October 2026 news

Elon Musk and other donors put $94 million into a House Republican effort, according to The New York Times.

Kiran Kaur, the mother of Henry Nowak’s killer, could be released early, the BBC reports. She was found guilty of assisting an offender and jailed for three years in July.

Dr Stephen Brearey, the lead neonatal consultant at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked, regrets not going to police earlier about her.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has protested Formula 1’s decision to stage its return-to-Africa race in Rwanda, as the sport prepares to return to the continent for the first time since 1993. Deutsche Welle reports concerns that Rwanda could use the event for sportswashing, alongside hopes that its legacy could benefit wider African society.

US senators from both parties are calling for an investigation into the interruption of Starlink service in Ukraine. The New York Times reports they asked the Pentagon inspector general to examine whether the Trump administration was responsible; the BBC says Ukraine says temporary speed limits disrupted its battlefield missions.

Chinese scientists have unearthed what the South China Morning Post describes as the earliest known flightless bird: a 150-million-year-old Late Jurassic avialan, Yuezhuornis yangyuanensis. The discovery could challenge the assumption that flightlessness arose only after birds evolved flight. This follows reports that some Jurassic-period birds were flightless and that they showed early ecological diversity among avialans.

During his defense in the İBB case, Ekrem İmamoğlu said they had identified a total of $2.5 billion in public losses across 33 files concerning the municipality’s period under AKP administration, according to BBC Turkish.

The Jillaroos began their Women’s Rugby League World Cup defence with a 40-0 win over Fetu Samoa in Sydney. The Guardian reports that Jocelyn Kelleher kicked six conversions on her debut at five-eighth, while some Samoan players were in tears during the anthem.

Journalist Murat Ağırel was detained again while under house arrest, BBC Turkish reports. He was under house arrest over broadcasts concerning the fund crisis, on a charge of publicly disseminating misleading information.

Journalist and Halk TV writer Bahadır Özgür was released after being detained on Oct. 15 over an accusation that his reporting on a fund scandal violated the confidentiality of an investigation, BBC Turkish reports.

France 24 reports that poverty in France is at its highest level in decades and that hunger is on the rise. Its headline frames the trend as a consequence of Macron’s trickle-down economics.

The IMF suggested the UK cut spending rather than raise taxes on banks as John Healey prepared his 28 October budget, The Guardian's live coverage reports. The Guardian had earlier reported Healey was poised to tax banks to help offset the Middle East war's damage to public finances. Its live coverage also cited an IG analyst who called a bank-tax risk a base case, saying Lloyds and NatWest would likely be most affected, Barclays partly exposed and HSBC least exposed.

Calls are growing in London to limit the rollout of robotaxis, as Uber drivers worry about their future and politicians seek more licensing power for Transport for London (TfL). The Guardian reports that a protest is planned at Wayve’s headquarters and that more than 100,000 people in London are on Uber’s waitlist after the first UK robotaxi services started in September.

Taha Çakmak, general manager of Türkiye Sigorta, has resigned, according to BBC Turkish. The outlet says journalist İsmail Saymaz had reported that Çakmak was being held responsible for the loss of 100 million Turkish lira belonging to Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik in a Tera fund.

Britain’s longest-running live art festival, Fierce, has returned to Birmingham for a week of performances in theatres and unconventional venues, especially in Digbeth. Launched in 1998, this year’s program includes late-night artist dinners, a show in a swimming pool and a six-hour performance jam at a gothic hall said to have inspired Cluedo. The Guardian also highlights a virtual-reality gay sauna and Faye Driscoll’s rotating disintegration.

Two people died after a ship caught fire and sank in the Black Sea, The Hindu reports. The cause was not given, and authorities did not answer questions about whether a drone was involved. This follows ABC News reports that Bulgaria suspected Russia was behind Black Sea strikes as rescue operations continued.

The Guardian reports that US Vice-President JD Vance is trying to court voters by following Donald Trump’s playbook, attacking Democrats, attempting jokes and swearing more. Its coverage asks whether Vance’s efforts are aimed at the midterms or a 2028 campaign.

FIFA council members have urged president Gianni Infantino to abolish or depoliticise the peace prize after it was awarded to US President Donald Trump. The Guardian reports that FIFA’s football social responsibility committee will recommend changes before the council’s next meeting in Doha on December 16; Trump is likely to remain the only political leader to receive the prize.

Singapore has identified seven companies it says were involved in wildfires in Indonesia and plans to issue them notices requiring preventive measures, according to the South China Morning Post, citing the Business Times. The Guardian reports that Singapore is threatening to prosecute companies responsible for some of Indonesia’s worst fires in years; Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the government was distributing masks to vulnerable citizens and exploring joint action with regional countries. The Japan Times says toxic smog from Indonesia’s severe wildfire season has blanketed Singapore and neighboring Malaysia for weeks. This follows reports of orange skies and haze across Indonesia, with smoke blanketing Singapore.

UK booksellers are rushing to stock Sally Rooney’s novels before distributors run out, France 24 reports, after she announced that her books could no longer be sold in the country because of her support for Palestine Action. The Financial Times says Rooney’s decision to halt sales is not a ban on her books and has focused attention on the group’s proscription and perceived shortcomings in the Terrorism Act. The Guardian calls her stand brave and humane and says she pledged royalties from her books and their BBC adaptations to support Palestine Action.