Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has harmed Black Sea wildlife through military noise, naval mines, pollution and disrupted fishing, according to researchers and environmental groups cited in the article. A Ukrainian researcher estimated that more than 120,000 dolphins and porpoises had died by 2026, though observers in other countries said they could not determine the cause of every stranded animal’s death.
Key Facts
Fishing and poaching along Black Sea coasts fell after Russia’s 2022 invasion, which included an effort to occupy Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.
Ivan Rusev, a researcher at Ukraine’s Tuzly Lagoons national park, estimated that about 50,000 dolphins died in 2022 and more than 120,000 had died by 2026.
Rusev said military explosions, missile launches and sonar can disrupt cetaceans’ echolocation, which they use to navigate, communicate and hunt.
The article links dolphin deaths to starvation, pollutants accumulated in blubber and respiratory infections caused by morbillivirus.
The 2023 destruction of the Kakhovka dam released water contaminated with fertiliser runoff, heavy metals and machine oil into the Dnipro River system.
Environmental groups in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkiye also reported increased dolphin deaths, but said decomposition often made the cause difficult to establish.
The article says naval mines, fishing restrictions and pollution have contributed to declines in fish such as mullet and bluefish.
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RSF senior commander Siddiq Ander says he has defected from the paramilitary group, accusing the family of leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of controlling its finances, weapons, troop movements and promotions. His departure follows several other senior defections this year as Sudan’s war continues to displace millions and cause civilian deaths.
Key Facts
Al Jazeera published video footage on Friday showing Ander announcing his defection and making accusations about the RSF leadership.
Ander said people who speak out within the RSF risk expulsion, imprisonment or death.
Hemedti’s brother, Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, is the RSF deputy commander.
Other senior RSF members who left this year include Mohammed Azraq al-Fanjari, Al-Tayeb al-Wahidu, Ali Rizqallah and al-Nour Ahmed Adam.
The war between Sudan’s armed forces and the RSF began in April 2023 after a power struggle that included disputes over integrating the RSF into the regular military.
The conflict has displaced about 13 million people and pushed parts of Sudan into famine.
Drone strikes hit a market and residential area in Nyala on October 26; a Sudanese rights group reported more than 100 deaths, while other medical organizations recorded lower figures.
The United Nations says drone strikes have become the leading cause of civilian deaths in Sudan’s war.
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Russell Brand denied all charges as he gave evidence in his trial at Southwark Crown Court, while acknowledging that he had misused his fame to facilitate sexual activity. His wife, Laura Brand, testified about their relationship, and jurors heard extracts from his book and past media appearances. The article describes changes in Brand’s manner during cross-examination and reports on evidence presented in the trial’s third week.
Key Facts
Brand faces three rape charges, three sexual assault charges and one attempted indecent assault charge involving six women; he denies all charges.
The allegations cover a period of 10 years, from 1999.
Brand told the court that consent was essential and said he was innocent of the charges.
Brand said he had misused his fame and success to facilitate sexual activity with women.
Laura Brand testified that they began a relationship in 2006, split in 2007, reunited in 2015 and married in 2017.
Laura Brand described her husband as a wonderful father and attentive husband.
The article says Brand used florid language in his evidence and paused for long periods during cross-examination.
The prosecution presented extracts from Brand’s 2007 book, My Booky Wook, and comments he had made in media appearances.
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Mouria, a historic cafe in Athens’ Exarchia district, is closing after its lease expired and the building’s owners declined to renew it. The cafe has served as a gathering place for generations, while the neighborhood undergoes gentrification.
Key Facts
Owner Christos Vanas has run Mouria for 44 years.
Vanas has opened the cafe at 7 a.m. every day.
On Saturdays, he arrives at 5 a.m. to serve street-market stallholders.
The cafe will close on Sunday after a farewell gathering.
The closure followed the expiry of the premises’ lease last summer.
More than 7,500 people signed an online campaign asking Greece’s culture ministry to protect the cafe as a heritage site.
The culture ministry did not intervene.
Exarchia is known for its leftwing and countercultural history and is undergoing gentrification.
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Eliza Karazah says her son Sabar became intensely interested in dinosaurs after his father gave him toy models when he was two and a half. A child development expert says strong interests in topics such as dinosaurs are common in young children and can help them learn categories and feel knowledgeable.
Key Facts
Sabar’s father gave him 15 miniature dinosaur models when he was sick.
Sabar soon carried the toys around the house and wanted dinosaur-themed clothes and media.
His viewing included dinosaur films, documentaries, YouTube videos and dinosaur specials on Sesame Street.
A 2020 study monitored 33 children aged 4 to 8 and found doll play activated a brain region linked to empathy and social information processing.
A 2007 study found nearly one in three children develops an extremely intense interest in a topic; vehicles and dinosaurs were common subjects.
The 2007 study found these intense interests were more common among boys, though girls also developed them.
Parents in the 2007 study reported these interests lasted from six months to three years, and most faded once children started school.
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One person was killed and six were injured in a shooting at a Spirit Halloween store inside Solano Town Center in Fairfield, California, police said. Detectives were investigating and seeking information from witnesses as of early Saturday; police had not released the victims’ identities or identified a suspect.
Key Facts
Fairfield police responded at about 8:30 p.m. Friday.
Police found seven people with gunshot wounds; one later died.
The six surviving victims were taken to local hospitals.
At least three of the injured victims were in critical condition, police said.
The shooting scene remained active while detectives spoke with witnesses.
Fairfield Police Chief Dan Marshall said investigators hoped to obtain footage from mall cameras.
Police asked anyone with information to contact the Fairfield Police Department.
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France prepared for a third consecutive weekend of protests on Saturday, which coincided with Halloween. Shops boarded up their storefronts as authorities sought to prevent a repeat of street violence reported two weeks earlier.
Key Facts
Protests were expected across France on Saturday, October 31, 2026.
The demonstrations coincided with Halloween.
This was the third weekend of protests.
Some shops boarded up their storefronts ahead of the protests.
Authorities worked to prevent a recurrence of street violence from two weeks earlier.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship became public on October 30, 2016, after they had dated privately for several months. Harry later described the ensuing media coverage as an “apocalypse,” and the couple’s press conflict became a recurring part of their story.
Key Facts
The couple began dating in July 2016 and kept their relationship private for months.
The Sunday Express revealed the relationship on its front page on October 30, 2016.
Harry wrote in his memoir, Spare, that the news was about to break as the couple prepared to attend a Halloween party in Toronto.
Harry asked Kensington Palace spokesperson Jason Knauf to issue a public statement criticizing the media; Knauf issued it on November 8.
The article says a Daily Mail comment piece used the phrase “exotic DNA” about hypothetical children of the couple, and its author later apologized.
The Sun published a headline about Meghan and Pornhub and later apologized, according to the article.
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Flavio Bolsonaro said he fled Brazil for the United States because he faced persecution. He said Brazilian police told him his passports were being revoked as part of a money-laundering investigation, but he gave no details about how he left the country. Brazil summoned Argentina’s representative after Bolsonaro traveled through Argentina on his way to Florida.
Key Facts
Bolsonaro lost Brazil’s presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, according to the article.
He said he and his wife secretly decided to leave Brazil and arrived in Florida on Wednesday.
Bolsonaro said police informed him that his passports were being revoked as part of a money-laundering investigation.
He alleged that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes made false accusations against him.
Bolsonaro suggested there were irregularities in the election but provided no details or evidence in the account.
Brazil’s foreign ministry asked Argentina for an explanation after Bolsonaro passed through the country.
Argentine President Javier Milei backed Bolsonaro in the election and had not acknowledged Lula’s victory, the article reported.
Bolsonaro’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, is under house arrest and is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup, according to the article.
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A report by Geneva-based AURORAH GeoSignal Intelligence says Russian government and military satellites observed areas targeted in 40 Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia between July 1 and October 19. The firm says Russian intelligence may have supported Houthi targeting, including attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, but the article presents these as the investigation’s findings and assessments.
Key Facts
AURORAH examined 40 Houthi missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia between July 1 and October 19.
The firm reported a pattern of Russian satellite observations before and after each of the attacks it studied.
AURORAH identified Russian systems including Bars-M, Persona, Lotos-S1, Pion-NKS and Kondor-FKA satellites, as well as the EKS/Tundra early-warning constellation.
The firm’s founder said the investigation found Russian intelligence supporting an Iran-led intelligence network assisting Houthi operations in Yemen.
The report linked Russian-derived intelligence to Houthi operations along Yemen’s western coast and assessed it was relevant to attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The article says three pumping stations on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline were struck last month: PS8 at Afif, PS9 at Al-Dhekra and PS11 at Al-Mesba’ah.
The article describes the conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government as ongoing since July, with the Houthis taking control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast in September.
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The United States, South Korea and Japan reaffirmed their call for North Korea’s complete denuclearisation at a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Atlanta. Their foreign ministers also pledged to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions restricting support for North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, while Pyongyang has continued to reject giving up its arsenal.
Key Facts
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
The three ministers said they were committed to the complete denuclearisation of North Korea.
They pledged full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, including measures against revenue support for North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
President Donald Trump has expressed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again.
The article says speculation has grown that Trump and Kim could meet at next month’s APEC summit in China.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has suggested pursuing a freeze of North Korea’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
North Korea has declared its nuclear arsenal permanent and irreversible, and says sanctions will not change its status as a nuclear weapons state.
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John Crace’s satirical article imagines a newspaper called the Reformer, edited by Nigel Farage, and uses fake stories and interviews to mock anti-immigrant rhetoric. The piece exaggerates claims about immigration, farming, welfare and scams, and portrays Farage as the paper’s editor and subject of self-promotional coverage.
Key Facts
The article presents the Reformer as a fictional newspaper that promises to expose stories supposedly ignored by mainstream media.
A mock editorial message from Farage frames immigration as a source of danger and grievance.
A fake farming report blames migrants for a failed summer harvest and dismisses climate change as a hoax.
A fabricated story about two families uses a neighbour dispute to satirize claims that foreigners increase welfare costs.
A mock consumer advice item links Nigerian identity with scams and makes a sarcastic reference to Kemi Badenoch.
The article includes a self-interview in which Farage is both the interviewer and the interview subject.
The article uses irony and exaggeration to criticize Farage and anti-immigrant political messaging.
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Avanti West Coast paid more than £20 million in passenger compensation over three months this summer, including £9.3 million in the four weeks to 25 July and another £12.2 million in the next eight weeks. Britain’s rail compensation payments have risen, with official figures showing £150 million paid across operators in 2024–25 and Avanti accounting for £40.5 million.
Key Facts
Avanti paid more than £50 million in delay compensation in 2025–26 and is expected to pay more than £70 million in the current financial year.
Avanti’s £40.5 million in compensation made up about 27% of the £150 million paid by rail operators in 2024–25.
Rail compensation payments in 2024–25 increased 8% from the previous year.
Fewer than half of Avanti’s trains ran on time in July, and delayed passengers waited an average of 19 minutes.
Avanti and Great Western Railway offer compensation for delays of 15 minutes or more, including refunds of 25% of the fare.
Great Western Railway paid £29.7 million in compensation in 2025, while LNER paid £28 million.
Passengers filed 9.1 million rail compensation claims across Great Britain in 2026, almost 10% more than a year earlier; 80% were approved.
Avanti said it was directly responsible for 23% of its delays from May to August, while Network Rail, other operators, and external factors caused most of the rest.
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The article argues that conflicts across the Middle East and elsewhere are increasingly connected, making crises harder to contain. It cites U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s comments about the regional effects of the Iran war and international relations scholar Charles Kupchan’s view that wider shifts in global power and technology are driving instability.
Key Facts
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that war in one place threatens peace elsewhere.
Tom Barrack said the war on Iran launched by the United States and Israel in late February had produced unexpected consequences.
Barrack said U.S. actions related to Iran had ramifications involving Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian militias, the Houthis, and North Africa.
Barrack said past efforts to change governments across the Middle East and Levant had not worked, citing Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan.
International relations scholar Charles Kupchan says global power is spreading across more countries, intensifying competition among major powers.
Kupchan also says digital-era changes are disrupting economies and societies, affecting politics within countries and relations between them.
The article presents Trump as both a reflection of broader global trends and a source of disruption.
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A train collision in central Spain killed 69 people and renewed concerns about rail safety and public confidence in the Socialist-led government of Pedro Sánchez. The crash comes weeks before a snap election, as the government faces scrutiny over its response and existing political controversies.
Key Facts
Authorities have recovered 69 bodies from the wreckage of the Toledo-area collision.
The crash occurred about nine months after a collision near Córdoba killed 46 people.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a stalled train was cleared to move at up to 160 km/h while another train remained on the track ahead.
Puente said the control centre could see the danger, but the advancing train was not ordered to stop.
Puente rejected claims of chronic underinvestment and said Spain's LZB signalling system had failed 170 times that year, which he described as normal and around the EU average.
The formal investigation into the latest collision has begun.
The opposition People's Party has called for Puente to resign.
The article says the disaster is unfolding weeks before a snap general election called by Sánchez.
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France deployed about 70,000 security personnel for a third weekend of protests on Saturday, October 31, amid warnings of a high risk of unrest. Authorities said they wanted to prevent a repeat of violence reported on October 17, while some businesses boarded up their storefronts ahead of the demonstrations.
Key Facts
The protests are linked to anger over living costs, public services and President Emmanuel Macron's government.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned of a very high risk of unrest and promised a firm response to trouble.
About 70,000 security personnel were deployed, matching the number mobilized a week earlier.
Authorities were concerned that people might use Halloween masks to hide their identities.
Some shops and other businesses boarded up their storefronts before the protests.
France's chamber of commerce president said business owners were worried about the demonstrations.
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UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce next week her final plans for changing the rules on indefinite leave to remain, which gives eligible people permanent permission to live in the UK. The BBC reports that social care workers already in the UK are likely to be exempt from a proposed longer wait, while most other workers may still face a 10-year wait instead of five.
Key Facts
Mahmood had proposed extending the standard qualifying period for permanent settlement from five years to 10.
Under the original proposal, some lower-paid migrants could have faced a 15-year wait.
Social care workers already in the UK are likely to be exempt from the longer wait, according to the BBC.
Most other workers are expected to face a 10-year qualifying period under the proposal.
The wait could be reduced for people who contribute to their local communities or have higher incomes.
The government's consultation on the proposed changes received 200,000 responses.
The Home Office said it would not comment on Mahmood's final decisions before they are presented to Parliament next week.
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A ZeroBounce survey found that “just to be clear” was the most commonly selected passive-aggressive email phrase among respondents. The article lists other phrases used in tense workplace exchanges and ends by suggesting people pause before sending an angry reply.
Key Facts
ZeroBounce surveyed desk workers about passive-aggressive email phrases.
Fifty-two percent of respondents selected “just to be clear.”
“Per my last email” received 40% of responses.
“As previously discussed” tied with “per my last email,” according to the article.
Other phrases on the survey list included “for future reference” and “kindly note.”
The author describes using phrases such as “as agreed” and “apologies for any confusion” in pointed workplace emails.
The article concludes by advising readers to take a breath and consider deleting an angry draft.
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Three days before Election Day, national polls show Democrats leading in the congressional vote, while early voting has exceeded 43 million ballots. President Donald Trump restored planned rallies in Kansas and Iowa after briefly canceling them; early turnout figures do not show which candidates voters chose or predict the final results.
Key Facts
RealClearPolling’s national congressional ballot average puts Democrats ahead of Republicans by 51.4% to 43.2%, an 8.2-point lead.
An Economist/YouGov survey found 44% of registered voters expected Democrats to control the House, while 31% expected Republicans to retain it.
The same survey found 39% expected Democrats to control the Senate and 36% expected Republicans to do so.
More than 43 million Americans had voted early in person or returned mail ballots five days before Election Day, nearly 10 million more than at the same point in 2022.
Texas had recorded more than 6.3 million early votes by Wednesday, up from 4.2 million at the same point in 2022.
Georgia had recorded more than 2.5 million ballots by Friday morning, exceeding the 2.3 million cast during the state’s early voting period in 2022.
Early voting increased by more than 30% from the same period in 2022 in Maine, Michigan, North Carolina and Kansas, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Trump restored two weekend campaign rallies in Kansas and Iowa, and the White House said they would take place on Sunday.
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Protests across India oppose a voter-roll revision that has removed about 130 million names and require voters to provide documents proving eligibility. The article links the revision’s documentation rules to earlier Muslim-led protests against India’s citizenship law and warns that the current opposition movement has not challenged that law’s religious distinctions.
Key Facts
Opposition parties, students and farmers are protesting the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and demanding restoration of the previous lists and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The revision requires voters to prove eligibility, often with older documents, and has removed about 130 million names, according to the article.
The Election Commission ordered the revision in Bihar on June 24, 2025, and cited the inclusion of names of undocumented foreign immigrants as one reason.
The article says the rules require different documents based on whether a person was born before July 1, 1987, between that date and December 2, 2004, or after the later date.
The article reports that the Election Commission’s lawyer told the Supreme Court the revision verifies citizenship under a 2003 amendment.
India’s Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act in December 2019; it provides an expedited path to citizenship for persecuted members of six religious communities from three neighboring Muslim-majority countries, but not Muslims.
Muslim women held a sit-in at Shaheen Bagh in 2019 to protest the citizenship law and concerns about a proposed National Register of Citizens.
The article says Home Minister Amit Shah described the voter-roll revision in Parliament as a way to detect, delete and deport infiltrators.
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