Iranian military officials say the country has improved its missile and drone capabilities and would respond immediately if the United States and Israel attack again. The article reports that Iran has replenished military supplies and adopted new tactics, while noting that strikes damaged Iranian defenses and that the U.S. naval blockade continues.
Key Facts
President Donald Trump said the war with Iran would end “very soon one way or the other” and urged Tehran to agree to a deal.
Former IRGC commander Hossein Kanani Moghaddam said Iran had expanded its target database and improved missile range, accuracy, warheads, and drone capabilities.
Iranian military spokespeople said the country was ready for another attack and could use asymmetric warfare to offset U.S. military advantages.
Iranian state television showed an underground drone production line and an upgraded Arash attack drone; Iranian authorities said its warhead now weighs 100 kilograms.
A Reuters investigation cited in the article reported that military agencies linked to Iran evaded sanctions and imported materials from China, Russia, and Germany to support missile and drone production.
The article says strikes damaged many Iranian missile-defense systems and radars, while Iran’s civilian population and infrastructure remain exposed.
The United States has continued its naval blockade of southern Iranian ports.
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French high school student protests resumed on Monday after a two-week autumn break, but on a much smaller scale than in previous weeks. Students attempted to block a few schools in Paris, Marseille and Rennes.
Key Facts
Students returned to school after a two-week break.
Protests resumed on Monday, November 2, 2026.
The protests were smaller than those seen in recent weeks.
Students tried to blockade several high schools.
Reported protest locations included Paris, Marseille and Rennes.
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Hackers sent fabricated emergency alerts through Ukraine’s air-alert app and Russian emergency channels, causing widespread confusion. Authorities and alert services suspended or checked systems, while the identity of the attackers and whether the incidents were connected remained unknown.
Key Facts
Ukraine’s alert-monitoring service counted 122 fake alert events in seven minutes, including 103 air-raid alerts.
The fabricated messages included warnings of radiation, chemical threats, and a supposed nuclear attack involving Russia’s Oreshnik missile.
More than 6.6 million people in Ukraine rely on the air-alert service, according to the article.
Some outdoor loudspeakers in Ukraine’s Lviv region broadcast a false radiation warning.
At about 2:45 a.m. Moscow time on Monday, users of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry app received false warnings about incoming nuclear warheads.
The fake Russian messages also appeared in regional emergency-service channels on Telegram and the state-backed MAX messaging app.
Ukraine’s air-alert service disabled push notifications and temporarily suspended its app after the interference.
The monitoring site alerts.in.ua reported a denial-of-service attack and spent more than an hour checking alerts and removing fabricated records.
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A Guardian Essential poll of 1,003 Australians found that 68% had low or no interest in the Melbourne Cup, the highest share since the poll began tracking interest in 2022. While 62% still viewed the race as part of Australia’s national identity, half said it promotes unhealthy gambling behaviour.
Key Facts
The poll was conducted in late October.
Nine percent of respondents had high interest in the Cup, down 7 percentage points from 2025.
Thirty-nine percent had no interest in the race, up 8 points from 2025.
High or moderate interest was 32%, the lowest level recorded in the poll series.
Sixty-two percent agreed the Cup was a unique part of Australia’s national identity, down from 78% in 2019.
Fifty percent said the Cup promotes unhealthy gambling behaviour, while 36% said it normalises animal cruelty.
Twelve percent said they regularly bet on horse races and would bet on the Cup; 46% said they were not interested and would not bet.
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Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project are challenging Australia’s ban on social media accounts for people under 16 in the High Court. They argue the law restricts political communication, while the government says it protects young people from harmful platform features; the court will also consider whether the advocacy group has standing to bring its case.
Key Facts
The hearings are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
The ban requires 10 platforms, including Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, to suspend or deactivate accounts they identify as belonging to under-16s.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said more than 5 million accounts have been suspended under the ban.
Reddit says social media platforms provide news and political information and that teenagers use them to engage with political content and politicians.
The government says the ban aims to reduce risks from features such as recommendation algorithms, infinite scroll, persistent notifications and likes.
The Digital Freedom Project is led by New South Wales Libertarian MP John Ruddick.
Two teenagers who had been lead plaintiffs were withdrawn from the case in July, leaving the advocacy group as a plaintiff.
The government argues that the Digital Freedom Project has not shown how the ban impedes its activities and therefore lacks standing to sue.
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Shoalhaven City Council in New South Wales declined to host the Wall of Tears, an artwork commemorating children killed in Gaza, citing an unacceptable safety risk to gallery staff, visitors and building tenants. Organisers say the council had asked them to consider armed guards and other restrictions, and they have arranged to show the work at Berry Uniting Church instead.
Key Facts
The Wall of Tears was created by American artist Phil Buehler and has been exhibited in Australia and other cities.
The artwork commemorates 18,457 children reported killed in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and July 19, 2025.
Shoalhaven Friends of Palestine planned to show the installation at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery in Nowra on Tuesday.
A council risk assessment asked organisers to investigate armed guards and raised concerns about protests, community conflict and disruption.
The council also asked organisers to shorten the exhibition from eight days to three, restrict entry to people with RSVPs and stop advertising it.
Council chief executive Andrew Constance decided not to host the exhibition, citing staff safety concerns.
The council said the installation presented an unacceptable risk but did not explain what prompted its concerns.
Organiser Annette Pham arranged for the artwork to be installed at Berry Uniting Church on Thursday.
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The family of Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old student murdered in Southampton, say police gave them changing accounts and did not initially tell them that officers handcuffed him while he was dying. Hampshire’s chief constable apologized for the police response, while a police watchdog investigation is expected to conclude early next year and the UK government has announced an independent inquiry.
Key Facts
Henry Nowak was fatally stabbed in Southampton on 3 December 2025 while walking home from a night out.
Vickrum Digwa was convicted of Nowak’s murder and sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 21 years.
Body-camera footage shown at trial captured Nowak saying, “I've been stabbed”; an officer replied, “Don't think you have, mate.”
Nowak’s family said they first saw the footage on the first day of Digwa’s trial.
His father said police accounts changed over time, and the family said they felt they had not been told the truth.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Constable Alexis Boon apologized and said police had failed Nowak when he needed them.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said its investigation into possible police failures is expected to conclude early next year; the family said it had previously told them no officers would face a conduct or criminal investigation.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced an independent inquiry into the murder, led by former lord chancellor Alex Chalk.
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The article says Chinese leader Xi Jinping has built a closer working relationship with President Donald Trump, and argues that a Democratic victory in the U.S. midterms could make that relationship harder to maintain. It says the two governments’ trade truce and broader diplomatic understanding are important to Beijing, while the White House has extended the truce only through January 10.
Key Facts
The article says Xi and Trump have held two summits this year and are expected to meet twice more.
China says the U.S. midterm elections are a domestic matter, according to the article.
The article says Beijing would prefer Republicans to retain control of Congress because it expects Trump to keep Republican China hawks in check.
At a summit in Busan, South Korea, the two countries agreed to scale back an escalating tariff dispute.
The Busan agreement included China pledging to buy U.S. soybeans and reduce export controls on rare earth metals.
In September, Chinese negotiators sought to extend the agreement through late 2028, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved a two-month extension to January 10.
The article says a Democratic takeover of the House and Senate would leave Trump with executive powers but could increase congressional opposition to his foreign policy.
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Russell Brand’s lawyer told jurors at Southwark Crown Court that Brand denies the charges and that media coverage in 2023 influenced the women who later made allegations. Prosecutors rejected that argument in their closing speech; jurors are considering allegations of rape and sexual assault involving six women over a period beginning in 1999.
Key Facts
Brand denies the charges against him.
The article says Brand is accused of seven offences, including rape and sexual assault, involving six women.
The allegations cover a period of about 10 years beginning in 1999.
In his closing speech, Brand’s barrister Ian Winter KC argued that coverage by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Times newspapers in 2023 affected the women’s accounts.
Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC denied that the 2023 reporting caused the women to invent or reshape their accounts.
Winter argued that Brand believed the women consented and said he respected women who said no.
The article reports that the earliest allegation concerns an event in Bournemouth in 1999.
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Karl Bushby returned to Hull after a 28-year journey on foot that covered 36,000 miles and 29 countries. He was welcomed by a crowd in the city before planning to finish the final leg at his childhood home.
Key Facts
Bushby left the army in 1998, aged 29, intending to walk around the world.
He walked about 36,000 miles across four continents during the journey.
He crossed the Bering Strait over frozen sea and traversed Central America's Darién Gap.
Bushby said he followed two rules: not to return home before completing the journey and not to use transport to advance it.
He arrived in Hull on the same date he had set off 28 years earlier.
A crowd welcomed him at Queen Victoria Square as he pushed his trolley, called Beast 2.
The article says his return will make him the first person to walk continuously across the world, visiting 29 countries.
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Dozens of pro-Palestinian students protested at the University of Hamburg in Germany, blocking building entrances and chanting slogans. Riot police formed a security cordon and arrested students.
Key Facts
Dozens of students took part in the protest.
The protest took place at the University of Hamburg in Germany.
Students blocked building entrances.
Protesters chanted slogans.
Riot police formed a security cordon.
Police arrested students.
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Italy has more journalists under police protection than any other European country, according to the article. Journalists there face threats and intimidation, while European Union measures to protect press freedom are being implemented slowly.
Key Facts
Italy has the largest number of journalists under police protection in Europe.
The article describes journalism in Italy as especially exposed to threats and intimidation.
European Union press-freedom protection measures are slow to take effect.
FRANCE 24 reported on the issue in a video published on November 2, 2026.
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Greenpeace activists placed boulders on the seabed in the Southern North Sea marine protected area, creating a barrier they say will deter bottom trawling across 116 sq km. The group says it will patrol the zone, arguing that fishing continues there despite the area’s purpose of protecting harbour porpoises and their food supply.
Key Facts
Activists aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise dropped boulders in the Southern North Sea marine protected area.
Greenpeace says the boulder barrier covers 116 sq km, or about 45 square miles.
The protected area lies off England’s east coast, from north of Dogger Bank to the Strait of Dover.
The area supports nearly 20% of the UK North Sea harbour porpoise population.
Bottom trawlers recorded more than 37,200 fishing hours in the protected zone in 2025, according to the article.
Greenpeace says the Arctic Sunrise will patrol the zone in the coming days to deter other forms of industrial fishing.
A Greenpeace analysis says bottom trawlers and dredgers disturbed a combined 55,600 sq km of marine protected area seabed in 2025.
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A court heard testimony that Anthony Williams behaved erratically on a train the night before a stabbing attack on a London-bound train on 1 November 2025. Williams denies 14 counts of attempted murder, and jurors must decide whether he intended to kill the people named in the charges.
Key Facts
Anthony Williams, 33, is accused of attempting to murder 10 people on a train that made an emergency stop in Huntingdon.
Passenger Keirah Lee-Oakman said Williams talked to himself, made references to the devil and behaved aggressively on a train the previous night.
Lee-Oakman texted British Transport Police about his behavior.
Police officers attended at Stevenage station but did not continue following the man after he went onto the tracks and they deemed it unsafe.
Passenger Abbie Harrison-Evans said Williams repeatedly grabbed a black rucksack and said, “I’m going to do it.”
Ethan Daniels testified that he heard Williams say, “I am the baddest, no-one is as bad as me.”
Williams is also accused of trying to kill three people in Peterborough and a teenager on a Docklands Light Railway train in London.
The trial has heard that whether Williams carried out the attacks is not in question; jurors must consider whether he intended to kill the people named in the charges.
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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Qatar is facilitating indirect talks between Iran and the United States. He said Iran’s seven-step peace plan could be implemented within two days if Tehran’s demands are met.
Key Facts
Esmaeil Baghaei is Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
Qatar is facilitating indirect talks between Iran and the United States, Baghaei said.
Iran has proposed a seven-step peace plan.
Baghaei said the plan could be implemented within two days if Iran’s demands are met.
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UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is due to set out changes to settlement rules for legal migrants, after a consultation drew about 200,000 responses. Her original proposal included a 15-year qualifying period for some lower-paid migrants, but critics in Labour and elsewhere argued that changing the rules would be unfair to people who arrived under earlier terms.
Key Facts
Mahmood said she wanted migration policy to be fair to people seeking a new life and to people already in the UK.
About 200,000 people responded to the consultation, including about 140,000 visa holders, according to the article.
Mahmood cited net migration of 2.6 million between 2021 and 2024 when explaining the need for action.
Her original plan proposed a 15-year qualifying period for settlement for a group of lower-paid migrants who bring non-working dependants and children.
Mahmood said that under then-current rules, members of this group would usually qualify for benefits and council housing five years after arrival.
Angela Rayner criticized the proposal as unfair to migrants who had arrived in good faith under different rules.
The article says parts of Mahmood's original plan are being revised, but the provided text does not specify the changes being announced.
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A lorry carrying explosives detonated near a military base in Planadas, in Colombia’s Tolima province, killing at least four people, including a two-month-old baby, according to the local governor. The blast damaged a hospital and other buildings; authorities have not identified who was responsible. The attack came amid increased violence by armed groups after President Abelardo de la Espriella ended peace talks and expanded military operations against them.
Key Facts
The explosion occurred on Sunday near a military base in Planadas, western Colombia.
At least four people died, including a two-month-old baby girl, according to Tolima Governor Adriana Magali Matiz.
The blast damaged a nearby hospital and several other buildings, including a pharmacy.
Authorities have not said who carried out the bombing.
Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella ended peace talks with some armed groups and expanded operations against illegal groups.
On Saturday, a motorcycle carrying explosives killed one police officer and injured six in Huila province.
An October 23 drone attack on a Navy boat in Cauca province killed one marine infantryman and injured four.
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Protests in France may be losing momentum, as most high schools reopened despite calls for new blockades and attendance at weekend demonstrations fell for the third week in a row. Political expert Renaud Foucart said the protests could fade because it is unclear who demonstrators are protesting against while the government lacks a parliamentary majority.
Key Facts
Most French high schools reopened despite calls for new blockades.
Attendance at weekend demonstrations fell for the third consecutive week.
Renaud Foucart is a senior lecturer in economics at Lancaster University.
Foucart said the protests may fade because demonstrators lack a clear political target.
He said the turnout over the past month showed disappointment with political debate in France.
The report was published on November 2, 2026.
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Ukraine’s military accused Russia of using a six-day ceasefire around Russian-controlled Oleshky to bring in ammunition, rotate troops and strengthen defenses. The pause enabled aid deliveries and evacuations, which Melania Trump called a success; the Ukrainian military’s claims about Russian movements could not be independently verified by Newsweek.
Key Facts
The localized ceasefire began on Tuesday and ended late on Sunday.
The pause aimed to bring aid to Oleshky and evacuate residents from the city in Ukraine’s Kherson region.
Melania Trump said the evacuation operations were a success, and Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said nearly 800 people had been evacuated.
Ukraine’s military said Russia used the pause to rotate troops, reinforce positions, add anti-drone defenses and deliver ammunition around Oleshky.
Newsweek said it could not independently verify Ukraine’s military claims and had asked Russia’s Defense Ministry for comment.
Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova said mines were cleared from roads before an aid convoy reached the city on Friday.
Oleshky has been under Russian control since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Evacuees traveled through Crimea and Russia to Belarus before crossing back into northern Ukraine, according to the article.
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Jordan’s King Abdullah II said the country would confront terrorism after an attack on a church in Karak killed nine people and wounded dozens. In a parliamentary address, he also warned about regional tensions, raised concerns over Jordan’s water security, and urged lawmakers and officials to serve the public interest.
Key Facts
The attack on a church in the southern city of Karak occurred about two weeks before Abdullah’s address and killed nine people, wounding dozens.
Abdullah said Jordan would confront terrorism through national unity and public awareness, supported by the army and security services.
The king asked lawmakers to observe a minute of silence for the victims.
Abdullah called Israeli expansionist ambitions the greatest threat to the region’s future and security.
He said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continued and that assaults persisted in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Abdullah pledged to protect Jordan’s scarce water supplies and said Jordanians’ access to water would not be held hostage by any party.
He told lawmakers that differences of opinion could strengthen the country if they served Jordan’s interests, and urged the government to improve living conditions.
Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, and millions of Jordanian citizens are of Palestinian origin.
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