News without the noise
World news from every region: conflicts, elections, diplomacy, disasters and the people at the centre of them.
7888 articles · page 57 of 165 · The World front page
Syrian intelligence officials have arrested Ali Kayali, a militia commander accused of orchestrating the mass killing of civilians in the coastal city of Baniyas in 2013, state news agency SANA reported on Thursday. Kayali was captured while attempting to flee across the border, though the destination was not disclosed.
Seven sailors are missing after two chemical tankers caught fire overnight inside Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea, as a wave of drone strikes on civilian shipping continues to threaten global grain supplies. Romanian authorities have not directly linked the blazes to Russian drones but the incidents follow attacks on at least five other cargo ships near Romania and Bulgaria over the past 10 days, which left at least 23 sailors lost.
· 3 sourcesTwo people have died and nearly 600 have been rescued after torrential rain struck Istanbul, which the city's governor described as the heaviest in 84 years, according to BBC Turkish. A 14-year-old boy was electrocuted after stepping in a puddle and a 34-year-old man died after slipping and hitting his head while trying to cross a road. The death of the teenager is under investigation by the governorship.
· 2 sourcesRomanian authorities have revised down the number of missing crew from the drone-struck chemical tanker Wine Trader to seven, as rescue teams continue battling rough seas to reach four confirmed survivors. The San Marino-flagged vessel was hit by drones on Thursday morning about 13 nautical miles east of the Danube River mouth at Sulina.
· 2 sourcesA woman who alleges Russell Brand raped her in a hotel has described feeling 'dirty' and fearing she may be pregnant after the alleged attack, as the comedian's trial continued at Southwark Crown Court.
· 3 sourcesBrazil's Congress has approved a constitutional amendment cutting the working week from 44 hours to 40 hours and guaranteeing employees two rest days per week without any reduction in salary, handing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a major political victory less than two weeks before the presidential run-off.
Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić personally intervened to advance an allegedly illegal scheme to hand over a protected site in Belgrade for a Trump hotel tower, the Guardian has revealed, in a case described as the first criminal indictment linked to the Trump family's global moneymaking campaign.
Jon Ruben, a 77-year-old former summer camp leader who sexually assaulted boys after giving them sweets laced with tranquiliser, is to appeal against his prison sentence. He is due to appear at the Court of Appeal on 23 October.
BBC Verify has identified 254 incidents in which the Israeli military has been accused of killing or injuring people in Gaza, Lebanon, the occupied West Bank and Israel that it said it was investigating, but have no public outcome. Using AI tools to comb through over 60,000 news reports, the BBC found 300 cases the IDF said it was looking into, of which only 28 had outcomes published on the IDF website.
A severe drought has been declared across six areas of southern England after the UK's hottest summer on record left two major reservoirs at critically low levels, prompting the government to order daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels.
· 4 sourcesStudent loans have long been called 'good debt,' but soaring tuition costs, changes to the federal lending system and a volatile job market are forcing a generation to question that logic. More than 42 million Americans now carry federal education debt totaling over $1.7 trillion, and the Trump administration's recent overhaul has eliminated several affordable repayment plans and slashed borrower safety nets.
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, announced it had removed more than 13,000 accounts involved in three suspected foreign influence campaigns targeting US political debate. The company attributed the operations to Iran, Russia and China, but did not publicly explain the basis for its attribution. The announcement comes ahead of the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3.
Tehran will keep fighting until Washington accepts its demands, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, as two vessels sank near the Strait of Hormuz in the latest escalation between Iran and the United States.
China and North Korea have opened the long-delayed New Yalu River Bridge, a new road link between the Chinese city of Dandong and the North Korean border city of Sinuiju, as the neighbours deepen ties while Pyongyang seeks to ease its economic isolation.
· 2 sourcesUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that allies had not provided intelligence from NATO early-warning satellites, reducing warning time against Russian ballistic missiles, as strikes this week killed at least 15 people. US President Donald Trump denied stopping intelligence sharing but announced an 'energy ceasefire' between Ukraine and Russia.
Haze and smoke from large wildfires in Indonesia, including West Papua, have caused flight disruptions and respiratory problems in the region and are now affecting neighbouring Papua New Guinea, while Singapore recorded its highest air pollution reading since 2015.
· 2 sourcesVietnam will sign a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in Hanoi on Sunday, while closing in on a separate trade agreement with the United States, according to officials and reports.
China will keep approving rare earth export licences for Europe even if the US-China trade truce is not extended beyond January, the country's commerce ministry said on Thursday, signalling Beijing intends to separate its European trade relationship from tensions with Washington.
The Iraqi government has devalued the dinar by nearly 15 percent against the US dollar, a move aimed at easing a financial crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran and the disruption of oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. Traders in Baghdad are reporting sudden losses and a halt in market activity as they struggle to price goods amid the new exchange rate.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a national brain cancer review and a new clinical lead after meeting Scottish swimmer Archie Goodburn, who made a tearful television appeal for more investment in research. The review will look at progress since 2018 and will be followed by a national cancer plan aimed at getting new treatments to patients faster.
· 2 sourcesNew figures show shootings across the West Midlands have fallen dramatically, with police recording just 30 firearms discharges in the first seven months of 2026, more than a decade after the region was dubbed the gun crime capital of England and Wales.
Temperatures in parts of eastern England are set to reach 23C (73F) on Thursday, well above typical mid-October values, before a weather front ushers in colder conditions across the whole UK by the weekend.
· 2 sourcesA police officer has been found guilty of raping a teenage girl and a woman in Shetland, following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. Carmichael John Williamson, known as John Williamson, was convicted by a jury yesterday and will be sentenced on 8 December.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made their first joint public appearance since returning to the UK, arriving at a youth charity in Nottingham on Thursday to cheers from a crowd of around 150 people.
· 7 sourcesThe Diplomat has published an essay by Toh Oon Hoe reflecting on what the author learned from a year of interviewing a Thai sex worker. The piece, dated October 15, 2026, appears under the magazine's ASEAN Beat section, which covers Southeast Asian politics and society.
An exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian has found that key voting groups, including independents, rural voters and many Republicans, are growing disenchanted with the state of the US economy less than three weeks before the midterm elections. Three-quarters of Americans say they are concerned about a recession, while 61 percent wrongly believe the US is already experiencing one.
· 2 sourcesReece Walsh has praised James Tedesco for the support he provided after losing the Kangaroos' No.1 jersey for the World Cup opener, and revealed he will pay 'top dollar' to fix the vomiting that hit him again during Australia's 24-22 win over New Zealand. Coach Kevin Walters has confirmed Tedesco will return against Fiji next Sunday in Brisbane.
· 6 sourcesGianni Infantino has apologised to FIFA's ruling council for "mistakes" in the handling of a failed World Cup investment plan, but European critics say he still failed to answer the two controversies that have thrown his presidency into crisis. FIFA will also review whether to proceed with a peace prize created to award US President Donald Trump in December, and is expected to change a rule that allowed a red card against American forward Folarin Balogun to be overturned during the World Cup.
· 4 sourcesThe Balkan states have failed to form a unified position on Israel’s war in Gaza, with each country's stance shaped by domestic politics, unresolved ethnic divisions and transactional diplomacy rather than a shared regional outlook, analysts say.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama has vowed not to resign as student-led demonstrations enter a third consecutive day, with police using teargas and water cannon to disperse protesters in the capital Tirana and unrest spreading to other cities.
Ukraine struck an oil refinery in Ryazan, about 180 kilometres south of Moscow, on Thursday after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was 'done' with a US-orchestrated ceasefire on energy targets that Russia had ignored. The attack comes as relations between Kyiv and Washington deteriorate sharply, with President Donald Trump lifting sanctions on Russian diesel, calling for Zelenskyy's replacement, and restricting Ukraine's access to Starshield, the military-grade Starlink system used to pilot drones.
· 3 sourcesThe US government is weighing a roughly $335,000 research and advertising campaign to understand why more white Afrikaners in South Africa are applying to become refugees, after applications to a programme prioritised by Donald Trump trended lower than expected.
The U.S. military has drawn up options for renewed strikes on Iran that include the potential use of one of the largest non-nuclear bombs in its arsenal, CNN reported Thursday, as Tehran vowed to fight on for its demands.
South Africa have dropped Tristan Stubbs and stripped Kyle Verreynne of the wicket-keeping gloves as they consider recalling spearhead fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for the second Test against Australia in Gqeberha on Sunday.
· 3 sourcesLiberal candidate for Richmond, Charles Aponso, 19, has sparked internal party anger after appearing at a candidates forum unaware of Victoria's treaty with the First Peoples' Assembly, asking 'which treaty?' when questioned about the party's opposition to the agreement. The gaffe prompted state director Alyson Hannam to issue a stern message on Thursday reminding all candidates that debate appearances require her approval.
· 2 sourcesAntony Catalano has attended Melbourne Magistrates' Court in person for the first time since being charged with threatening to kill his wife, as planning approval for an expanded $67 million Byron Bay compound was confirmed.
· 5 sourcesWallabies coach Les Kiss has expressed confidence that dual international Mark Nawaqanitawase will commit to Australia for next year's Rugby World Cup, even as the 26-year-old star becomes eligible to represent Fiji or Italy in August. Kiss confirmed Nawaqanitawase will miss Australia's three-Test Nations Championship tour in November but insisted the want-away winger wants to remain with the Wallabies.
· 3 sourcesYorkshire Wildlife Park will reopen to the public on Friday, days after a man was fatally mauled by a tiger, with the park confirming the animal was not put down. The announcement came as an inquest heard that William Chapman, 24, died of "multiple traumatic injuries and animal interaction" after climbing two fences to enter the tiger's enclosure.
· 5 sourcesSenior figures in European football want former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to launch a surprise challenge against Fifa president Gianni Infantino in next year's election, BBC Sport reports. Infantino is still expected to be re-elected unopposed for a fourth and final term despite a backlash over a failed plan to sell commercial stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
Communications Minister Anika Wells has introduced Labor's digital duty of care bill to parliament, an overhaul of the Online Safety Act that would require online service providers to take appropriate action to protect Australians from seriously harmful material and conduct.
The UK economy grew by 0.1% in August, defying analyst forecasts of a slight contraction, and Chancellor John Healey has called the performance a sign of resilience while promising to ease cost of living and business pressures in his first Budget in two weeks.
· 3 sourcesThe family of a Brisbane man is demanding answers after he died waiting more than two hours for an ambulance, despite living just three streets from a major hospital. Nicholas Bradford, 51, called triple-0 from his Annerley home shortly after 10pm on Saturday reporting chest pain, and was found dead after paramedics and police finally gained access to his home after midnight.
· 6 sourcesA first-person essay published by War on the Rocks describes a Sudanese writer's return to Khartoum in June 2026, his first visit since the civil war broke out in April 2023, and warns that the spread of drone warfare over the country threatens the hopes of Sudanese coming home.
China has quietly opened what it calls a 'joint support and training center' at an airport in Ban Keun, Laos, its first publicly acknowledged overseas military facility centered on airpower, according to an announcement from the Chinese Ministry of Defense on September 29. Satellite imagery has since revealed the presence of eight light attack aircraft at the site, deepening concerns about Beijing's expanding military footprint in Southeast Asia.
A new analysis published in War on the Rocks argues that the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system is both technologically and financially infeasible, highlighting the long history of disappointments in efforts to build a reliable shield against intercontinental ballistic missiles.
A proposal by the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board to introduce uniform Friday sermons across mosques in Indian-administered Kashmir has sparked widespread opposition from politicians and religious scholars, who accuse authorities of interfering in Muslim religious affairs. The board, headed by Darakshan Andrabi, a BJP-aligned leader, announced the plan last weekend, prompting top Islamic scholars to denounce it as an irresponsible intrusion.
The Charity Commission is set to criticise the intimidation of charities working with asylum seekers, after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for groups that help them to be prosecuted. The charity commissioner will use a speech to draw a distinction between legitimate heated discussion and harassment or abuse, The Guardian reports.
· 2 sourcesWestern Australian police have charged a 43-year-old woman after she allegedly contaminated a colleague's curry with snail pellets containing the poisonous substance metaldehyde, leaving the victim with a numb tongue.
· 6 sources