoints ambassadors.
Drone attacks on merchant ships off Bulgaria’s coast likely killed about two dozen international seafarers, according to the article.
Bulgaria has sought allied help to strengthen maritime security, while its government has not explicitly blamed Russia for the attacks.
Gyurov supports Ukraine and signed a security cooperation agreement with Kyiv while serving as caretaker prime minister.
Iotova and her political ally Rumen Radev call for a diplomatic end to the war; Radev supports Iotova.
A runoff is expected on November 1 because analysts expect no candidate to win a majority in the first round and turnout is forecast below 40 percent.
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Thousands of Israelis rallied against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s election on Tuesday, October 27. They called for a change of government and an independent inquiry into security failures surrounding the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.
Key Facts
Thousands of Israelis took part in the rally.
The rally opposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Protesters called for a change of government.
Protesters demanded an independent inquiry into security failures surrounding the October 7 attacks.
The article says the election will be held on Tuesday, October 27.
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Aung San Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, said she sounded physically strong and mentally alert during their first phone call in more than five years, but remained almost completely isolated. He said she was held at an undisclosed residence in Naypyidaw, had no access to news, and should be released from prison.
Key Facts
Aris spoke with his mother on Thursday at Myanmar’s embassy in London.
Aris said he was unsure of her exact location and believed she was staying at a residence in Naypyidaw.
Myanmar’s military removed Suu Kyi from power in a 2021 coup.
Aris described the call and recent photographs of his mother as part of a public relations effort by military leaders.
Myanmar officials released photographs of Suu Kyi during a Red Cross visit in August and while giving her gardening books last week.
Suu Kyi has been detained on charges that Aris called politically motivated.
Her party won the 2015 election, and she later served as state counsellor under a power-sharing arrangement with the military.
Suu Kyi faced international criticism over the military’s mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims in 2016 and 2017.
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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, reportedly sent her father, Thomas Markle, a letter in 2025 saying she would not contact him again or allow him to meet her children. The letter referred to abuse allegations against him, which Markle denies; authorities in the Philippines and the Metropolitan Police have reported actions related to the claims.
Key Facts
Sources close to Meghan said she sent the letter while her father was in a hospital in the Philippines after having his leg amputated.
Meghan and Markle have been estranged since 2018, when he did not attend her royal wedding, citing ill health.
The Metropolitan Police said it received a letter containing claims about Markle in 2019 and shared it with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The Metropolitan Police said it did not pass the letter’s contents to other law enforcement agencies and is reviewing how it handled the matter.
Philippine officials said a task force is investigating allegations involving Markle.
Philippine Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla said police had secured Markle’s computer for a digital forensic examination.
Markle acknowledged paying for sex in the Philippines but denied having sex with underage girls or possessing child abuse images.
The FBI said it is aware of the allegations.
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England’s Renters’ Rights Act ended fixed-term private rental contracts, allowing student tenants to leave with two months’ notice. Students say the change gives them more flexibility, while landlords warn that early departures create uncertainty and may affect rents.
Key Facts
The Renters’ Rights Act came into force in May.
Private rentals now continue on a rolling basis instead of ending on a fixed date.
Students renting from private landlords can give two months’ notice to leave.
University halls and purpose-built student accommodation are exempt and can still use fixed-term contracts.
Eddie Lever used the new rules to leave a tenancy after deciding to change universities.
Because Lever had a joint tenancy, his departure ended the tenancy for the whole house; a friend took his room so his housemates could sign a new agreement.
The National Union of Students says tenants can use the flexibility to move home during the summer and save on rent.
The act also prevents landlords in England from evicting tenants without a legal reason.
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German police arrested a 33-year-old suspect after a fire at Eagle’s Nest, an alpine retreat in Germany. The site was once used by the Nazis and Adolf Hitler.
Key Facts
Police said they arrested a 33-year-old suspect.
The arrest followed a fire at Eagle’s Nest.
Eagle’s Nest is an alpine retreat in Germany.
The site was once used by the Nazis and Adolf Hitler.
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Anti-government protests took place in France over the weekend, according to CBS News. The article title also mentions clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Italy, but the provided text gives no details about those events.
Key Facts
CBS News reported a new round of anti-government protests in France.
The protests took place over the weekend.
The title says riot police clashed with demonstrators in Italy.
The provided article text includes no details about the protests in Italy.
The supplied text does not state the protests’ causes, size, or whether anyone was injured or arrested.
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Elon Musk said a Starlink loophole was closed last week after Ukraine’s military allegedly used the service for offensive drone strikes. The slowdown affected Ukraine’s military capabilities, according to the article.
Key Facts
Musk said he was behind the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine.
He said Ukraine’s military violated Starlink’s terms of service.
Musk alleged the military used Starlink for offensive drone strikes.
He said the loophole was closed last week.
The slowdown impacted Ukraine’s military capabilities.
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Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would welcome an evidence-based discussion about whether the UK should restore free movement with the EU. He said he would not recommend joining the euro or the Schengen area, while critics argued that a return to free movement would go against the 2016 Brexit vote.
Key Facts
Burnham told the Sunday Times that the UK should have an “honest discussion” about free movement.
He said he wants a new relationship with the EU and has raised options including EU membership or joining the single market.
Burnham said he would not recommend joining the euro or the Schengen area, which allows passport-free travel among participating countries.
Labour’s 2024 election manifesto ruled out restoring free movement and joining the single market or a customs union.
Burnham said fundamental changes would require a mandate at a general election, which is due by 2029.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said there could be no return to free movement after the 2016 referendum.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called Burnham’s remarks a betrayal of Brexit voters.
Burnham is expected to present options for closer UK-EU relations at a Brussels summit on 20 November.
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Protests in France, Italy and Spain turned violent, with police clashing with demonstrators. The protests focused on rising living costs, cuts to public services and military spending.
Key Facts
Demonstrations took place in France, Italy and Spain.
Protesters raised concerns about rising living costs.
Demonstrators also opposed cuts to public services.
Military spending was another issue cited in the protests.
Police used tear gas and batons.
Protesters erected barricades and set fires in the streets.
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The BBC’s Newscast episode discusses a draft UK-EU agreement to remove some post-Brexit checks. It also covers a proposed debt reset for Commonwealth countries and the response to UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s revised migration plans.
Key Facts
The UK and EU have agreed a draft deal ahead of a summit later in November 2026.
The draft text is about 200 pages long and concerns sanitary and phytosanitary rules, known as SPS rules.
The proposed agreement aims to remove some checks introduced after Brexit.
Economics editor Faisal Islam joins presenter Adam Fleming to discuss the draft deal.
Chris Mason reports from Antigua, where Andy Burnham is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
A proposed debt reset to support Commonwealth countries is on the meeting’s agenda.
The episode discusses fallout from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s revised migration plans.
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