Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, and experts estimate that a woman dies from childbirth complications every two hours. The report says access to health care for Afghan women has become more difficult since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, amid a strain on maternity services described as more patients and fewer doctors.
Key Facts
Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
Experts estimate that a woman dies every two hours from complications during childbirth.
Access to health care for Afghan women has become increasingly difficult since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
The report focuses on the struggle to provide maternity care in Afghanistan.
The article is based on reporting from inside Afghanistan.
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The Institute for the Study of War said Russian forces lost more territory than they gained in October, marking a second consecutive month of net territorial losses. Ukraine reported 54,400 Russian troops killed or seriously wounded during the month, the highest monthly figure since Russia’s full-scale invasion began; those casualty figures have not been independently verified in the article.
Key Facts
ISW assessed that Russian forces consolidated or captured about 53 square miles in October but lost more territory than they gained.
Russian gains were reported in the Sumy and Zaporizhia regions, while losses occurred in other frontline sectors, including Donetsk.
ISW said Ukrainian forces had seized the initiative in the Kupiansk, Lyman, and Oleksandrivka directions and were contesting it in western Zaporizhia.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported that 54,400 Russian troops were killed or seriously wounded in October, the highest monthly total since the full-scale invasion began.
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces commander said Russian losses were highest in the Dobropillya, Oleksandrivka, and Hulyaipole directions.
The article said casualty totals had exceeded 40,000 for four consecutive months, citing Ukrainian figures.
ISW said Russia was increasing its use of long-range missiles and jet-powered drones to strike Ukraine; Amnesty International said Russian attacks were targeting energy and heating infrastructure.
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Iliana Iotova won Bulgaria’s presidential runoff on Sunday. The largely ceremonial election took place amid security concerns after drone attacks targeted commercial vessels in the Black Sea.
Key Facts
Iotova won the presidential runoff vote in Bulgaria.
The vote took place on Sunday.
Bulgaria’s presidency is largely ceremonial.
Iotova favors dialogue with Moscow.
Iotova opposes military aid to Ukraine.
A series of drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea raised security concerns.
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French high school students resumed protests after a two-week break, but the demonstrations were much smaller than before. Student groups say they will continue to protest despite government promises to fund school repairs, add education jobs and places, and change university admissions.
Key Facts
France’s Education Ministry said 41 high schools were blockaded on Monday, about one percent of the country’s 3,700 high schools.
Students attempted blockades in Paris, Marseille and Rennes, according to Reuters.
Protests began in the Paris suburbs in September and later spread across France, with some demonstrations turning violent.
Students are calling for school renovations, more teachers and university places, and changes to the Parcoursup admissions system, which they consider socially unfair.
The government announced a gradual replacement of Parcoursup by 2028, cancelled planned education job cuts and promised 500 additional posts.
The government also pledged 4 billion euros for school renovations, a limit of 28 pupils in first-year high school classes, and 15,000 additional higher-education places.
Student organizations said the government’s offers were insufficient and called for further blockades on Tuesday and Thursday.
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Steve Ellis, the singer who fronted Love Affair, died peacefully on 30 October at age 76 after complications from a chronic illness. He sang on the band’s 1968 UK No 1 hit “Everlasting Love” and later released solo albums and collaborated with Paul Weller.
Key Facts
A social media message announced Ellis’s death and said he had suffered complications from a chronic illness.
Love Affair’s version of “Everlasting Love” spent two weeks at No 1 on the UK chart in 1968.
Ellis formed Soul Survivors when he was 15; the group later became Love Affair.
Love Affair had three more UK Top 10 hits in the two years after “Everlasting Love.”
Ellis left Love Affair as its popularity waned and later formed the bands Ellis and Widowmaker.
Ellis released solo albums including “The Last Angry Man” in 1977 and “Basement Days” in 1983.
Ellis collaborated with Paul Weller on several later recordings, including his September album “Baby Faced Assassin.”
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UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to announce her final decision on changes to settlement rules for legal migrants. Her proposal would extend the standard wait for permanent settlement from five to 10 years, and some lower-paid workers could wait 15 years, but the rules may be revised for current social care workers after criticism of applying them to people already in the UK.
Key Facts
Indefinite leave to remain lets people live, work and study in the UK indefinitely and can be used to apply for British citizenship.
The Home Office says net migration added 2.6 million people to the UK population from 2021 to 2024.
The Home Office forecast that about 1.6 million people could qualify to settle in the UK between 2026 and 2030 under current rules.
More than 200,000 people responded to the consultation on Mahmood’s proposals.
The Home Office estimated that 196,000 care workers and adult dependants could settle between 2026 and 2030, at a lifetime cost of £9.5 billion to taxpayers.
The IPPR estimated that skilled workers and their dependants due to settle under current rules would make a net lifetime contribution of about £115 billion through taxes.
Labour MPs and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner criticized applying the proposed longer waits to migrants already living in the UK.
Mahmood is expected to give her decision in a statement to MPs in the House of Commons on Monday.
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Bulgaria elected Iliana Iotova as its first woman president. The article says her victory strengthens the governing parties’ control of the legislature, government and presidency, while raising concerns about political divisions and Bulgaria’s direction.
Key Facts
Iotova was an independent candidate backed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party and Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party.
She defeated Andrey Gyurov, who was backed by pro-Western parties.
Iotova served as vice president for nine years before becoming president.
The article reports that at least 22 political prisoners in Belarus are held in psychiatric hospitals, where they face compulsory treatment without a set end date.
The Eagle’s Nest in Germany, a former Hitler retreat and tourist site, burned down in a suspected arson attack last month and is closed indefinitely.
More than 300,000 tourists visited the Eagle’s Nest each year before the fire.
Heidi Klum’s Halloween costume, featuring a severed hand, drew attention in French media.
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A temporary ceasefire in Ukraine’s Kherson region allowed residents to leave Russian-occupied Oleshky over the weekend. They reached Ukraine’s Chernihiv region on Saturday after traveling through Russia and Belarus, and some reunited with family and friends they had not seen for years.
Key Facts
A temporary ceasefire covered Ukraine’s Kherson region.
Residents fled the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky over the weekend.
The evacuees arrived in Chernihiv region on Saturday.
They traveled through Russia and Belarus to reach Chernihiv.
Some residents reunited with friends and family they had not seen in years.
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Maria Montserrat Alvarado, a 39-year-old Mexican American media executive, is taking over the Vatican’s communications department. She is the first laywoman and the first non-Italian to lead the department, which oversees the Vatican’s media operations and press office.
Key Facts
Alvarado’s appointment was announced in June and takes effect this week.
Pope Leo XIV appointed Alvarado directly; she said she did not apply through a standard process.
Alvarado has led EWTN News as president and chief operating officer since 2023.
Before joining EWTN, Alvarado worked for 14 years at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
EWTN News produces content in seven languages across television, print, radio, digital media and social networks.
Alvarado succeeds Paolo Ruffini, who led the department from 2018 and was the first layperson to head a Vatican dicastery.
The Vatican communications department oversees its television, radio, print operations and press office.
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Unknown hackers sent false alerts through Ukraine’s emergency app late Sunday, warning Kyiv residents of nuclear radiation, chemical threats and street fighting. Separately, after a six-day ceasefire ended, Russian attacks resumed near Kherson; Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone struck a hospital, but no one was hurt.
Key Facts
Ukraine’s emergency app reported a high risk of nuclear radiation shortly before 11 p.m. local time on Sunday.
The false messages appeared in Ukrainian and English, and one Russian-language message warned of an impending Oreshnik missile strike.
Ukraine’s emergency app said unauthorised parties had interfered with its operation and temporarily suspended the affected channel.
It was unclear who carried out the hack; a Russian Telegram channel reported that the group Hitcore claimed responsibility, but this could not be verified.
Russia said hackers had also sent fake emergency alerts through the Moscow-based emergency ministry’s app.
The six-day ceasefire ended at 11 p.m. on Sunday after hundreds of people were evacuated from Oleshky, near Kherson.
Kherson’s military administration said a Russian drone hit a hospital at 7:40 a.m.; officials reported no injuries.
Ukraine’s ombudsman said the evacuation pause could be repeated elsewhere, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there were no plans for another truce.
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Forecast models indicate that the Arctic polar vortex could weaken unusually early over the next 10 days. This may raise the chance of colder, more settled weather in northern Europe later in the season, though severe cold is unlikely in the next two to three weeks.
Key Facts
The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air high above the Arctic.
The vortex usually strengthens during autumn and winter, helping keep the coldest air near the pole.
A sudden stratospheric warming can rapidly raise temperatures high in the stratosphere and weaken or reverse winds around the vortex.
Models favor a significant weakening, but a full wind reversal needed for a major sudden stratospheric warming remains uncertain.
A major sudden stratospheric warming could affect weather patterns in the following weeks and increase the chance of colder conditions in northern Europe.
Heavy rain and strong winds are forecast for central and southern Italy on Monday.
More than 100 millimeters of rain could fall in 24 hours over higher ground in southern Italy.
The low-pressure system is expected to move across the Ionian Sea toward Greece.
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French high school protests resumed after a two-week autumn break, but at a much smaller scale than before. Students blocked or tried to block schools in several cities, saying the government’s proposed measures did not meet their demands.
Key Facts
By 08:30 GMT on Monday, 41 high schools—about 1 percent nationwide—were blockaded, according to the Education Ministry.
Attempts to blockade schools were reported in Paris, Marseille and Rennes.
Hundreds of schools had been blockaded in the weeks before the holiday break.
The protests began in Paris suburbs in September and expanded from education issues to include the cost of living.
Students are calling for school renovations, more teachers, more university places and changes to the university admissions system.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said protests are allowed, but blocking access to schools is illegal.
Geffray proposed capping class sizes at 28, spending €4 billion on school renovations, adding 15,000 higher-education places and introducing a new admissions system by 2028.
Student representatives said the government’s proposals were insufficient and said protests would continue.
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South African police arrested five suspects over a robbery and attack on cattle farmer Donovan Marx at his farm in Ventersdorp last Wednesday. Marx was shot, stabbed and had his ears cut off; he remains in hospital. The suspects are due in court Tuesday on charges including house robbery and attempted murder.
Key Facts
Marx, 50, was attacked when he returned to his farm in the North West province.
Police said masked attackers tied a farm worker with cable ties before Marx arrived.
Police said two suspects shot Marx, then dragged him inside, tied him up and stabbed him.
The attackers allegedly took three firearms from a safe and escaped in Marx's van.
The farm worker freed himself and called for help.
Marx's family welcomed the arrests and said the legal process must take its course.
The five suspects are aged 26 to 56 and face charges including illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
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President Donald Trump said at a campaign rally on Sunday that the United States may resume strikes against Iran at an unspecified time. He had previously said he would not strike Iran again before the U.S. midterm elections.
Key Facts
Trump made the remarks at a campaign rally.
He said he may have to give Tehran “the hammer.”
Trump did not specify when strikes might resume.
He had previously said he would not strike Iran again before the upcoming midterm elections.
The article was issued on November 2, 2026.
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The U.S. State Department issued a security alert for Americans in Portugal as protests over housing costs and living expenses continued in Lisbon and Porto. Demonstrations also took place in more than 30 German cities, with clashes, looting and injuries reported, while France saw another weekend of large protests.
Key Facts
The State Department advised U.S. citizens in Portugal to stay alert and avoid Lisbon’s Rossio Square and Praça Dom João I in Porto.
Police cleared a protest camp in Lisbon’s Rossio Square in the early hours of November 1.
Thousands marched in Lisbon on October 31 to protest housing costs.
Protests took place in more than 30 German cities, including Berlin, Cologne and Munich.
The German youth group Gen Z regelt called for better education, more public-service investment and affordable living conditions, and opposed a possible return to compulsory military service.
In Frankfurt, authorities said 17 shops were damaged and five were looted; police arrested 54 people aged 13 to 29.
Frankfurt police reported that more than 100 officers were injured during clashes.
Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in France over the weekend, according to the article.
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Sudan has filed complaints with the UN Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, accusing Ethiopia of allowing the RSF to launch deadly drone attacks from Ethiopian territory. Sudan’s military-led council says the attacks killed or wounded hundreds of civilians and caused military casualties; Ethiopia has also accused Sudan of supporting rebels, which Khartoum denies.
Key Facts
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry accused the RSF of using Ethiopian territory to attack civilian sites and power stations.
A Sudanese military-led council report alleged 70 drone assaults between February 15 and October 27, involving 187 one-way attack drones.
The report said the attacks killed or wounded 484 civilians, killed 176 Sudanese soldiers and wounded another 200.
Sudan identified alleged launch sites at Asosa Airport, the Kurmuk-Gizen border area and Bahir Dar airbase in Ethiopia.
The report said 28 attacks involving 97 drones occurred in October.
Sudan said a drone attack on displaced families in Wad el-Mahi on October 9 killed 30 civilians and wounded 100.
A UN spokesperson condemned escalating drone attacks and said they were causing a catastrophic civilian toll and violating international humanitarian law.
Ethiopia has accused the Sudanese military of backing rebels linked to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front; Khartoum denied the allegation.
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Turkish authorities moved Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), to a newly built section of Imrali island prison, according to pro-Kurdish lawmakers. The lawmakers said the transfer should prompt progress in a peace process that has been stalled for two months, while noting that Ocalan remains inside the prison.
Key Facts
Ocalan has been held on Imrali island since his capture in 1999.
Mithat Sancar, a member of the DEM Party delegation that visits Ocalan, confirmed the transfer on Saturday.
Pervin Buldan said Ocalan had announced the move but stressed that the new facility is still part of the prison.
Improved prison conditions for Ocalan have been a key Kurdish demand.
The PKK began an armed campaign against the Turkish state in 1984; the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people.
Ocalan called on the PKK to disband and disarm in February last year, and the group announced its dissolution in May.
Turkey’s parliament adopted a law in August offering limited amnesty for PKK fighters.
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The article says the Trump administration has increased economic pressure on Cuba since January, including cutting off Venezuelan oil supplies and expanding sanctions, but Cuba’s government remains in power. It reports that the war in Iran has shifted U.S. military attention and made action against Cuba more politically risky, while President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have described different timelines for the administration’s Cuba policy.
Key Facts
The United States has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba for 64 years, according to the article.
The article says Washington cut off Venezuelan oil supplies to Cuba and threatened tariffs against other countries supplying fuel.
The administration expanded sanctions against Cuban officials, state enterprises, and foreign companies doing business with Havana.
Cuba’s electricity grid experienced at least six partial or complete collapses between January and September, the article says.
The article reports that U.S. military assets deployed in the Caribbean were needed elsewhere after the war in Iran began.
At an October 23 rally in Florida, Trump suggested U.S. warships returning from Iran could stop near Cuba and force its leaders to surrender.
In August, Rubio said the administration was closing Cuba’s economic escape routes and described a path to transformation by 2028.
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Authorities in Ukraine and Russia said their emergency alert apps were targeted by cyberattacks late Sunday. People in Kyiv received false warnings of high nuclear radiation, while Russian officials said hackers used access to the Emergency Ministry’s app to send fake alerts.
Key Facts
Authorities in both Ukraine and Russia reported attacks on emergency alert mobile apps.
The attacks took place late Sunday.
Residents in Kyiv received messages warning of high nuclear radiation danger.
Russian officials said hackers gained access to the mobile app for Russia’s Emergency Ministry.
Russian officials said the attackers sent fake emergency alerts through the app.
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Sudan’s war has displaced millions and left people in camps struggling to obtain food as aid declines. A displaced woman in Port Sudan says she sells fried pastries, tea and coffee, but often cannot earn enough to feed herself and the two children in her care; the U.S. State Department has warned of worsening food security and famine risk in the coming months.
Key Facts
Aisha Adam fled fighting in Khartoum in April 2023 and later moved to a camp for displaced people in Port Sudan.
Adam lives with her orphaned grandson and nephew in a tent on the outskirts of Port Sudan.
Adam said aid at the camp has fallen significantly and that she has received assistance only three times in the past six months.
She sells zalabia, tea and coffee at a nearby market to try to support the children.
Adam said the cost of ingredients for her business often leaves too little money to buy a meal for her household.
The article says the war has displaced 13 million people and led to famine in parts of Sudan.
Aid workers estimate that as many as 200,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
In an October 27 statement, the U.S. Department of State warned that food security was worsening and cited a risk of famine in the coming months.
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