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Alaska Senate candidate denies knowing about alleged plot to put two Dan Sullivans on ballot

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 13:46:16 GMT

Getty Images

Mary Peltola, Democratic Senate candidate for Alaska

Ana Faguy

17 minutes ago

Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola has denied she knew anything about an alleged "scheme" that led to two men named Dan Sullivan standing in the Alaska Senate race.

The denial comes as the Trump administration continues to escalate a criminal investigation into the matter, according to US media. The Republican governor of the state ordered an official inquiry earlier this week.

Dan S Sullivan, the incumbent Republican senator running for re-election, and allies have accused the Democrats of trying to confuse voters.

The Alaska race is considered by analysts to be one of the tightest of the upcoming US midterm elections, which will decide which party controls Congress.

"I just want to clear the air," Peltola said while speaking to voters on Thursday. "I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters."

Both Dan Sullivans have been running for the open Senate seat for some time. Still, controversy erupted earlier this week when The New York Times, external reported that Peltola's team worked with people who tried to recruit spoiler candidates in the Senate race.

The Times's report alleged that people connected to Peltola's campaign, as well as senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), worked to try to recruit Dan J Sullivan, a retired teacher who lives in a remote fishing village, to stand in the Senate race.

The paper said it had seen text messages and interviewed 12 people who participated in or were told of the plan, or were would-be candidates who the team tried to recruit. The BBC has not independently verified the reporting.

The Peltola campaign has denied those reports and Sullivan has denied any links to the campaign.

But those denials have not stopped the US Department of Justice and Republicans from attacking Peltola.

The justice department has begun issuing subpoenas targeting Democratic officials allegedly connected to the effort to recruit Dan J Sullivan to be on the Alaska ballot, according to CBS News, the BBC's US news partner.

No charges have been filed as of Friday morning.

The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit last week aimed at preventing the certification of the result if the Trump-backed Sullivan loses, arguing that the presence of both of them on the ballot could confuse voters.

On Wednesday, the justice department amended its lawsuit to include the reporting by the Times, citing significant sections of the story as well as Governor Mike Dunleavy's announcement of an investigation.

The legal action comes days before voters across the US head to the polls. This race in Alaska is among the closest-watched in the country, as it could be the deciding factor in who controls the Senate.

The non-partisan Cook Political Report currently classifies the race as a toss-up.

US inmate Christa Pike says she woke up 'confused and in pain' after failed execution

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 13:41:57 GMT

Reuters

30 October 2026, 13:28 GMT

Updated 21 minutes ago

US death row inmate Christa Pike has released her first public statement since her botched execution in September.

"There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain," she said in a statement released by her legal team on social media on Friday.

"My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul."

Pike, 50, was discharged from hospital at the end of last month after surviving two lethal injections of the drug pentobarbital, which left her in a critical condition.

She has since been sent back to the prison where she has spent the last 30 years for murdering Colleen Slemmer in 1995.

Pike is thought to be the only person to have survived an execution attempt by lethal injection.

Her lawyers previously said she had suffered from pneumonia following the attempted execution, had significant swelling on her arms and was also unable to swallow.

"I am recovering, and I know that I am getting stronger," she said in her statement on Friday. "But healing is not the same as being okay."

Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and killed 19-year-old Slemmer, whom they had met at a job training camp for low-income young people.

Shipp was spared the death penalty because he was not legally an adult when the crime was committed. He remains in prison.

Spain transport minister says he won't resign over high-speed rail disaster

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 13:03:34 GMT

EPA

Angus Thompson

1 hour ago

Spain's transport minister says he won't resign over the high-speed rail collision that has left at least 69 people dead.

Óscar Puente told a news conference in Madrid he had "nothing to hide" while repeating the government's vow to get to the bottom of the disaster, saying many questions needed to be answered.

"My duty right now is not to talk about whether I should remain in my position, but to resolve the problem," Puente said.

The transport minister has been facing calls to step down in the aftermath of the tragedy, including from political rivals, a trade union and demonstrators who protested outside the transport ministry on Wednesday night.

Dozens were killed and many more injured when a state-operated Renfe high-speed train smashed into the back of another stationary train operated by the Iryo company near the town of Urda, in the central Toledo province, on Wednesday morning.

A preliminary report released by transport investigators late on Thursday found the Renfe train was travelling between 160km/h (99.4mph) and 200km/h when the collision occurred, causing its front carriage to become embedded in the tail of the stationary train.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said earlier on Friday that public trust in Spain's high-speed rail network had been broken and repeated it was "unacceptable" that there had been two similar tragedies within a year.

In January a collision on the same Madrid-Seville route killed 46 people in Adamuz in southern Spain.

Wednesday's tragedy was one of the worst rail disasters in Europe's modern history, and Spain's worst crash since 2013.

Puente said on Wednesday a computer failure at about 08:30 that morning led to the initial halt of six moving trains, including the two trains that subsequently collided.

Leaked audio recordings published in Spanish media revealed conversations between train drivers and a control centre just minutes before the crash.

AFP via Getty Images

Three audio recordings between Madrid's control centre and two train drivers appear to show that one high-speed train was given clearance to move even though another train had stalled on the track, about 25km (15 miles) ahead.

Puente had said that the decision to instruct the trains to move again, without any speed restrictions, was "inexplicable".

The leaking of the audio recordings has been criticised by some Spanish politicians, with Alberto Ibáñez, a member of Congress for the left-wing Sumar platform, writing on X that they were "despicable".

Meanwhile, Irene Montero - the prime ministerial candidate for the left-wing Podemos party - said responsibility for the crash should not be placed on one worker, adding that train drivers and experts have been warning against the liberalisation of the railway sector for years.

On Friday Puente said he was "not going to use any worker as a shield".

But he said "many questions" arose as a result of the tragedy and he wanted to look at them "one by one".

"If the investigation shows there is human error we will act in consequence of that," he said.

The country is observing three days of mourning, as the families of victims and the survivors of the crash struggle to comprehend how it could have happened.

The conservative People's Party joined calls for Puente's resignation after trade union CSIF called for the same earlier this week.

But Puente said on Friday he would not budge from his position.

"The easy thing for me would be to leave, but neither that fits with my character nor is it what the Prime Minister has asked me to do," he said.

"I feel immense pain and immense sadness for the victims and their relatives... I cannot let this pain paralyse me though. We have to find solutions to this problem."

Additional reporting by Sergi Forcada Freixas

Swedish academic says he has been barred from UK over event with Palestine Action founder

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:36:55 GMT

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Andreas Malm said he had been notified by the Home Office that he would not be allowed into the UK

Maia Davies

1 hour ago

A Swedish climate academic says he has been barred from entering the UK because he was due to speak on a panel with a co-founder of Palestine Action.

Andreas Malm told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he had received a letter from the Home Office notifying him that his presence was "not conducive to the public good", with no further details given.

He said he could not "see any other explanation" for being denied entry than his scheduled appearance with Huda Ammori, a founder of the group, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.

The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases.

Malm is a senior lecturer in human ecology at Sweden's Lund University, whose work includes the 2021 book How to Blow up a Pipeline and 2025's The Destruction of Palestine is the Destruction of the Earth.

He said he had asked the Home Office to explain its decision, but could not see a reason beyond the upcoming talk in London with Ammori organised by the left-wing magazine Tribune - calling the move a "severe restriction on the free exchange of ideas".

Malm said he was not a member of Palestine Action, had never publicly endorsed it, nor had he given it any financial support.

"The only link to Palestine Action is her as a person," he said, criticising the UK government for ascribing "guilt by association".

The academic acknowledged that he had previously described the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel - in which about 1,200 people were killed and another 251 taken hostage - as "fundamentally an act of liberation".

Malm said it was possible that these remarks, during a December 2023 talk in which he also condemned the "deplorable" killing of civilians in the cross-border attack, had been the reason for the Home Office's decision.

But he argued that these views had been in the public realm for a long time, including when he was last allowed into the UK to deliver a talk in May.

"I don't expect the British state to agree with me on Palestine or climate or anything. What I expect the British state to do is to continue to let me enter the country and to discuss with colleagues, with people who disagree with me - as I have done for years."

Sally Rooney books withdrawn in UK over Palestine Action support

The UK Supreme Court is due to review Palestine Action's controversial ban under terrorism legislation. The Home Office has said that it will robustly defend against the appeal.

More than 3,700 people are believed to have been arrested in the UK over alleged support of the group. About 2,500 have been charged, though none have gone to trial as the legal challenge to the proscription continues.

The government has broad discretion to bar foreign nationals from entering the UK if their presence is deemed to pose a risk to society.

In April, 11 people described by then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as "far-right agitators" were banned from entering the UK ahead of a rally led by Tommy Robinson.

Kanye West was also denied entry that same month after backlash to his planned set at London's Wireless Festival, following a string of antisemitic, racist and pro-Nazi comments. He had previously apologised for the remarks and said his bipolar disorder had caused him to lose "touch with reality".

Left-wing political commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur claimed in June that their visas had been revoked ahead of planned appearances in London and Oxford, allegedly "for criticising Israel".

What we know about Binance's $6.3bn hack

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:27:28 GMT

What we know about Binance's $6.3bn hack

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Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, has been hit by a $6.3bn (£4.7bn) hack - thought to be the biggest in history.

Half of the assets have been frozen but many remain in the hands of the hackers, the cryptocurrency giant said. It later added that it has "begun recovering" some funds.

Two analytics firms have attributed the incident to a North Korean hacking unit, though no one has claimed responsibility. Binance did not directly respond to questions about the incident's potential links to North Korea.

BBC cyber correspondent Joe Tidy explains more about the hack and what to do if you are affected.

Follow our live coverage of the hack.

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Business

1 hour ago

Residents leave devastated Russian-occupied Oleshky as evacuation corridor opens

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:25:53 GMT

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Watch: How will the evacuation of Oleshky unfold?

Dan Johnsonin KyivOlga Malchevska and Laura Gozzi

30 October 2026, 10:32 GMT

Updated 1 hour ago

The evacuation of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky is under way, Russian and Ukrainian authorities have confirmed.

A ceasefire, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, has been in force in the entire frontline region of Kherson since Tuesday, allowing for the road out of Oleshky to be demined.

Residents of Oleshky who wished to leave had a four-hour window to do so. A convoy of 25 buses was brought in to allow up to 750 people to leave the town until 14:00 (12:00 GMT), along with ambulances for people with limited mobility.

Several hundred people are understood to have decided to stay, despite the widespread devastation and the lack of gas, electricity and running water.

"Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will be given the opportunity to do so safely," Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.

"At the same time, those who decide to remain will be able to stay and will receive all the necessary humanitarian assistance."

Ukrainian territory lies 5km (3.1miles) from Oleshky, but the evacuees will first have to travel into Russian-occupied territory and then to the southern Russian city of Anapa.

They will board a Russian government plane to Gomel in Belarus, and then drive across the border into Ukraine's Chernihiv region.

Others are expected to choose to stay in Russian-occupied territory.

Kyrylo Budanov/Telegram

Oleshky residents have a four-hour window to board buses to be evacuated to either Russia or Ukraine

Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova travelled to Oleshky together on Friday, setting off from Armiansk, in the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.

Lubinets is the first Ukrainian official since the start of the war to visit Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. He will also become the first to visit Russia when he escorts the evacuees back into Ukraine on Saturday.

The Oleshky ceasefire has required close cooperation with Lantratova, which Lubinets said he carried out in the interests of saving lives.

But some in Ukraine have recoiled at the sight of him standing beside a representative of the Russian occupying power which has killed so many of the city's residents and made life unbearable for the rest.

Reuters

Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova spoke to journalists before arriving in Oleshky

Both Lubinets and Lantratova posted videos from Oleshky on their social media channels, saying people were given the chance to form two groups depending on whether they wanted to be taken to Russian-controlled territory or to Ukraine.

In one video, Lubinets can be seen meeting tearful locals. "The problem is that a lot of people are staying," he can be heard saying. "I was told that it was their own choice, we will do everything possible for the humanitarian aid to arrive."

Russia said on Thursday that it had prepared "dozens of tonnes" of aid for the residents who do not wish to leave, including food, medicine, hygiene products and fuel for generators.

An Oleshky resident told the BBC she had decided against leaving because "they wouldn't take my animals, so that's it."

Olena, who now lives in Kyiv, said her grandmother and wider family in Oleshky were also staying behind.

"The older generation does not want to leave," she told the BBC. "I've barely managed to persuade my father - and only because I've just had a baby, who he would never see otherwise."

Olena's grandmother's sister died in Oleshky last winter.

"She lost her legs after stepping on a landmine, covered in snow... People took her to the hospital in a garden wheelbarrow," Olena said.

"That's how locals transport all wounded and dead people in Oleshky to the hospital and the hospital's morgue: in garden wheelbarrows."

The ceasefire is due to be in force until the end of Sunday 1 November. It has provided the first few days of peace in the Kherson region since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Residents of Kherson told the BBC they were "overjoyed" by the ceasefire. However, they are concerned the truce has given Russia time to build up its military presence on the banks of the Dnipro river, which could result in a renewed assault once the ceasefire expires.

On Friday, the Kremlin made it clear that the success of the Oleshky ceasefire should not be interpreted as willingness to extend the truce to the rest of Ukraine.

A handful of foreign journalists have been invited to witness the evacuation of the town, which Moscow is expected to present as a humanitarian mission conducted with mercy to protect the people of Oleshky.

Many Ukrainians suspect Russia's real intention is to earn credit with the White House, and to provide US President Donald Trump with a boost ahead of next week's midterm elections.

China denies allegations of spy operation targeting Nvidia CEO

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:20:04 GMT

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang reportedly developed a close relationship with Singaporean businesswoman Alice Wang

Julianna Khan

1 hour ago

China has rejected allegations of a Chinese espionage operation targeting Nvidia's chief executive, Jensen Huang, describing the claims as "groundless speculation".

US intelligence officials believe that Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman linked to Singapore-based data centre firm Megaspeed, was gathering information for Beijing on the US chip-making giant, according to a report by The New York Times, external.

The report said Alice Huang, who is of no relation to Jensen Huang, was under investigation over the possible diversion of advanced Nvidia AI chips to China and had developed a close relationship with Jensen.

Nvidia said their interactions were routine business engagements, while Beijing accused Washington of attempting to smear China. Alice Huang did not respond to the paper's request for comment.

The BBC has contacted Megaspeed and the White House for comment.

US intelligence agencies had been monitoring Alice Huang and concluded that she was acting on behalf of the Chinese government, according to unnamed sources cited by The New York Times.

Surveillance reportedly revealed communications between Alice Huang and an American citizen, who was subsequently identified as Jensen Huang through a process known as "unmasking".

It remains unclear what information Alice Huang - who is also known as Huang Le - allegedly passed to Beijing, how valuable it was, or when she is believed to have begun gathering intelligence.

At a regular briefing on Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said: "The report in question is based on groundless speculation and is nothing more than an attempt to smear China."

The paper's report comes amid longstanding US concerns about China's access to advanced computing technology, which is considered crucial to developing artificial intelligence systems.

Jensen Huang has argued that allowing Nvidia to sell more of its products to China is important for maintaining US competitiveness in the global AI industry.

But Washington has restricted exports of the most advanced Nvidia chips to China since 2022, citing national security concerns and the risk that the technology could strengthen China's military operations. There have however been some loosening of restrictions during Trump's administration.

US officials said they had caught several firms illegally trafficking the chips across the Chinese border. They have also investigated whether companies operating through third countries are helping Chinese businesses access the restricted technology.

Nvidia has said it complies with applicable export laws and that there is no evidence its chips have been smuggled into China.

In response to the allegations made by the Times, John Rizzo, a spokesman for Nvidia, said: "Jensen's interactions with Ms Huang are not unusual or unexpected".

He said customers like Megaspeed "receive ordinary business information - not sensitive Nvidia trade secrets - and zero information relevant to national security."

He added that allegations the Singaporean company was smuggling chips to China "were thoroughly investigated and debunked last year".

Megaspeed told the paper its current leadership took the allegations seriously and had appointed external legal advisers to conduct an internal investigation. The company also said it had informed the US government that it was willing to cooperate.

It is unclear how closely Alice Huang remains involved with Megaspeed.

Google value plunges by $500bn as its own AI search hits ad sales

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:04:02 GMT

EPA

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has backed the company's massive spending on AI.

Kali HaysTechnology reporter and Mitchell LabiakBusiness reporter

29 October 2026

Updated 1 hour ago

Google-owner Alphabet lost just over $500bn (£374bn) in value on Thursday after it revealed its own artificial intelligence (AI) summaries were hitting search advertising revenue.

Chief business officer Philipp Schindler said Google's "AI mode", where it answers questions conversationally, was eating into the money it makes from ads which appear next to results to traditional search questions.

Yet, Schindler said he felt "very good about our trajectory" with an AI-focused version of the search engine.

Google's role in answering the world's questions has been challenged by the AI boom, with millions of people using programs such as ChatGPT and Claude instead.

Kim Scott, who formerly led Google's advertising business, told the BBC's Today programme that the company would "rather eat its own lunch than allow someone else to eat their lunch" by having its own AI summaries hit its search revenue.

She said that Google was founded on the idea of making long-term bets on technology – even if they hurt the firm in the short term.

"I think they're making a long-term bet on AI," she said.

In its results published on Wednesday, Alphabet revealed that total revenue grew 25% in the three months to the end of September, compared to the same period last year, hitting $127.6bn.

However, the firm did not make as much money as analysts had predicted, particularly in its advertising arm, which spooked many investors.

Shares in the company plummeted over 12% to a six-month low following the release of the results.

By the end of Thursday, the company's total stock market value had fallen to $3.46 trillion from $3.97 trillion the day before.

Investors not buying Amazon's trillion-dollar business hopes

Microsoft and Amazon also issued updates this week, and joined Google in plans to keep spending huge sums of cash in the ongoing AI race.

But investors appeared dismayed at the impacts these plans are having on the ability of each to keep growing their core lines of business.

Amazon's stock took a hit on Thursday , with its shares falling 6% in after-hours trading.

Alongside quarterly sales growth of 11%, hitting $201bn, the company shared a staggering cash flow figure of negative $42bn.

That number shows that Amazon is not only spending more money than it makes, but that spending has increased six-fold over the span of three months.

Chief executive Andy Jassy claimed the business was spending in part because it had the chance at, not one, but two businesses that could end up bringing in $1 trillion for Amazon the future.

Jassy did not specify what two Amazon businesses those may be. But during a call with financial analysts he repeatedly mentioned the financial opportunity presented by Amazon making and selling its own computer chips, as well as its AI developer platform Bedrock, which offers paying users access to most major AI models and tools.

"One of the lessons we've learned over 20-plus years is that there is not one tool to rule the world," Jassy said. "People always assume whatever is in the lead early on will be the only thing that people use - it's never true."

As Jassy was asked several times to explain the company's spending, he admitted it "would be more convenient" if it were spread over the next 25 years. "That's not the world we live in," he added.

"We can fund this plan, and I think it will forever change the size, the revenue, the free cash flow of Amazon."

Microsoft begs the question of AI's real value

Wall Street's reaction to Microsoft's update was more muted, with shares falling by less than 1% on Thursday.

The company, which is also one of OpenAI's largest investors, spent around $5bn less on investments dedicated to AI. It also revealed earlier this week plans to cut thousands of workers, which will further reduce the company's costs.

Meanwhile, its revenue grew 19% from a year earlier, hitting $92.3bn for the quarter. Its crucial cloud business grew by 30% to $63bn.

Chief executive Satya Nadella said the use of Copilot, Microsoft's AI chatbot and tool, has seen "automated tasks nearly double since July" as daily users grew by 500% from a year ago.

Usually lower spending and growing sales earns a positive reaction from investors.

But Woo said Wall Street is trying to look farther into the future when it comes to which businesses will truly make good on their big promises around AI.

"Microsoft's results reinforce that enterprise demand for AI remains strong, but they also highlight a much bigger question facing the technology industry, where AI value will ultimately be captured," Woo said.

Helicopter carrying six people crashes in northern Indian state

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 10:07:58 GMT

AFP via Getty Images

A file photo of Joshimath town, near the site where the helicopter went missing

Zoya Mateen & Nikita Yadav

BBC News, Delhi

3 hours ago

A search for survivors is under way after a helicopter carrying six people, including five pilgrims, crashed in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials say.

Uttarakhand's Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the helicopter had crashed near a village close to Joshimath in Chamoli district. Rescue teams have been dispatched to the mountainous area, but the condition of those on board remains unclear.

The aircraft reportedly took off from the Hindu pilgrimage site of Badrinath on Friday afternoon before losing contact.

The cause of the crash is also not yet known. The incident happened amid reports of heavy rain and poor visibility in the region.

Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state which borders China and Nepal, is home to some of Hinduism's holiest shrines and attracts millions of pilgrims every year.

Badrinath is one of four sacred sites on the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit, alongside Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. Many devotees travel through steep Himalayan valleys to reach the temples, which are open for only part of the year because of harsh winter conditions.

LightRocket via Getty Images

Badrinath is one of four temple towns along the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage route

Helicopter services have become increasingly popular among pilgrims seeking to avoid difficult mountain journeys, but their safety has come under scrutiny following a series of accidents.

Friday's incident happened amid heavy rain in the region. India's weather department had issued an orange alert for the area, warning of thunderstorms, hail and strong winds.

Dhami said, external a joint rescue operation was under way involving the district administration, disaster management department and State Disaster Response Force.

"I am continuously monitoring the entire incident," he added.

Dhami also said he had ordered that anyone seriously injured be airlifted for treatment.

In June 2025, seven people were killed when a helicopter carrying pilgrims crashed near Kedarnath. Another seven died in a crash on the same pilgrimage route in October 2022.

Several other helicopter accidents were reported during the 2025 pilgrimage season, prompting aviation authorities to tighten safety checks and restrict some operations.

How Kenyans got caught in $130m US ghost student scam

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 08:32:35 GMT

Getty Images

US Assistant Attorney General Colin M McDonald vowed to pursue all those involved

Ondiro Oganga

Nairobi

30 October 2026, 07:06 GMT

Updated 5 hours ago

In May 2024, Francis Mogambi arrived in the United States after winning the Diversity Visa lottery, a programme that gives people from around the world a chance to become permanent residents.

Just over two years later, the Kenyan national found himself at the centre of a US investigation into an alleged nationwide scheme to defraud the federal student aid system.

On 19 October 2026, a grand jury in Nebraska indicted Mogambi on five counts of theft of government money and five counts of aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors allege that, between November 2025 and May 2026, he worked with associates in Kenya to steal the identities of US citizens and use them to fraudulently enroll fictitious students in American colleges.

Once the fake students were enrolled, Mogambi allegedly diverted their financial aid payments to himself, keeping 30% and sending the remainder to his associates in Kenya.

The intended loss in his case was $20,000 (£15,000), according to prosecutors.

Court documents say Mogambi received $2,000 a week and attempted to recruit another person into the scheme. He allegedly told the individual he needed a business that would allow him to cash larger cheques without paying taxes.

Mogambi was arrested shortly after the indictment was returned and is being held in custody pending trial. He has not yet commented on the allegations against him.

His case forms part of a wider US investigation, dubbed Operation Ghostbusters, into the alleged use of stolen identities to enrol fictitious students at colleges and claim federal financial aid that resulted in a loss of $130m in taxpayers funds.

US authorities say the investigation has so far resulted in five indictments that involved Kenyan nationals, while a further 40 investigations remain open. Hundreds of people have been affected after fraudsters allegedly stole their personally identifiable information (PII) and used it to access federal student aid.

The stolen personal information was sometimes sold online for between $4 and $8, with fraudsters targeting low-income Americans who had never had the opportunity to attend college.

At a news conference on 29 October announcing the first charges in the investigation, Assistant Attorney General Colin M McDonald, who heads the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, vowed to pursue those involved.

"If you steal taxpayers' dollars, if you exploit a programme meant to help students, we are resolved to find you and prosecute you," he said.

The Justice Department says those behind the fraud use what is described as "super intelligence" to place fake students in classrooms and complete coursework, creating the impression that they are attending college and allowing financial aid payments to continue.

"The goal is to keep the ghost student in school as long as possible. Semester after semester after semester stealing money from the taxpayers," McDonald said.

But the consequences extend beyond the financial losses suffered by the US government.

People whose identities are stolen can find themselves facing unexpected student loan debts, even if they have never enrolled in college.

"His identity was stolen, his credit is now at risk, and his name is on the bill," McDonald said, describing the impact on one victim.

He also said that nearly a third of community college applicants in California in 2024 had been identified as fraudulent.

The scale of the suspected fraud is significant.

Investigators identified 830,840 potentially fraudulent Federal Student Aid identification numbers associated with nearly $130m in September and October 2026. They recommended that the Department of Education disable them.

The figure represents financial aid associated with potentially fraudulent accounts, not confirmed losses.

"In a flash, the money vanishes, often overseas in places like Kenya," McDonald said.

The investigation has also exposed alleged financial links between the US and Kenya.

In September, US officials travelled to Kenya to work with local law enforcement on extraditions, prosecutions and the recovery of money allegedly stolen from American taxpayers.

With the help of Kenyan investigators, US authorities seized more than $750,000 from a cryptocurrency account belonging to a Kenyan national connected to the wider scheme. The Justice Department described it as the first international seizure of its kind in Kenya.

The seizure was not connected to Mogambi's individual case.

In a separate case in Virginia, prosecutors allege that a Kenyan national received more than 700 fraudulent student-aid refunds totalling approximately $1.44m. At least $1.3m was subsequently transferred through thousands of transactions to accounts in the US and Kenya.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, three people have been charged with allegedly acting as money mules in a scheme to obtain more than $1m in federal student aid.

Prosecutors say they received the funds through US bank accounts, kept a portion for themselves and transferred the remainder to alleged co-conspirators in Kenya linked to a purported safari company.

If convicted, Mogambi faces a mandatory prison term of at least 10 years, according to the Justice Department.

Authorities say those convicted will also face appropriate orders for forfeiture of assets and restitution to victims, in addition to any prison sentences.

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Human rights lawyer couple sentenced to 10 years' prison in Pakistan

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 07:53:38 GMT

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Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha are prominent human rights lawyers who have represented activists, journalists and marginalised communities

Julianna Khan

6 hours ago

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has sentenced human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison, over an alleged security breach during a cricket tour in 2024.

The couple were accused of removing road barriers and obstructing police officers in Islamabad - charges that both have denied.

Mazari and Chattha were previously sentenced to up to 17 years in prison for social media posts criticising the military.

Pakistan's Supreme Court had suspended those sentences in August, but police re-arrested the couple before they could be released. They have been imprisoned in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail for the past several months.

This latest case concerns an incident on 25 October 2024, when England's cricket team was touring Pakistan.

Prosecutors accused Mazari and Chattha of removing barriers from a road designated for the team's security convoy and obstructing police officers at Zero Point, a major cloverleaf road junction in Islamabad.

They were each sentenced to 10 years in prison under the Anti-Terrorism Act, as well as additional one-year and two-year terms for obstructing and using force against public servants. All sentences will run concurrently.

The court also fined each of them 200,000 Pakistani Rupees (£541:$723).

In statements recorded during the trial, the couple described themselves as "prisoners of conscience" who had faced state persecution.

"I am being punished for not only supporting my wife's work and activism, but for choosing this path of resisting injustice as our life journey together," Chatta said in his statement to Dawn News.

The couple had earlier said that they were "being made an example to further cement the chilling effect against those who stand (or want to stand) against tyranny, oppression, and injustice".

Amnesty International has criticised the proceedings, saying the couple were denied an open and fair trial.

"These convictions are an indictment of Pakistan's justice system." said Yasmine Ahmed, Amnesty International's Senior Director for Regional Human Rights Impact.

"Imaan and Hadi are being targeted solely because of their refusal to stop their fearless human rights work and for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly."

The organisation also raised concerns that the trial had been moved inside the prison, where Mazari and Chattha were kept behind a cage-like structure during hearings.

The couple have faced several criminal cases in recent months.

They have been in custody since 23 January, when they were arrested in a separate case involving an alleged altercation outside the Islamabad High Court. A day later, they were sentenced to up to 17 years in prison under Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act over social media posts critical of the military.

Pakistan's Supreme Court suspended those sentences and granted them bail on 17 September - but they were arrested again the same day in connection with a separate case over a protest in March 2025, in which they were accused of chanting "anti-government slogans" and "blocking roads".

Mazari and Chattha are prominent human rights lawyers who have represented activists, journalists and marginalised communities subjected to enforced disappearances.

Mazari's mother, Shireen Mazari, is a former human rights minister who served in the government of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan.

The couple's convictions have long drawn criticism from international human rights organisations, which have raised concerns about the treatment of lawyers and activists in Pakistan.

'I made the wrong decision,' Hyrox athlete who soiled herself in race tells BBC

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 07:33:27 GMT

'I made the wrong decision,' Hyrox athlete who soiled herself in race tells BBC

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Australian Hyrox athlete Joanna Wietrzyk says she made the wrong decision when she continued to race after soiling herself during a competition in Beijing.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, she suggested her determination to win the race in September had clouded her judgement.

Roughly halfway through her event last month, Wietrzyk suffered a bout of diarrhoea and images of faecal matter on parts of her body were widely shared online.

"I didn't really think about those around me… the decision that I made in hindsight was the wrong decision and I'm truly sorry for everyone that I did affect," the athlete told the BBC.

She also talked about the effect of the social media reaction after the incident, saying she should not have received "such backlash", and that she is "only human".

Syrians struggle with soaring prices as crisis challenges post-Assad recovery

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 06:02:23 GMT

Neha Sharma/BBC

Many Syrians say their economic situation has worsened in the last two years amid a cost-of-living crisis

Hugo Bachega

Middle East correspondentDamascus, Syria

8 hours ago

Last month, protests erupted in squares and streets across Syria. People burned tyres, blocked roads and chanted slogans, angry at the government's decision to raise fuel prices again. It was the largest show of discontent yet since President Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power two years ago.

Speaking on a Syrian TV channel, a man said he still supported the authorities but that his situation had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer afford to buy bread. "Honestly," another said, "we have begun to fear what kind of new decision each morning will bring".

The increase was the latest in a series of measures people blame for a growing cost-of-living crisis. For many Syrians, life, financially, has worsened since rebels led by Sharaa ousted President Bashar al-Assad, ending five decades of his family's brutal rule and more than 13 years of a devastating civil war.

Catapulted to the presidency, Sharaa has, since then, led Syria's transition and efforts to revive a broken economy after a long period of mismanagement, isolation and conflict.

There was never any doubt about how challenging this would be. But as they celebrated Assad's overthrow and their new freedoms, Syrians, perhaps unrealistically, hoped things would quickly improve. That, however, has not materialised, and the handling of the economy has frustrated many here.

From essential bills to basic items, the cost of virtually everything has gone up. And many saw a further and unexpected rise in fuel prices as a sign of a government out of touch with its country. "We don't want roundabouts. Every day they build a new roundabout. People stood by you and are still with you," another protester said, addressing Sharaa, "but this will [make] things explode".

Days later, amid calls for further demonstrations, the increase was revoked.

Neha Sharma/BBC

"We eat more sparingly now. We no longer buy chicken once a week," Fatima Saleh Eid says

In a suburb of Damascus, I joined Fatima Saleh Eid at an open-air market for her weekly shop. At 50, she works as a cleaner to help support her family. "We've suffered a lot," she said. Her husband had recently been hired by a ceramic factory after a year unemployed. He is among the lucky ones, as many are struggling to find work. In some streets, men gather in the hope of meeting someone offering a day job; often, they wait in vain.

Since coming to power, the government has slashed long-held subsidies as part of an austerity drive. The price of bread, a Syrian staple, has increased tenfold. Fuel prices are now in line with the international average, which has put pressure on farmers and made transportation more expensive, while the cost of electricity has gone up several hundred per cent for some.

The authorities, in response, have adjusted public sector wages, including pensions; unsurprisingly, the effect of the additional pay for people has been lost as prices keep rising.

"We eat more sparingly now. We can't afford chicken anymore nor meat. We only eat vegetables but even [that is] expensive," Fatima said. "Inshallah [God willing] things will get cheaper."

As she spoke, around a dozen people, of all ages, gathered around us. Nobody disagreed. One elderly man also said he had stopped eating meat. Another, in his 20s, told me his family were no longer able to pay the medicine for his father, who had a heart condition. One young woman said she and her four children could only afford to have a proper meal every two days.

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Marwan Bashour, a 68-year-old pensioner, said his monthly pay was around $90 (£70), which is the public sector minimum wage. "It's not enough at all," he said.

The United Nations Development Programme said 90% of Syrians were in poverty last year. Marwan told me how he made ends meet. "Sometimes I borrow money, sometimes I sell things from my house," he said, "like an old pot or plates that we never used, gifts that were given to us. I've even had to sell furniture".

There have been other pressures too. Like many Syrians, Marwan used to rely on help from aid agencies. But, for him, that has stopped, as organisations have been forced to cut back services because of funding cuts. Syria has also not been immune to the impact of the US-Iran war. The government said the fuel increase that led to the protests was, in part, due to the pressure on energy markets because of the conflict.

Neha Sharma/BBC

Nabil al-Remhein says he has cut back on lighting in his house because of high electricity bills

I met another pensioner, Nabil al-Remhein, who is 63. None of his four adult children could find work. "We're now having only one meal a day. It's tragic," he said. His face looked tired. "It isn't only me. It's the entire population. We're all hungry... We're suffocating under rising costs."

Nabil took me to his house, in a poor area of narrow alleys and modest buildings. There, I met his wife. She was doing her chores in the dark. "I'm afraid of the electricity bill," Nabil said. "We've cut back on lighting up the house and we [also] turn off the fridge for about five hours a day". Still, their latest bill was about a third of the family's income. He has not paid it.

Neha Sharma/BBC

Nabil al-Remhein's wife does her chores in the dark in their house

Dr Haid Haid, a Syrian columnist and consulting fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said a "significant portion of the population" was worse off than before Assad's fall. The economic crisis, he told me, was "one of the most dangerous issues" for the government, and that some of it was of its own making.

"Part of [the crisis] is related to the lack of [financial] resources and the legacy left by the former regime," he said. "But it's also the direct impact of the new policies that are moving [Syria] towards a liberal and free-market sort of economy, which don't take into account the impact on people".

A spokesman for the Syrian economy and industry ministry told me no-one was available for an interview.

Neha Sharma/BBC

Jobar, on the outskirts of Damascus, still lies in ruins nearly two years after the fall of the Assad regime

Sharaa has, of course, scored some important gains. International sanctions imposed in the Assad-era have been lifted, and the US has removed the country from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Security remains volatile and a source of concern, but the country feels more stable.

And the president continues to consolidate his power and, earlier this year, retook the resource-rich north-east from a Kurdish-led militia. (The Druze still control areas in the south, where they want to create an autonomous state; Israel occupies parts of the south-west.)

But real economic recovery is yet to happen. Large parts of Syria remain in ruins after a war that killed half a million people and displaced half of the population. Unable to afford rent, many families live in partially destroyed buildings. The World Bank says reconstruction costs are estimated at $216bn and, without foreign help and investment, it will be impossible for Syrians to rebuild.

Samir Aita, a Syrian economist who heads the Circle of Arab Economists, a Paris-based independent think-tank, said the crisis was a "combination of policies with the [government] not managing expectations and creating unrealistic hopes". When I asked him about how he felt about the future, he said: "It's unsustainable. If they don't change, I fear chaos."

Exhausted after years of conflict, Syrians, left with almost no choice, remain hopeful. Abu Mahmoud, a cab driver, told me: "They inherited the country bankrupt, so people need to be patient. Things don't happen overnight."

Additional reporting by Lana Antaki, Samantha Granville and Neha Sharma

New York police will now investigate Cornell sex complaints, governor says

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 03:32:44 GMT

Getty Images

Sareen Habeshian

30 October 2026, 03:26 GMT

Updated 03:32 GMT

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that state police will now investigate all future sexual offence complaints at Cornell University after the fallout from a gang rape accusation at the institution.

It follows the handling of a 2024 alleged campus rape incident, where a student, known anonymously as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against Cornell after she was allegedly drugged and gang raped at a fraternity.

The university, after initially defending its disciplinary measures, acknowledged it fell short in its handling of her case.

The fallout has continued to rile the university. Cornell's administration - including its president - is facing a no-confidence vote by its faculty.

Watch: New York governor blasts handling of Cornell rape inquiry

Hochul said New York State Police signed an agreement with Cornell University so that all sexual offence complaints, which had historically fallen under the jurisdiction of university police, will be immediately referred to state police instead.

"When someone reports sexual assault," Hochul said on Thursday, they deserve "to know their allegations will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated by law enforcement trained to support survivors".

"Survivors should be able to trust the institutions responsible for protecting them," the governor added.

Backlash against the Ivy League university has been intense since Jane Doe filed her lawsuit in mid-September.

On Wednesday, the institution's Faculty Senate, a governing body composed of professors and other academic staff, met behind closed-doors and decided to move forward with voting on a resolution of no-confidence against the administration and the university's President Michael Kotlikoff.

The vote will be open for faculty starting on Friday and run until 6 November. The vote is largely symbolic but could intensify pressure on changing the university's leadership.

Earlier this month, the university announced a series of measures responding to the alleged assault, including adding sexual assault investigators to its police force.

Hochul had said she was "deeply disturbed" by how the investigation was handled. She appointed a special prosecutor, New York's Attorney General Letitia James, earlier this month to oversee a reopened investigation into whether criminal charges are warranted.

The woman at the centre of the case filed a civil lawsuit alleging that she was drugged and raped by seven men at a fraternity house at the university in 2024.

She claimed that Cornell failed to protect her or adequately punish the men, who have now become known as the Cornell Seven.

Record number of purges as Xi emphasises 'party discipline' at China political gathering

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 03:24:12 GMT

Getty Images

This is the first time in Xi's 14 years of leadership that plenum attendance fell below 300

Kelly Ng and Ian TangBBC Monitoring

29 October 2026

Updated 30 October 2026 03:24 GMT

A record 33 members have been expelled from China's Communist Party as it concluded a major annual political gathering, which had the most empty seats ever seen.

The fifth plenum was attended by 279 Central Committee members, compared to 315 at the fourth plenum in October 2025 and 364 at the third one in July 2024.

While recent plenums focused on economic reforms or social and development issues, party discipline took centre stage at this week's gathering.

Xi Jinping has made the fight against corruption a central pillar of his rule since he took the reins in 2012, calling it the "biggest threat" to the party.

Since then, more than two million individuals have been disciplined for cases related to "pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance", Zhang Fuhai, from the party's disciplinary commission, told a press briefing on Friday.

He also said the party would enhance its efforts to ensure officials "dare not, cannot, and do not want to be corrupt".

Anti-corruption purges continue

Sixteen of the 33 members expelled are from the military, according to a communique issued on Thursday, which marked the end of the four-day closed-door gathering held at a hotel in Beijing.

It's unclear what specific charges these members face beyond "serious disciplinary and legal violations". Such broad allegations have become routine under Xi's anti-corruption campaign.

It has now become "an effort to consolidate and maintain authority", says Chong Ja Ian, a non-resident scholar with Carnegie China.

"In this case, the campaign will continue and expand depending on how secure Xi feels rather than any real issue with corruption."

In its statement, the party said it has "squarely confronted the grim reality that party leadership had at times weakened or hollowed out" and that it will continue to "enforce strict party self-governance, including turning the knife inwards to... curb disorder".

The latest expulsions bring the total number of members removed under Xi's third term to a record 51, up from 35 and five in his first and second terms respectively.

Beyond the plenum, China's top anti-corruption watchdog reported that 680,000 people across the party apparatus have been disciplined in the first nine months of this year.

This is also the first time in Xi's 14 years of leadership that plenum attendance fell below 300. The current Central Committee started its term in 2022 with more than 370 members.

Observers argue that Xi views corruption not just as graft but also ideological impurity and, crucially, disloyalty.

In January, he warned against "two-faced cadres" who profess political loyalty but defy orders and act in their self-interest.

Getty Images

The party says it's going after "pointless formalities", which inlcude "bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance"

Who are the key figures purged?

Among the high-ranking officials expelled are former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui, and ex-top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli. Official statements announcing their removal this year said they "seriously violated [the party's] discipline and rules", which is widely read as a euphemism for corruption.

The culling of the military's top brass has been particularly significant, with Neil Thomas, Lobsang Tsering and Shengyu Wang from the Asia Society Policy Institute describing it as "in a category of its own".

"It raises serious questions about organisational leadership and combat readiness, even as China continues to unveil formidable new military hardware," they wrote.

Zhang was also vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, which controls the armed forces. The seven-member commission has since been whittled down to just two members: Xi as chairman and Zhang Shengmin vice-chairman.

Ma and Zhang Youxia were former Politburo members. Their removal, along with former general He Weidong in 2025, meant the powerful 24-man Politburo was at one point left with 21 members.

Zhang Shengmin was promoted to the top decision-making body at the fifth plenum, bringing the number to 22.

Former prominent diplomat Liu Jianchao, who disappeared from public view in July last year, was also named among those who have been purged.

"Xi has few qualms about removing people he promoted," Chong says. "That he does so at will with little opposition underscores how unassailable his position is at the moment."

Xi's plans for the future

Analysts believe one reason for the increased emphasis on discipline – which many interpret as loyalty – is next year's Party Congress, when the CCP will vote again for its next leader.

A leadership reshuffle is due in 2027 and many analysts expect Xi to hold on to the top job for a fourth term and beyond. No leader has served that long except Mao Zedong, the founder of Communist China.

Xi has reason to "scrutinise the next cohort more closely" given the fall of so many officials from the current committee, Thomas says.

"Today's rising stars tend to be relatively young, boast technocratic backgrounds, and have connections to Xi's political network," he says, adding that "provincial leadership ranks are a promising place to look".

Observers say that ultimately, Xi is expected to dominate personnel selection at the 21st Party Congress, which will further cement his grip on the party and the country.

"Xi's focus is further consolidating power around himself... The readout from the plenum suggests he intends to be at the centre of China and the Communist Party for the foreseeable future," Chong says.

"However, further down the road, such concentration of power may pave the way for a more serious power vacuum when Xi ages and slows down."

Three dead after two helicopters collide midair near Oregon airport

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 03:05:17 GMT

Getty Images

Sareen Habeshian

30 October 2026, 02:38 GMT

Updated 03:05 GMT

Three people have died after two helicopters collided midair near a small airport in Oregon, officials said.

The collision involving a Robinson R22 and an Airbus helicopter occurred near McMinnville Municipal Airport on Thursday afternoon. Both aircraft crashed in a field adjacent to a highway, the sheriff's office said.

Authorities identified the victims as a 22-year-old flight instructor from Texas and a student pilot from the United Kingdom, who were aboard one of the helicopters. The sole occupant of the other aircraft was also killed.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) responded to the scene and are leading the ongoing investigation.

The BBC has contacted the FAA for comment.

The flight instructor on the Robinson R22 was identified Maddie Aasbo. The student pilot from the UK has not yet been publicly identified, as authorities work with the consulate and the FBI to notify the next of kin.

The sole occupant of the Airbus was identified as Tyler Delane Sturdevant, 38, of Newberg, Oregon.

One of the aircraft was operated by Jerry Trimble Helicopters, a flight training school based at the McMinnville Municipal Airport, according to a statement from the company.

"Jerry Trimble Helicopters is deeply saddened to confirm that one of our aircraft was involved in an aviation incident this afternoon," the company said, adding that they were fully cooperating with investigators.

Authorities asked the public to avoid the area as they responded to the incident.

Democrats in the US have an identity crisis - it won't be an easy fix

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 02:14:41 GMT

Asma Khalid

The Global Story presenter

James Stevens calls himself a democratic socialist. The 24-year-old film student is the type of Democrat who recalls watching the provocative left-wing internet commentator Hasan Piker six years ago, "before he became relevant in politics". Last year, James flew up from his home in Georgia to New York City to canvass for Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign.

His mother, Tamara, 56, is a loyal Democrat too. But of a different ilk. She grew up Republican then switched to the Democratic Party after seeing Barack Obama on Oprah. These days, she's a loyal party woman, championing reproductive rights, attending campaign rallies and donating to local candidates.

Both mother and son want Democrats to win control of Congress at Tuesday's midterm elections, but they don't entirely agree on what they want their Democratic Party to be.

"I'm very sick of how compromising Democrats are to Republican policies that don't benefit a large group of people," James told me, as his mother looked on. "There needs to be a bold vision for the Democrats," he says, arguing that the party should adopt policies affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a left-wing splinter group. In his view, that means anti-Zionism, getting corporate money out of politics, and government-run free healthcare.

The conventional wisdom in Washington is that Democrats are well-positioned to take control of the House, and possibly even the Senate, after the vote next week.

Underlying conditions are in Democrats' favour – Republican US President Donald Trump's approval rating is at a record low for a president heading into a midterm, comparable to George W Bush in his final term in 2006; the Iran war still isn't over and it's proving unpopular with American voters; and this has led to higher gas prices, which are frustrating an electorate that is already worried about the cost of living. Traditionally, the midterms are a referendum on a sitting president. In 18 of the last 20 US midterm elections, the party in power has lost seats in the House.

And yet despite those circumstances, the Democratic Party is also unpopular nationwide. The Real Clear Politics polling average shows the American public sees the Democrats as only marginally better than the Republicans. Recent polls show the Democratic Party still has a net unfavourability rating among Americans. Political analysts say that if the Republicans manage to buck the trend and survive these midterms, one key reason is that the Democratic Party (or the Democratic brand) is disliked by a majority of American voters too.

Behind the headlines of which party or which candidates win this Tuesday, there's also a story this election season about Democratic identity. This is a fight between institutionalists and reformists, of people who want incremental change and those who demand root-and-branch transformation. The question is, who will win out in the long run?

The not-Trump party?

I've covered every national US election in the past dozen years and this is an unusual one. When I was out interviewing voters ahead of the 2018 midterms during Donald Trump's first term, I was struck by how united many Democratic voters were in their opposition to the president. This time, I've noticed that under the facade of unity, there's a brewing fight.

There are persistent questions about what the Democratic Party stands for, and these divides erupted during the primaries this midterm cycle. "The identity of the party is pretty cloudy," said Ruy Teixeira, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a centre-right think tank. "It's all centred on reaction to the Trump administration and taking advantage of what is a thermostatic reaction against the administration... Beyond that, there's all these different factions in the party."

Part of the reason for this Democratic infighting is that the party never had a chance to have this fight during the 2024 presidential race, with the sudden departure of Joe Biden months before the election and nomination of Kamala Harris.

Analysts agree that if Democrats make big wins on election night, it still won't answer deeper, unresolved questions as they try to keep their big tent together to corral votes in Congress or eye the 2028 presidency.

In simplistic terms, the divide is between the centrist, more moderate wing of the party and its left flank. But operatives and analysts say it's also a divide between institutionalists and those who want to completely upend the existing institution. Both feel they have a better read on what voters genuinely want.

Usamah Andrabi, of the Justice Democrats, a prominent left-wing group, blames the Democratic establishment for ushering in a Republican Congress and president. "And so I think the people who led us into this mess are simply not gonna be the ones who lead us out of it," he told me.

"The affordability crisis… is a massive one, and it's not going to be resolved by tinkering at the margins," he added. Instead, he insists, it'll be solved through policies like universal healthcare and childcare, and redistributing money by cutting the Pentagon's budget to stop "endless wars". His organisation sprang up in 2017 to recruit and support the congressional members who became known as "the Squad", the furthest-left faction in the House, which includes members such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.

Reuters

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been consistently popular among progressives

Healthcare will be one of the main arenas in which this fight is likely to play out, says Carrie Dann, managing editor of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter that forecasts the competitiveness of races.

"There is a lot of appetite for, at the very least, more transparency, more understanding of why healthcare costs are so high," said Dann. " Take a bad step, break your leg, and a huge swathe of Americans would see their worlds turned upside down by that because of the healthcare system as it is."

Several Democratic candidates this election cycle have outlined ideas to lower "out-of-pocket" costs for those who already have health insurance - being hit with additional costs on top of regular insurance payments is a common feature of the American healthcare system. But there's another flank of the party that is fed up with incremental changes and wants a national healthcare system that is free at the point of use - Medicare for All.

Recent polling suggests a majority of Democrats favour this kind of healthcare system, but a majority of Republicans oppose it.

But some Democrats say there's nuance in the issue.

"People want to have universal healthcare, and they also want to be able to keep their health insurance," says Neera Tanden, Joe Biden's former domestic policy adviser, now CEO of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

Mainstream establishment Democrats acknowledge that many people see healthcare as a right, but they insist that others strongly oppose a fully government-run programme, fearing lower standards of care, and insist on having the option of keeping their private health insurance.

Healthcare costs have gone up across the board - health insurance and out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, hospital expenses and prescription drug costs have all surged in recent years, rising faster than the rate of inflation. As medical expenses have increased, polls suggest the idea of universal healthcare isn't as outlandish as it once seemed, and this campaign cycle has shown that it's far less taboo for politicians to openly call for it.

Back in Georgia, it's an issue on which Tamara and James agree - they want universal healthcare.

But their most fundamental disagreement is over Israel. Tamara calls herself a Zionist. "My kids get mad at me for saying that," she said.

And they're hardly the only Democrats having this debate.

EPA

Abdul El-Sayed's race is being seen as a bellwether

Dann, from the Cook Political Report, says one of the biggest lessons from this election cycle is that Democratic voters weren't just looking for candidates willing to fight Trump, but candidates willing to take on the establishment. Dann points to the key swing state of Michigan, where in the primary, Abdul El-Sayed - a fierce critic of Israel and its actions in Gaza - came out on top over the objections of the Democratic establishment.

"I think one reason for that was that he was not only talking about taking on Donald Trump, but taking on the Democratic establishment… the establishment in Washington writ large," she said. And part of that anti-establishment attitude is about US support for Israel.

The Israel question

Some who left the party in 2024 because they believe Biden was too supportive of Israel's actions in Gaza are now returning, energised by El-Sayed's tough tone.

"My red line has been Gaza," said Samraa Luqman, an Arab-American activist in Michigan who voted for Trump in the last presidential election, feeling betrayed by Democrats that year.

"2023 and 2024 have really taught this community a lesson that we are no longer going to be wishy-washy about the issue. It's Gaza or bust," she told me. "If you're not good on Gaza, on Israel, on Palestine, then we don't need you. We don't need you in office, and we don't need to vote for you, no matter what your party affiliation is."

EPA

Support for Israel has become a core issue within the party

But as El-Sayed has energised voters, he's also alienated others, particularly some who see support for Israel as connected to Jewish safety in the US and feel that antisemitism in their party has grown after the deadly Hamas attacks of October 7.

Zach Nessel is one of those Democrats. And he's increasingly worried about becoming politically homeless.

"We have people who don't think Zionists should have a place in our party, that they should be removed from the party," Nessel told me. "And as a proud Zionist, I don't want to be removed from the Democratic coalition just over this one issue in the Middle East."

Support for Israel became a litmus test in some Democratic primaries this season, leading to mounting resistance to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the longtime influential lobbying group.

Ideological test

But Dann tells me that it's not just Israel that's a litmus test, it's El-Sayed's race itself.

"Abdul El-Sayed's theory of the case is that he can run as an unabashed progressive in a purple state [a state that swings between the 'red' Republican party and 'blue' Democrats] and win because progressive ideas are not only popular if they're communicated correctly, but also activate voters who are not necessarily a normal part of the political process, particularly young people," she said.

If he wins, left-wing candidates will see it as a model, she adds. And if he loses, Democrats in the more centrist wing of the party will see it as evidence that left-wing ideas are out of touch with mainstream voters.

But there are others, like Jim Kessler with Third Way, a centrist think tank, who think Michigan shouldn't be the focus. He pointed out that if Democrats take control of the Senate it'll be because of more centrist candidates: Roy Cooper in North Carolina, Mary Peltola in Alaska, James Talarico in Texas, Josh Turek in Iowa, Adam Hamilton in Kansas. They, he said, are the ones expanding Democrats' odds this cycle. " So the bigger the Democratic victory, the more it seems like the centrist Democrats came through, not the DSA candidates," he said.

DSA-endorsed candidates made gains during the primaries this election cycle, but their ideas are still controversial to many.

" I don't think… the vast majority of working-class people in America are kind of mini socialists," Tanden told me, pointing to reporting that suggests the majority of people who support the DSA are college-educated voters.

" Working-class people are pretty moderate on issues like crime and immigration," she added.

Nonetheless, if Democrats gain the majority, their congressional leaders will have to navigate a group of Democrats in which there will likely be an increase in the loudest and most left-wing voices.

" The Democrats' biggest challenge is to figure out how to actually deliver on running the economy better and making things more affordable, because they've said over and over again and very loudly that's what they're going to do," said Teixeira.

Seizing the momentum

In all likelihood, people will start thinking seriously about the next presidential candidate the day after the midterms.

So, who actually has the momentum: the left flank or the centre?

"I think after the election we'll see a lot of fighting between the factions to claim credit," Teixeira said. " And that will of course feed into the jostling for the presidential nomination for 2028."

Back in Georgia, Tamara and James may disagree on some things, but they both want Democrats to win big on Tuesday.

"I'm a very pragmatic person when it comes to progressive politics," James said. He wants to make it clear he doesn't agree with everything DSA members espouse.

So much of this midterm cycle has also come down to candidate quality - not just the message but the messenger. So I asked both mother and son who their "ideal" Democrat is.

Tamara instantly answered Jon Ossoff, the Democratic senator running for re-election in Georgia.

Reuters

Jon Ossoff is being watched closely in Georgia

It's a point of agreement. They both really like their Georgia senator.

Ossoff is seen by many as a rising star of his party. The seat he is contesting is characterised by the Cook Political Report as "likely Democratic" - considered by analysts to be an impressive achievement in a swing state that voted for Trump in 2024.

"He knows how to speak to moderate Republicans, moderate Democrats, and members of the DSA," Tamara said. "He's not afraid to pull any punches… I appreciate how much he talks about corruption."

On Wednesday night, she joined thousands of people just outside Atlanta for a rally to cheer on the senator as former President Barack Obama campaigned for Democrats.

And when Ossoff took the mic, he spoke at length about what he sees as "corruption" in the Trump administration and in American politics, healthcare and corporate money.

And I heard this concern from voters in Georgia this past week, not just at the campaign rally, but at early voting sites in both Republican and Democratic counties.

"We have a corruption crisis," said Richard Schosky as he walked out of the voting booth in north Atlanta, after casting his ballot early. It's an issue that seems to be resonating deeply with voters, although the White House has repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing.

In fact, Dann with the Cook Political Report says "corruption has become one of the central issues of this election".

Still, she added, "Democrats would be foolish to believe that a very good night for them in November is a mandate for the Democratic Party," said Dann.

"They are as almost as unpopular as Republicans and the president."

Lead image: Getty

More from InDepth

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More than 43 million ballots cast so far in midterms early voting surge

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 01:44:24 GMT

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Voter voices: What issues matter most to Americans

Max Matza

29 October 2026

Updated 30 October 2026 01:44 GMT

With less than a week to go until the US midterm elections - which will determine which party controls Congress for the next two years - more than 43 million Americans have already voted.

Data from the University of Florida Election Lab indicates that four to five million early votes have been cast each day, a much higher rate than in most previous elections.

Texas has seen the highest above-average turnout rate so far, says Professor Mike McDonald, who runs the database. Hispanic communities are also seeing a much higher turnout than usual.

Overall turnout appears on track to outpace 2020, and even possibly 2018, which beat the 1914 record for overall turnout in a midterm election.

Texas has already surpassed its 2022 numbers by around 1.75 million voters, says McDonald. More than 5.8 million ballots have been cast in the Lone Star state, which has emerged as a key battleground that could decide which party controls the Senate for the rest of Donald Trump's presidency.

Data from states that require voters to register a political affiliation indicates an increase in votes cast by Democrats, while Republican early voting numbers remain generally similar to 2022.

Early voting is also up among voters who chose to not register with a specific party, McDonald says, however the data does not show which candidates they chose.

Figures on Thursday, external show that 44% of early ballots have been cast by Democrats, and 31.2% by Republicans. A further 24.7% were attributed to voters who had no party affiliation. However, that's just for the roughly half of states that require voter affiliation.

Three states require voters to submit their race when they register - North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Data from these states shows an increase in votes cast by Hispanic and black communities, while voting among white people is on par with 2022 early voting figures.

"That makes sense because communities of colour are more frequently part of the Democratic coalition, and whites are more frequently part of the Republican coalition," McDonald says.

EPA

Texas does not require voters to provide party affiliation or race. But the data still shows a surge in voting by some counties on the border with Mexico, which are comprised of more than 90% Hispanic people.

"When I look at those counties, what I see is some of them are going to beat their 2022 turnout in just the early vote alone," says McDonald.

Early voting has boomed in recent years, driven by the Covid pandemic when more states began offering early voting options, including both in-person and by mail.

In the 2020 election, when voters were picking both the next president as well as their lawmakers, more than two-thirds of all ballots were cast early. Half of those early votes were also cast by mail.

Voters increasingly prefer to vote in-person, even when voting early, says McDonald. They are also returning their ballots earlier than in previous elections.

He adds that he believes this could be due to concerns about postal voting, but says there is not data to indicate what could be causing this. Postal votes are more likely to be disqualified due to errors, he notes, and says some voters could be concerned about meddling in the US Postal Service.

Some officials have already confirmed records being broken. On Thursday, the city of Minneapolis said that it has set an early voting record for a non-presidential election.

Early voting will soon taper off, as states start cutting off early voting as an option in the days before the election on Tuesday, 3 November.

Watch: Why Australia's mushroom murderer may now die in prison

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 01:38:54 GMT

Watch: Why Australia's mushroom murderer may now die in prison

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Australian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson has lost her appeal to overturn her triple-murder conviction at Victoria's Court of Appeal.

However, the prosecution was successful in their appeal that Patterson's sentence of 33 years with parole was insufficient.

BBC’s Katy Watson explains what happened in court.

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Australia

12 hours ago

Mushroom murderer fails to overturn convictions in Australian court challenge

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 01:35:40 GMT

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Watch: Why Australia's mushroom murderer may now die in prison

Lana Lam

Sydney

30 October 2026, 01:22 GMT

Updated 01:35 GMT

Australia's mushroom killer has failed to overturn her murder convictions on appeal, with the court also ruling that she never be released from prison.

Erin Patterson, 52, was found guilty of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill another when she served them a toxic mushroom-laced meal in 2023. Her life sentence included a non-parole period of 33 years.

In Victoria's Court of Appeal on Friday, three judges threw out her appeal against her convictions and agreed with the prosecution that her sentence was inadequate, as it allowed for the possibility of freedom.

Patterson's crimes were "extraordinarily cold and calculated" and had to be "denounced in the strongest terms," they said.

"We have concluded that the case involved such shocking criminality that it is inappropriate to fix a non-parole period," Justice Stephen McLeish told the court, on the panel's behalf.

After a high-profile trial last year, a jury found Patterson guilty of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, by serving them individual portions of beef Wellington containing death cap mushrooms.

Patterson was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, a local pastor, who also ate the toxic lunch at Patterson's home in rural Victoria.

He survived after spending weeks in hospital and has ongoing health issues due to the poisoning.

Simon Patterson, the host's estranged husband, was meant to attend the lunch but cancelled at the last minute, in part due to his belief that his wife had repeatedly tried to poison him over several years.

Patterson was sentenced last September, with the trial judge allowing a non-parole period of 33 years due to the "harsh prison conditions" she would likely face.

Getty Images

Erin Patterson will spend the rest of her life in jail after a court threw out her chance to apply for parole in 2056

She promptly launched an appeal against her convictions, with her legal team in August arguing seven grounds for her appeal.

They claimed a hotel booking mishap - which saw the jury stay in the same place as the prosecution, a key police witness and the media - was "catastrophic" and undermined the integrity of her trial.

They also argued certain pieces of evidence shown to the jury were irrelevant and prejudicial - such as cell tower data suggesting Patterson visited areas where death cap mushrooms might be found and Facebook posts where she complained about her in-laws.

Meanwhile, the judge wrongly blocked other evidence that would have demonstrated the mother-of-two's long-time hobby of mushroom foraging, they said.

The defence team also asserted that the prosecution's five-day cross-examination of Patterson was "unfair and oppressive", and that the Crown was inconsistent in its arguments about a motive.

On Friday, the appeal judges dismissed all seven grounds.

Patterson has 28 days to decide if she will seek to convince the High Court of Australia to hear another appeal over the case.

Many Cubans voted for Trump - now they're turning on Republican immigration policies

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:43:04 GMT

Ismael Labrador voted for Trump - but he says he was "blindsided" by scale of deportations

Will Grant

BBC's Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondent

30 October 2026, 00:19 GMT

Updated 00:43 GMT

Since the Trump administration launched its crackdown on undocumented immigrants two years ago, the waiting room of Cuban-born immigration lawyer, Ismael Labrador, in Miami is never empty. His appointment book is packed with relatives of detained immigrants trying to secure their release before they're deported back to their countries of origin.

Although business is booming, Labrador wishes it wasn't.

"We have relatives living in fear right now, we've had relatives who have been deported back to Cuba, unfortunately," he explains.

Cubans have traditionally enjoyed favoured immigration status in the United States under provisions enshrined in 1960s-era legislation called the Cuban Adjustment Act. But widespread arrests across Florida by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have left the Cuban American community more vulnerable in the US than they'd ever imagined, says Labrador.

"The way I put it is that if you don't have a Green Card in the United States, you may be a target."

Five ways Trump has changed immigration in the US

Countless mobile phone videos have recorded such arrests in places previously considered off-limits: parents detained outside schoolyards, at bus stops, youth sporting events and even inside courthouses at pre-arranged immigration hearings.

Few have had the impact of the footage of 39-year-old Ecuadorean immigrant, Grace Calero, and her 19-year-old daughter, Giulianna Carriel, being arrested in a hospital ward.

Two months ago, the pair were driving to work in Kissimmee, central Florida when they were hit by another car and taken to hospital in an ambulance. While they were being treated for their injuries, ICE agents burst in and arrested them. They were deported back to Ecuador within days.

Labrador's cousin has also been caught up in the dragnet of ICE detentions. Despite his best efforts, the immigration lawyer was unable to prevent his own relative from being deported back to Cuba.

"It's hard when you're fighting against a lot of resources," he laments.

The Trump administration has repeatedly said the president was elected on a promise to deliver mass deportations and is delivering on that. "He stopped the invasion of our country and as a result of his policies more than 3 million illegal aliens have left the US," a White House spokeswoman told the BBC last week.

ICE, meanwhile, has said it is targeting anyone who has broken American immigration law and is in the country illegally.

Labrador was among the 68% of Cuban Americans in Florida who voted for Donald Trump two years ago, a decision he roundly regrets today.

Few could accuse Trump of hiding his plans on immigration. On the campaign trail in 2024, he touted his policy of mass deportations of undocumented migrants.

"On Day One, I will launch the largest deportation programme in American history", he said repeatedly at rallies, including in Florida.

How Trump’s Cuba policy is shaping Miami’s midterms

Labrador – and many thousands of disillusioned Latino voters like him – thought the administration would only deport people with criminal records.

"I think we got blindsided by the administration," he argues.

"Personally, I voted for Trump because I wanted to get criminals out of the country," he says, alleging that "communists came in from Cuba under Biden."

"We wanted to have a safe America. We never thought that he was going to go after everybody."

"This isn't what I voted for," he insists.

Labrador is far from the only Cuban American in Florida to experience buyer's remorse over President Trump.

Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents Florida's 27th Congressional district, recently released a video filmed outside the White House in which she distanced herself from his deportation policy saying it had gone "too far".

"The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today," she said, addressing President Trump.

Salazar is locked in a tight race against another Cuban American, the Democratic Party's candidate, Eliott Rodríguez. Her close association with Trump on immigration could potentially cost Salazar her congressional seat.

Florida remains a Trump stronghold. At a recent gathering of Cuban American entrepreneurs in Miami, the atmosphere remained staunchly pro-Trump. "Miami loves Trump, Cuban Americans love Trump," says real estate businessman, Juan Omar Sixto, motioning at the other guests behind him.

"They agree with Trump that anyone who crossed the border illegally should be out," he says, despite acknowledging he illegally entered the US himself six decades earlier.

A poll released on Thursday, external by Florida International University found that not all South Florida Cubans agree - 76% said they disapprove of the Trump administration's deportations of Cubans with no criminal record. But their support for the Republican Party remains steadfast, with 68% saying they plan to vote Republican in November.

In other parts of the country, support amongst Latinos is declining.

In the last election, Trump beat Kamala Harris by 56.1% to 43% - the biggest margin of victory for a candidate in the state since 1988 - in part because of the support of Latino communities. But a recent NBC News/Telemundo poll of 8,000 registered Latino voters showed nearly 60% favour seeing Congress come under Democratic Party control to just 35% wanting a Republican victory.

The high cost of living is a big factor for people's discontent, as residents feel supermarket and petrol prices are impossibly high for working families.

But for many Hispanics, it's also partly because of stories like Heydi Sanchez's.

Sanchez left Cuba in 2019 as the island spiralled into economic collapse and illegally crossed the border from Mexico into the US. After nine months in a detention centre, she was released under an i-220B Order of Supervision which grants the right to remain in the US but carries the constant threat of deportation.

Heydi Sanchez was deported to Cuba and separated from her young daughter

Sanchez settled in Tampa where she worked with autistic children and the elderly. After a complex and expensive fertility struggle, she and her husband had a baby girl called Kailyn.

Most i-220B holders try to normalise their immigration status via 'humanitarian parole' and must check in with ICE agents at regular scheduled appointments. Last year, President Trump revoked temporary humanitarian parole to about 300,000 Cubans. Sanchez knew something was wrong in her case when her regular ICE meeting was brought forward without warning.

At the appointment, she was detained. Kailyn was taken from her arms and passed to her father, a US citizen. Within a day, Sanchez was on a deportation flight back to Havana in shackles with no recourse to appeal.

I met her in Cuba where she now lives in a one-bed apartment in Mayabeque, a rural province outside Havana.

"It's like the sky fell in and crushed me", she says of being separated from her daughter.

"When we have video calls, she says: 'Mummy, come home.' And I say: 'darling, Mummy is away working.' What else can I tell her? How can I explain it?'", Sanchez asks, unable to hold back the tears.

Despite expressions of support from several US politicians, including Maria Elvira Salazar, more than a year has passed since her deportation and Sanchez remains in limbo in Cuba.

In a statement, ICE said that "in this case, the parent stated they wanted to be removed without the child and left the child in the care of a safe relative in the United States".

While the Trump Administration has rolled back Cubans' special immigration privileges, it has sent thousands of people back to an island Washington itself describes as a "failed state". Cuba is in the grip of its worst ever energy crisis amid a months-long fuel blockade imposed by the US.

Since overwhelmingly voting for Trump in 2024, Cubans in Florida now realise they are just as vulnerable to deportation as any other diaspora. His Republican colleagues may feel the brunt of their frustration at the ballot box.

Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

Student-backed election winners demand sweeping resignations in Serbia

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:17:28 GMT

Reuters

Serbia's victorious Student List movement held their first press conference in a park opposite parliament

Aleksandar Miladinović

BBC News SerbianBelgrade

30 October 2026, 00:17 GMT

Serbia's victorious student-led movement has called for top figures in the police, intelligence and judiciary to stand down, days after ousting ex-president Aleksandar Vučić's party from power.

Standing in Pioneers' Park opposite parliament, newly elected MPs on the Student List demanded the immediate dismissal of all police officers who had broken the law, singling out the heads of the police, the BIA security agency and anti-terror unit.

It is not often a European country votes to fully reset its political system overnight, and Serbians have voted to hand the task to a group of novice politicians, made up of intellectuals, professors, artists, athletes and as many as 12 medical doctors and surgeons.

But the handover of power will take weeks, and the students' movement is concerned that evidence of possible wrongdoing could be destroyed in that time.

Just a few days ago, the park they were standing in on Thursday was a tent camp, filled with Vučić loyalists outside his office.

Within hours of him admitting defeat on Sunday night, the camp was dismantled, and a team of volunteers moved in on Monday morning to clean up the mess.

Aleksandar Miladinović/BBC

Volunteers like Marija Milovanović came out in force to clean up Pioneers' Park the day after the students' movement won the election

"This is just the first wave of spring cleaning, the new ones are coming now - we are very excited but ready to do it too," said Marija Milovanović, 25, as she scrubbed a park bench.

The student movement emerged from protests following the fatal collapse of a railway station canopy that killed 16 people in November 2024, in Serbia's second largest town Novi Sad.

Their desire was to bring those responsible to justice, and investigate widespread corruption claims blamed for one of the most tragic events in Serbia's modern history.

How a movement of students brought down Serbia's Vučić
Celebrations in Serbia after veteran ruler Vučić loses election to student-led protest movement

They have made some bold promises.

Under their Student Plan, they promise to "halt the plunder, return stolen goods to the state budget, and invest directly in education and the economy".

The purge of Vučić loyalists has already begun at Serbia's state broadcaster RTS, where director Manja Grčić has stepped down.

Newly elected MP Mirjana Nikolić said Serbian citizens had the right to truthful information and RTS had served the interests of the government for years.

The new MPs have also set their sights on replacing the head of Telekom Srbija, Vladimir Lučić.

Vučić loyalist Ana Brnabić, who is currently Serbia's acting president, has accused her opponents of choosing "revolutionary justice, not rule of law," and of aiming to shut down "all of the media they dislike".

Reuters

Former central bank governor, Dejan Šoškić, believes key reforms need to be in place within six months

But one of the next government's best-known MPs, Dejan Šoškić, argues that key reforms need to be in place fast.

"In the first six months, I would like to see the media scene liberated, fighting against corruption on the way, the institutions operating as prescribed by laws and a lustration law introduced," said Šoškić, an economist who served as governor of the central bank between 2010 and 2012.

By lustration, he means banning from public office members of the Vučić government or party apparatus who are found to have violated the rights of Serbians.

That kind of purge will take time, as all of Serbia's main pillars of authority have been held by Vučić and his party for so long, warns Strahinja Subotić of Belgrade-based European Policy Centre.

Ultimately, he believes the new administration will have to "build bridges to the segments that have been operating well in the past".

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Acting President Ana Brnabić accuses the election winners of meting out "revolutionary justice"

All 141 successful candidates were chosen by students from universities across Serbia through a lengthy, secretive and carefully crafted process, and tasked with implementing the movement's plan for a complete rebuild of the country.

That political agenda took months for a highly diverse group of students to agree to. Now it is up to the equally disparate team of successful candidates to put the plan into practice, rather than the students themselves.

Another prominent figure on the Student List, is Radomir Saičić, a professor of organic chemistry at the University of Belgrade.

"While the practical mechanisms will be developed on the go, the new MPs will stick to the students' 1200-page long and detailed plan," he told the BBC.

"Parliament is making decisions, but since this change was led by students' efforts, we would highly value their opinion and work closely with them," he promised.

Aleksandar Miladinović/BBC

Radomir Saičić says he and his newly elected colleagues will work very closely with the students who selected them

Not only are they newcomers to politics, but Serbia's election winners have no obvious leader and are faced with a series of complex challenges, including taking on the country's highly complex balancing act on the international stage.

Serbia is both a candidate to join the European Union and maintains close relations with Russia. Its bid to join the bloc has long been on the back-burner, while its Western Balkan neighbours press ahead.

The EU was quick to welcome the Student List victory and has promised to back their push for reforms to the rule of law, media freedom and fight against corruption.

But EU integration occupies a strikingly minor place in the students' election manifesto, which describes the bloc merely as Serbia's "most important economic partner".

For years, Belgrade has balanced its foreign policy between the EU and its eastern partners, Russia and China. Belgrade has managed to stand out in Europe by not imposing sanctions on Moscow since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In return, Serbia has been rewarded with preferential gas prices that have helped maintain domestic stability, and Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed Vučić's bid to remain in power.

That does not mean that the students have any plans to change course, and changing Serbia's foreign policy may not be high on their list.

"Serbia had it own experience with sanctions in the 1990s and we know that they mostly harm ordinary people and do not affect policies of a state," said Dejan Šoškić, referring to UN sanctions imposed during the wars in former Yugoslavia.

The new government's initial focus will most likely be on domestic reform, and the clock is already ticking before the next election campaign, with presidential elections due to take place in December.

Aleksandar Vučić is legally barred from running for a third term as president, but he has promised that his defeated Serbian Progressive Party will fight back: "We will beat them much faster than they can even imagine."

Indians turn to start-ups to care for ageing parents as young become more mobile

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:02:35 GMT

Getty Images

One in five Indians will be above the age of 60 by 2050

Rachita Prasad

BBC News, Mumbai

30 October 2026, 00:02 GMT

Arindam Bhattacharyya, an advertising executive based in Jakarta, had an unexpected wake-up call in 2024.

His parents, based in India's Kolkata city, were visiting him when his father had a health crisis. Bhattacharyya managed to get him medical care but when it was time for them to go back, he faced a question familiar to many Indians - how do you care for your parents when you can't be there in person?

Between 2020 and 2050, the number of people aged 60 and above globally is projected to double to 2.1 billion, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). India is expected to mirror this - by 2050, one in every five Indians will be above the age of 60, close to 21% of the total population.

Until a few decades ago, there was little discussion in India on caring for elderly people as the expectation was that families would step in, the UNFPA notes, external.

This, however, has been complicated by factors including the shrinking of joint families. As younger people move away from their families, and with limited social infrastructure to support the elderly, a gap is only widening, experts say.

Some frame this as an opportunity.

Government think-tank NITI Aayog says the senior care industry in India is valued at around $7bn (£5.56bn) - it is expected to grow rapidly and offer huge opportunities for healthcare companies.

Many start-ups are already moving in. These companies are looking to address several areas including senior living, home care and technology-enabled services. While their goal is to help older adults live and age more independently, their customers are often the children of the people they help.

Bhattacharyya says he now relies on two start-ups to monitor his parents' health, coordinate care and arrange emergency medical support.

"These services are a big help but I still monitor everything closely [from Jakarta]," he said.

An area seeing an uptick is organised senior living, mainly due to higher incomes and changing family structures. But some experts believe that demand is far ahead of supply.

Companies like Manasum Senior Living, Primus Senior Living, Ananta Living and Vedaanta Senior Living are building projects especially for senior housing and care, even as there is growing interest from traditional real estate developers.

Real estate management firm Colliers International Group estimates current senior living demand at around 2-2.2 million units in India while only around 25,000 units are available.

Arindam Bhattacharyya

Arindam Bhattacharyya (right) says he monitors his parents' health in India with the help of start-ups

Anantharam Varayur, a former tech executive, co-founded Manasum Senior Living after he saw many older people in India living restricted lives compared with their peers in the US.

In 2015, when he first set up a promotional stall at an event by a large Indian community in the US, hoping to draw interest from younger Indians due to their familiarity with the concept, hardly anyone came to ask questions - he thinks this was due to the "stigma" associated with leaving older family members in an "old age home", as they are traditionally called in India.

But things have changed - his company already has 900 operational units, mostly in Bengaluru and Goa, and plans to scale up to 10,000 units by 2030, including a luxury project.

They get enquiries from senior citizens whose children live abroad, couples with adult children with special needs, older single people, and even younger people planning for the future.

But there are also many older people who prefer staying in their family homes or apartments and need support.

Earlier, attendants and nurses were seen as an addition to family caregivers. Today, they are often taking on primary caregiving roles.

What was once a fragmented, hyperlocal market run by small agencies is now seeing the rise of firms that offer end-to-end home-care services and use technology to scale up. Examples include Emoha Elder Care Services, Care24 and KITES Senior Care, among others.

But given the sensitive and intimate nature of the caregiving industry, finding the right personnel and retaining them is a big challenge.

"Failure to adequately train the workforce will lead to an acute shortage of skilled people amid rising demand," warns a report by ratings firm CareEdge.

The challenge goes beyond skills. Caregivers also need thorough vetting and specialised training to support a demographic that is vulnerable to fraud, financial scams and other forms of exploitation.

NITI Aayog has recognised this issue and highlighted the need for a national caregiving policy to build a professional and inclusive caregiving ecosystem in India.

Manasum Senior Living

Many senior living homes organise cultural activities, especially around festivals

Entrepreneurs are also looking at ways to address the social and emotional needs of clients.

In 2022, former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata's investment in start-up Goodfellows generated a lot of public interest. The company's tagline explains what it does - "Everything Grandkids Do!"

Founder Shantanu Naidu says that they are not aiming to replace family, but to fill a void by offering spirited, empathetic youth companions for elderly clients for some quality time together or even to just help them with technology.

While Naidu's start-up is tapping human emotional intelligence, some entrepreneurs are using artificial intelligence to solve real-life challenges.

In Bengaluru, companies like Kubo Care and NoBlink.ai combine AI-powered monitoring services with wall-mounted radar devices at homes to monitor people's movements to alert emergency services if they faint or fall.

Prajith Nair, co-founder of NoBlink.ai, says that they aim to "build at scale so that it is available at economical and affordable cost".

He says that the company is currently selling these systems to senior living projects at 13,500 rupees ($141.74; £106.42) per device and a monthly monitoring fee of onwards of 50 rupees per room, one tenth the price of what some similar products abroad.

But despite many start-ups aiming to keep prices competitive, affordability is a big concern.

Getty Images

The challenge for India is not just senior care but affordable care

Varayur says buying a one bedroom-hall-kitchen unit in a senior living project can cost 6m rupees, with additional payment for maintenance and food. The cost can vary according to the facilities chosen.

Demand is high, but this is out of reach for most elderly Indians.

NITI Aayog says 78% of India's elderly population is without a pension, which could restrict their ability to access these services. Households with at least one elderly person have a lower monthly per capita income of around 3,568 rupees as compared with 4,098 rupees for a unit without an elderly member.

That's why start-ups can't be the only solution, experts say.

Japan has addressed issues faced by its ageing population by introducing a mix of long-term care insurance, public nursing facilities, social exchange programmes and community-based support systems. India's neighbour China has spent years grappling with an ageing population, rolling out measures to encourage younger people to marry and boost births as its workforce shrinks.

Earlier this year, Kerala became the first Indian state to pass a landmark law for senior citizens centred on rights to affordable care, legal aid, digital inclusion and safe public spaces.

Industry experts say India still has time before it reaches a demographic crossroad. But caring for millions more elderly citizens will require robust support systems. A strong ecosystem of businesses serving senior citizens could play a role in bridging that gap.

Alaska governor orders probe into Democratic campaign's alleged links to same-name candidate

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:31:12 GMT

Reuters

Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy said he was acting on claims in a news report

James FitzGerald and Kayla Epstein

29 October 2026

The Republican governor of Alaska has ordered an investigation into an alleged "scheme" which led to two men named Dan Sullivan standing in the state's US Senate race.

Governor Mike Dunleavy said he was responding to a New York Times (NYT) story, external which said the team of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola worked with people who tried to recruit spoiler candidates in the Senate race.

The governor's post on X said he would investigate "whether this scheme violated Alaska's laws". He did not say which laws he had in mind.

Dan S Sullivan, the incumbent Republican senator running for re-election, and allies have accused the Democrats of trying to confuse voters. Peltola's team deny any wrongdoing.

"The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign," the Peltola campaign said in a statement.

They say they did not encourage the second man, Dan J Sullivan, a retired teacher who lives in a remote fishing village, to stand. He has denied any links with the Peltola campaign.

The Alaska race is considered by analysts to be one of the tightest of the upcoming US midterm elections, which will decide which party controls Congress. Americans head to the polls across the country on Tuesday.

Dunleavy's statement, which did not name the Peltola campaign, said the NYT reporting had supported findings by the state Division of Elections earlier this year.

"I am therefore directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska's laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted," he wrote. "The evidence will determine what happens next."

The NYT report alleged that people connected to Peltola's campaign, as well as senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), worked to try to recruit Sullivan the schoolteacher to stand in the Senate race.

This was part of a broader effort to encourage other would-be "spoiler" candidates to enter the race and dilute the support of the sitting Republican senator, the newspaper reported.

"The DSCC is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan," the non-incumbent candidate, said Monica Robinson, a committee spokesperson, in a statement.

The ballot paper is set to list the two men as Dan S Sullivan, who will be described as the incumbent Republican senator, and Daniel J Sullivan Jr.

Senator Dan Sullivan told Fox News on Wednesday night that Peltola should "come clean" and described it as a scandal of the highest order.

His fellow Republican senator in Alaska, Lisa Murkowksi, accused the Democratic campaign of engaging in a "pattern of lies". President Donald Trump has called for Peltola to be barred.

Previous efforts by the Republicans to remove the non-incumbent Sullivan from the ballot have already been rejected by the Alaska Supreme Court which found no state laws had been broken by him running in the race.

Though officials at the state and federal level have called for investigations in the wake of the New York Times reporting, election law experts said it was unlikely to dislodge the second Dan Sullivan from the ballot and it was unclear at this point if any state laws had been violated.

"It turns out that convincing somebody to run for office is not a crime, even if their name happens to be the same as an incumbent," said Justin Levitt, an election law expert at Loyola Law School and a former justice department official.

The non-incumbent Sullivan had a constitutional right to run and have his name on the ballot, added Ruth Greenwood, an election expert at Harvard Law School.

Trump administration sues to block certification of upcoming Alaska election
Alaska's Democratic Senate candidate pauses midterms campaigning after car crash

On Wednesday, the justice department amended its lawsuit to include the Times reporting, citing significant sections of the story as well as Dunleavy's announcement.

Some legal experts expressed scepticism of the merits of the lawsuit, and their chances of success given Alaska's courts had already allowed the second Sullivan to remain on the ballot.

The actual legal arguments the justice department made were a "frivolous theory," Rick Pildes, an election law expert at New York University, told the BBC.

He noted the lawsuit did not cite a specific provision that the government wanted to enforce, merely a general preamble taken from a sweeping US voting law.

Alaska election officials asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit "because the complaint has no legal basis".

The justice department has pledged continued action in the wake of the New York Times' reporting.

"They are cheating, let's call it what it is," Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Fox News on Wednesday.

In a series of Truth Social posts, Trump too pointed to the report and made a variety of allegations against Peltola, who he argued should be removed from the ballot. He repeated his endorsement for Dan S Sullivan, the incumbent Republican senator, writing: "Dan is a GREAT man, has ALWAYS delivered for Alaska."

Alaska's ranked-choice voting system means that voters could select both Sullivans if they are unsure at the ballot box.

The battle threatens to delay the full picture of nationwide results following the midterm elections. The ultimate question of which party controls Congress will have a significant bearing on the remaining two years of Trump's presidency.

A statement from an Alaskans for Mary spokesperson, written prior to Dunleavy's call for an investigation, said: "Mary got in this race because Alaskans deserve a champion who is fighting to lower their costs and put Alaska first, and no tweet or threat from any DC politician will keep her away from that fight.

"The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign."

In a statement given to US media, the DSCC likewise denied that it had been involved in any such scheme.

Peltola earlier this week paused campaigning activities in order to recover after she and her family sustained "minor injuries" in a car crash.

Venezuela opposition leader María Machado calls for elections upon return

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:05:03 GMT

Getty Images

Will GrantBBC's Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondent and Sareen Habeshian

29 October 2026

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is calling for elections to be held next year.

During a news conference in Caracas on Thursday, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said the country's move toward democracy was "irreversible".

She also thanked the Trump administration for opening the "floodgate to freedom" by capturing her opponent, former President Nicolás Maduro.

The same day, Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, said elections would be held and that her government should oversee a "transition of this magnitude" - which Machado dismissed as illogical. Rodríguez, who was Maduro's vice-president, did not set a date for voting.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Machado returns after months in exile

Machado said there would be elections in 2027, but also did not offer an exact timeline.

The transition in Venezuela would be "irreversible, organised, pacific", Machado said standing before a slogan which read "Let Us Be Free".

Her return to the country comes after she repeatedly made earlier efforts to re-enter Venezuela, and failed.

Last year Machado left Venezuela on a speedboat and in darkness to travel to Norway and accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Soon after, in January, the US seized Maduro.

The Trump administration then backed Rodríguez as leader. She was sworn in as interim president and later signed an oil deal that granted favourable terms to the US.

Although it remains unclear what Machado plans to do next, she has previously said she would run for president again if an election were held. Her ability to return to her country was contingent on approval from the Trump administration.

Speaking about her return, Machado said she had heard one word repeated by the thousands of supporters who thronged her route into the capital - freedom.

"I come to carry out a task and complete a mandate," she said.

The opposition leader said she had not received a message or invitation to meet from Rodríguez, and would not personally participate in election negotiations between opposition representatives and the government.

But she wished them well in their work, she said, in order to see the electoral body reformed so that every Venezuelan, inside the country and abroad, could vote.

Shortly before Machado's news conference, Rodríguez delivered a speech in a conciliatory tone, saying she had "instructed the security agencies that no one be detained without judicial order, except in cases of flagrant commission of crimes".

Rodríguez also spoke of "the doors being open" in Venezuela to returning exiles and talked of dialogue and building consensus.

Watch: What leaked audio reveals about Spain train crash

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 20:50:25 GMT

Watch: What leaked audio reveals about Spain train crash

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Leaked audio recordings published by Spanish media have shed light on communications between a control centre and train drivers in the moments before two trains collided outside Toledo.

Officials are investigating the cause of the disaster, which occurred when a train from Madrid to Seville barrelled into a stationary train.

Southern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford explains what the audio reveals.

Israeli opposition accuses Netanyahu of trying to 'delegitimise' election

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 20:21:54 GMT

AFP via Getty Images

Activists with a placard saying "Love your neighbour" urge opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot to try to form government that includes Arab-led parties

Tom Bennett

Jerusalem

29 October 2026

The main Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and Arab-led party leaders have denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleging foreign interference following the election which saw his coalition lose its majority.

Netanyahu's Likud accused Israel's Arab-led parties of "stealing" the election. Home security agency Shin Bet is investigating whether they received illegal funding from Qatar and Turkey.

Qatar's foreign ministry denied the "ridiculous and dangerous" allegations and accused Israeli politicians of conducting a disinformation campaign against Doha.

Final results confirmed that neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the Jewish opposition had won a majority in parliament.

The two Arab party lists - The Joint List and the Ra'am - defied expectations to win a record 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset following a surge in turnout among Arab voters.

That positions them as potential kingmakers, with Netanyahu's bloc winning 53 seats and his rival Gadi Eisenkot's bloc securing 48.

On Thursday Likud alleged that voters had been "bribed" to vote for Arab parties, after the head of the Central Elections Committee (CEC) asked the Shin Bet security service to investigate "serious suspicions" of foreign interference.

Both Arab parties strongly rejected the claim, with the Arab-majority Joint List alliance saying it was baseless.

The row is being seen by Netanyahu's critics as an attempt to delegitimise the Arab parties, thereby making it politically impossible for Eisenkot to join forces with them - which is currently his bloc's only route to power.

EPA

Arab-led parties including the Joint List headed by Yousef Jabareen (C) won a record 19 seats and could play a kingmaker role

Israeli media reported that the CEC had been presented with a claim that Qatar had provided funding aimed at increasing voter turnout in Arab communities. Qatar's Foreign Ministry "categorically" denied the claims.

Netanyahu and his Likud Party framed the allegations as a "political earthquake" and an "an attack on democracy", aimed at removing their right-wing government.

But the Shin Bet later clarified that their investigation did not implicate an entire community who had voted legally, while acting CEC Director General Dean Livne said there was "no basis for allegations of systematic violations of election integrity."

Eisenkot, who was briefed on the investigation, said "it is too early to determine what happened, or if anything happened at all," and accused Netanyahu of running "an orchestrated and organized campaign to delegitimize the election results".

Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh, who is part of the Joint List, dismissed the allegation, saying: "The losing side is constructing a racist blood libel and calling on the security agencies to use force in order to overturn the election results."

Netanyahu's attacks on Arab voters and parties have been ongoing for days. He spent much of election day posting on social media that high Arab turnout is an "emergency" and a "matter of life or death" for the Israeli right. He also shared AI-generated images of Arab voters at polling stations, in an attempt to encourage right-wingers to get out and vote.

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Netanyahu shares AI image on day of Israeli election

Arab Israelis, many of whom refer to themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel, make up about one fifth of the country.

For years, many boycotted Israeli elections, saying voting would legitimise a system that they say treats them as second-class citizens. But their turnout on Tuesday was inspired by a desire to oust the most right-wing governing coalition in Israel's history, led by Netanyahu.

The final results offer only three plausible options for a government to be formed: a national unity government involving Netanyahu and Eisenkot, a right-wing coalition involving Netanyahu and defectors from Eisenkot's bloc, or an Eisenkot-led government supported by the Arab parties.

Eisenkot and every member of his bloc bar one has previously refused to enter government with Arab parties, but speculation has swirled in recent days that an agreement could yet be reached.

A snap poll conducted by Hebrew University showed that the most popular option for voters from every party in the opposition bloc was for Eisenkot to form a minority government with Ra'am, and supported from outside by the Joint List.

'The city is alive': A brief peace in Kherson, but residents fear what comes next

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 20:05:57 GMT

Reuters

The temporary ceasefire in Kherson has provided its residents with the first glimpse of peace in nearly five years

Laura Gozzi and Dan JohnsonKyiv

29 October 2026

The Ukrainian city of Kherson has known its first two days of quiet after many years, as a US-brokered temporary ceasefire has allowed residents rare moments of respite from the constant Russian aerial attacks that plague the front line region.

Videos posted on social media showed people strolling down streets covered in anti-drone nets and gathering in the city's squares - ordinary activities that usually mean keeping one eye on the sky and one ear out for incoming drones.

"Ever since the ceasefire was announced, there's been total silence," said Olga, 42, speaking by phone from Kherson. "We are all, of course, overjoyed."

"I don't even know what to call it," she added, her smile coming through in her voice. "It's as if everything has finally come to an end."

Since Tuesday, Kherson has "literally come back to life," Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.

"People are calmly going out, walking, enjoying the autumn sun. What for some is ordinary everyday life, for residents of the Kherson region today is the greatest desire."

The temporary pause in hostilities - due to end on Sunday - is the result of efforts by US First Lady Melania Trump to broker a safe passage out of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, which lies on the other side of the Dnipro river from Kherson.

For several days, Russian forces have been working to clear the road of mines, ahead of a planned evacuation of Oleshky's civilians on Friday.

But there are fears that, alongside carrying out the well-publicised "humanitarian operation" – which some American journalists will be invited to witness – the Russians are using the truce to bolster their forces in the area ahead of a renewed onslaught of Kherson from next week.

"They are... using this lull to strengthen their positions, bring in more military supplies, weapons, ammunition, and drones, and carry out some redeployment of their forces," an anonymous source working in local government told the BBC.

Petro Andriushchenko, Director of Ukraine's Center for Studying the Occupation, says Kherson locals have told him that they witnessed a military build-up around Radensk, some 20km (12 miles) from Oleshky.

Its residents will be saved but "we are simultaneously giving the enemy an opportunity to exploit the ceasefire for its own military purposes," he said. Once the ceasefire ends, the situation may be "worse than we saw before, because Russia's units will be stronger. They have enough time to prepare to prolong this action."

Though Kherson residents are clear-eyed about what lies ahead, for a brief period this week the city caught its breath.

No violations have been reported on either side since Tuesday. There have been other ceasefires in the past, but these were generally not respected, Kherson resident Dima said.

"This is the first time the shelling has stopped, people don't quite believe it," he told the BBC. "They are going to the shops, drinking coffee, walking around... The city is alive."

On social media, a woman named Yulia wrote about her unusually uneventful trip to the supermarket with an edge of disbelief. For once, she said, she returned home from the shops "whole and calm, not as usual - scared, sweating from the horror and with a lump in my throat."

Supplied

"We've managed to adapt to this way of life," Olga said. "We've been living under these conditions for nearly five years now."

This week, dozens of people were also able to access their belongings and homes in the so-called "red zone" of Kherson – an area so exposed to drones and artillery attacks that it has become unlivable.

"Some are venturing into places where nobody has dared to go for years, filming areas where simply being present has meant - and will once again mean - almost certain death," said Denisa Bohackova, a Czech volunteer who lives in Kherson.

Dima described scenes of "girls, boys, parents, grandmothers" walking down the streets of the red zone carrying suitcases and bags, returning to their flats to see what they could retrieve.

Some of those who returned to the red zone found buildings reduced to charred, empty shells; in other cases, homes had been looted. The scale of destruction in some of these places, Bohackova said, is "breathtaking".

Others were rushing back for reasons beyond material concerns. Angela Dobrovolska's husband Serhiy was killed two years ago by a grenade dropped by a piloted Russian drone - an instance of a "human safari" attack of the kind that Kherson has become sadly infamous for.

On Thursday, Angela headed back from Kyiv to Kherson to visit his grave for the first time in months. "They say that all the people have rushed to Kherson," she said. "And I'll be going to the cemetery to my husband."

The population of Kherson has dwindled from over 250,000 to about 65,000 since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which will enter its sixth year in February.

Though civilian life in the city never stopped, Bohackova said, it also carried on under the conditions of an active battlefield, with schools, theatres, kindergartens and hospitals moved underground.

"An ordinary civilian from Kherson has experienced more of this war than many soldiers," Bohackova said.

Olga, who is raising two children, described regular blackouts, mines dropped by drones and concealed by fallen leaves, drone fragments ricocheting, and a city that typically shuts by the afternoon.

But since silence fell on the city, Olga has been able to live a normal life. She drove to a different town and took the bus to another district to visit her grandmother with her son. Around her, the shops were full, as were the cafes. After years of quiet streets, "there was even a small traffic jam," she smiled.

But the clock is ticking.

The evacuation of nearby Oleshky is due to be completed by Sunday, after which the ceasefire will be over. "The concern is that, starting Monday, things could turn truly chaotic," Olga said.

"We know the strikes will resume, and that they will increase," said Dima, as he and his wife prepared to visit their flat in the red zone for the first time in several months.

"These few days showed us how it could be if it all finally ended."

EU chief lays out vision for new Canada partnership at Montreal summit

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 17:02:59 GMT

EPA

Ursula von der Leyen reiterated on Thursday her wish for Canada to become an "associate member" of the EU.

Nadine Yousif

Senior Canada reporter

29 October 2026

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has laid out her vision for what an "associate membership" status for Canada to the EU would look like as officials gather in Montreal to discuss closer ties.

It is "a partnership that comes close to membership than anything we have done before," she said on Thursday's remarks at the two-day Canada-EU summit.

She added it is a type of relationship that would be open "only to our closest partners outside of Europe who are ready to open a new frontier together."

It includes close alignment on governance and policies, and partnering in research and innovation.

For decades, Canada-EU summits took place without much fanfare - but that's not the case for this year's meeting in the Canadian city.

Thursday and Friday's summit is being closely watched for details on how Canada and the European bloc deepen their ties.

Von der Leyen first proposed "opening the door" to Canada last month for what she called an "associate membership" - a status that does not currently exist.

The overture came after Prime Minister Carney addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg, telling EU lawmakers that Canada and Europe were "stronger together" in the face of "geopolitical rupture".

Carney and many EU member states welcome closer ties, but not all are on board with what to call this new relationship.

Some, like Germany, are questioning the "associate member" term, fearing that Canada is getting preferential treatment ahead of other nations who also want in.

According to reports by multiple news outlets, Germany and other nations successfully lobbied to remove mention of the title in a draft statement ahead of the summit, opting instead for softer language that references an "ever closer association".

Germany's ambassador to Canada, Matthias Lüttenberg, told CTV News on Tuesday that some member states were "a little surprised" by von der Leyen's announcement last month.

While there is broad support for closer ties, the concept of "associate membership" is something that is not clearly understood as it pertains to Canada, he said.

"Germany has been using the term of associate membership for something completely different, which is the relationship of the EU to Ukraine and potentially Moldova", he said, both of which have been trying to join the bloc for many years.

Despite some opposition, von der Leyen has continued to use the term has not addressed the disagreement over the term.

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Watch: 'A better opportunity' - Canadians on a closer alliance with Europe

Later on Thursday, Carney and von der Leyen and business leaders from both Europe and Canada will gather for a business forum.

Canadian officials said they also expect agreements to be hammered out on defence, critical minerals, research and trade over the two days.

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, European officials downplayed the possibility of a major announcement on Canada's new relationship with EU, saying much will be sorted in the coming months.

But both Canadian and EU officials have provided some clues on what the relationship could look like, including closer business ties and allowing more students to study on either side of the Atlantic.

Canada also does not plan on paying a membership fee similar to other EU nations, Canadian officials have said. Instead, it is looking at participating in different EU programmes that would benefit both Canada and member states.

And despite some disagreement about the wording, both have signalled they are fully on board with deepening ties.

"The wording is emblematic of the ambition," said one senior Canadian official who was granted anonymity to speak to reporters at a briefing ahead of the summit.

Polls show the majority of Canadians support forging closer ties to Europe, external, though the Conservative opposition in Canada has criticised the effort as a distraction from other issues, like the high cost of living.

"No one's mortgage or grocery bill will come down," said Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in a statement, adding that Canada already has a free trade pact with the EU.

What could EU associate member status mean for Canada?
Canada welcomes EU proposal to become 'associate member'
Many Canadians are boycotting the US, so this is where they're travelling instead

Since taking office last year, Prime Minister Carney has pushed Canada closer to Europe as his country continues to deal with an ongoing trade war with the US, its neighbour and largest trading customer.

US President Donald Trump has called the idea of Canada becoming an associate member of the EU "laughable", and has threatened "very serious tariffs" on Europe if he considered it a "hostile act".

Canadian officials stressed on Wednesday that their pivot to Europe is not meant to offend anybody, but rather to build on work that was already underway.

Canada recently signed an agreement that gives its defence companies procurement access to the EU's Security and Defence Partnership programme.

It also signed a landmark energy deal with Germany in May that would see the first-ever long-term shipments of liquified natural gas from Canada to Europe in the coming years.

On Thursday, Canada released its new National Security Strategy, the first in two decades, which underlines supporting security and stability in Europe as a priority.

As for what this new relationship status will be called, Carney has said the "nomenclature" does not matter.

"What matters is the difference it will make to the lives of Canadians," he said.

Flávio Bolsonaro calls himself 'leader of Brazil' after election loss

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 14:58:28 GMT

Getty Images

Flávio Bolsonaro arrived in Florida on Wednesday

Vanessa Buschschlüter

Latin America online editor

29 October 2026

The defeated candidate in Brazil's presidential election, Flávio Bolsonaro, has referred to himself as "leader of Brazil" in a letter he published on social media after leaving the country for the United States.

Bolsonaro lost to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the run-off on Sunday by a difference of 4.4 million votes, but has not conceded defeat.

In the letter, Bolsonaro alleges, without offering evidence, that he was the victim of "electoral fraud" and says that he will lead the opposition from the US.

He left Brazil on Tuesday after failing to comply with an order to surrender his passports, a decision which Lula described as "a shameful act".

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Watch: Has Flávio Bolsonaro left Brazil to evade justice?

Bolsonaro starts his letter, which he posted on his X account, saying "I address the Brazilian people and the international community as the leader of Brazil".

However, he had posted a previous version, that was later deleted, in which he wrote: "I address the Brazilian people and the international community as the rightful president of Brazil."

Both versions repeat the allegation that Bolsonaro first made on election night, that an extension of polling hours on Sunday had benefited his rival.

In the letter, he says it was "an electoral fraud unfolding before my eyes".

The extension was requested by both Lula's and Bolsonaro's campaign teams, and the head of Brazil's electoral authority has said that the vote proceeded normally and in full accordance with the country's laws and constitution.

An analysis of election data conducted by BBC Brazil and BBC Verify has also found that only around 34,000 people voted during the extended hours - far lower than the 4.4 million votes that separated Lula from Bolsonaro.

In his letter, Bolsonaro also addresses his departure from Brazil - which caused confusion after he disappeared for more than 24 hours.

It later emerged that he had gone across the land border to Argentina, and from there flew on to Florida, following a brief refuelling stop in Ecuador.

Bolsonaro left after failing to hand in his passports to police - in defiance of a Supreme Court order, which had been issued as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering.

He has not been charged as part of the money laundering probe and denies any wrongdoing, calling the investigation a "politically-motivated witch hunt".

Bolsonaro added that he had never intended to leave Brazil, but argued that he was the victim of "political persecution".

He ended the letter by saying: "I left Brazil but I haven't abandoned Brazilians".

While Flávio Bolsonaro said that he planned to lead the opposition from the US, it was not clear how he planned to do that.

His party recognised the election result and while some of its politicians have described Bolsonaro as a "political exile", his campaign manager, Rogério Marinho, stated on Wednesday that "there is no evidence" of the electoral fraud that Bolsonaro alleges took place.

It is also not yet clear where Bolsonaro intends to stay or for how long.

His younger brother, Eduardo, has been in self-imposed exile in the US since March 2025, saying he was the victim of political persecution. The two siblings posted a photo of themselves holding a Brazilian flag on Wednesday.

Eduardo Bolsonaro/Instagram/Reuters

Flávio Bolsonaro's brother Eduardo posted a photo of the two of them in the US

The Trump administration has provided visas for Flávio Bolsonaro and his family but did not say what kind of visas they were.

The US president did not explicitly endorse Bolsonaro in the run-up to the election and told reporters he "won't get involved" when asked about Bolsonaro's allegations of election fraud.

Earlier in the week, he had said that "it looked like another rigged election," without providing any evidence.

And on Thursday, Trump told reporters that "the election was a very great embarrassment to the people of Brazil".

Russian drone attack on Ukrainian train station kills at least 14, officials say

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 14:17:35 GMT

National Police of Ukraine

The site of the drone strike has been sealed off, as Ukrainian authorities continue their investigation

Tom McArthur

29 October 2026

At least 14 people have been killed after a Russian jet-powered drone hit a crowded platform at the main railway station in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, local officials have said.

Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said at least 14 others were wounded in the attack, including an 11-year-old boy.

Ukraine's state railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said a passenger train headed for the southern city of Zaporizhzhia was at one of the platforms in Dnipro when the drone hit.

Russia's military has not publicly commented. It has repeatedly hit Ukraine's large railway network, but Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians.

In Dnipro, an elevated threat level was announced ahead of Thursday's strike, according to the railway operator chief, Oleksandr Pertsovsky.

"But unfortunately there were still a large number of people on the platform" when the drone struck, he said.

Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said the incident was a tragedy, adding that a drone hit an electric civilian train.

Pictures from the Ukrainian rescue services show a large hole in a platform that is strewn with blurred-out bodies, near a blast-damaged train with smashed windows.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said "the Russians used a drone to attack a platform where a regular commuter train and a regular passenger train were standing."

He called for further US, European and G7 sanctions on Russia and repeated his criticism of a controversial deal that was struck earlier this month between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which eased some sanctions on Moscow, allowing the US to import Russian diesel.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, two girls aged 15 were killed in a Russian missile attack on the centre of Chernihiv city, in the north of the country, regional head Vyacheslav Chaus said. At least 25 others, including four children, were injured, he added.

A day of mourning has been declared for Chernihiv and Dnipro on Friday.

In the city of Kremenchuk, in the central Poltava region, three people were killed and 28 injured in a Russian drone attack that hit residential buildings and a school, regional head Vitaliy Diakivnych said.

Chernihiv Patrol Police

At least 25 people were injured in the Russian strike on Kremenchuk, local officials said

The latest Russian strikes came during efforts to uphold a fragile ceasefire in the besieged city of Oleshky, which has been under Russian occupation since 2022 and where residents have been trapped without food, water, medicine and electricity for years.

Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, wrote on Telegram that the truce was holding into a third day.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has condemned Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow whilst the city hosts the Russia-Africa Summit, the Tass news agency has reported. The two-day event is attended by African leaders and government delegations from 48 countries.

The mayor of Moscow said 613 Ukrainian drones were launched overnight towards the region, most of which were shot down during their flight.

Russia's defence ministry has always denied targeting Ukrainian civilians and says its attacks on railways target the infrastructure used to transport military personnel and equipment.

However, the dangers to passengers are very real, and attacks on Ukraine's train infrastructure have risen sharply.

Of the 521 locomotives hit since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, almost 60% have been hit this year, according to statistics released by Ukrzaliznytsia supplied to AFP news agency.

Overall attacks on railway facilities have risen from 1,206 in 2025 to 1,700 so far this year.

There appears to have been a wider assault on Ukraine's infrastructure in recent weeks, with two bridges attacked in the capital Kyiv, and a metro train hit during one of the strikes.

Additional reporting by Jaroslav Lukiv

Rock collapse kills two in Turkey's Cappadocia, local media reports

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 13:44:39 GMT

Reuters

Jaroslav Lukiv

29 October 2026

At least two people have been killed and five injured after a rock formation collapsed at a tourist site in Turkey's historical region of Cappadocia, local media is reporting.

One of the rock spires, which are known as fairy chimneys, reportedly disintegrated at the popular open-air museum in the central town of Göreme.

Nevşehir provincial Governor Hüseyin Kök said the victims' bodies had been recovered from under the rubble, but the justice minister warned there could be "other potential victims" still trapped.

The cause of Thursday's incident was not immediately known, however local media reported the collapse could have been triggered by heavy rain.

Turkish media reported that the collapse happened near the entrance to the museum - a Unesco World Heritage site - at about 15:15 local time (12:15 GMT).

In a later post on social media, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said that "according to initial assessments, two individuals have lost their lives in the incident, and five others have been injured".

He added that a search and rescue operation was continuing at the site.

The Cappadocia region attracts tourists from around the world, who want to see the ancient fairy chimneys - tall, cone-shaped rock formations that are created by volcanic activity.

Getty Images

Cappadocia is a popular tourist destination known for its distinctive rock formations, known as fairy chimneys (file image)

Philippine police obtain warrant to search Thomas Markle's devices

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 13:25:07 GMT

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Footage shows Thomas Markle's son handing over VHS tapes and dismantled computers to police

Jonathan Head

South East Asia correspondentCebu, Philippines

29 October 2026

Philippine police have obtained a warrant to examine devices allegedly removed from the former home of Thomas Markle, father of the Duchess of Sussex.

Earlier this month, it was reported that hundreds of images of child sexual abuse allegedly belonging to Thomas Markle Sr, 82, had been found at the property in the Philippines.

Four boxes of material, including computers, phones, hard drives and old videotapes, were handed to police by Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, last week. However, officers in Cebu needed a court warrant before they could examine the items.

Thomas Markle Sr, who is now in the US, has strongly denied the allegations made by his son, describing them as "sick lies".

Cebu Regional Prosecutor Graeme Elmido told the BBC that Thomas Markle Jr was "adamant" that the case should be investigated, and that he felt his father "has to answer for it".

Last week, the Sun on Sunday reported that Thomas Markle Sr's ex-wife, Roslyn Loveless, had sent a letter to the Metropolitan Police about the 2019 allegations, which was shared with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the time.

Loveless, who has since died, is the mother of Meghan's two half-siblings. She divorced Thomas Markle Sr. in 1975, before he married the duchess's mother.

ITV / Shutterstock

Thomas Markle Sr strongly denies the allegations of possessing images of child sexual abuse

The duchess has been estranged from her father since 2018. The BBC understands she broke contact with him last year, telling him she and the authorities knew he had abused young girls.

In a statement shared on Friday, Meghan confirmed the existence of the letter and wrote: "I am deeply distressed... my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed."

She said she hoped it could be understood why she had largely cut off contact from her father and did "not allow him to have contact with our children".

Speaking to the Sun, Thomas Markle Jr also apologised to Meghan for initially siding with her father during their long-running estrangement, and said he had "been protecting the wrong person for the past nine years".

Thomas Markle Sr moved to the Philippines last year after he had a series of strokes, and lived in Cebu until May.

He is reportedly now living in a Florida rehabilitation centre learning to walk again after having his leg amputated.

The police say they must identify how the material was obtained before they can consider any criminal charges.

Campaigners describe Cebu as a known hotspot for the sexual exploitation of children, and authorities say they take any such allegations very seriously.

Audio reveals exchanges between Spain train operators and drivers moments before deadly crash

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 11:07:35 GMT

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Listen: Audio recordings between train driver and controller

Harry Sekulich and Jaroslav Lukiv

29 October 2026

Leaked audio recordings that were published in Spanish media have revealed conversations between train drivers and a control centre just minutes before a deadly crash on Wednesday morning, that has killed 69 people.

Officials are investigating the cause of the disaster, which occurred when a train from Madrid to Seville barrelled into a stationary train near Urda.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said that authorities will "get to the bottom of every last detail of this tragedy".

Dozens of people were injured, with survivors recounting harrowing scenes people crying and bleeding, passengers trapped in their seats, missing limbs and smoke billowing throughout the carriages, one of which caught fire.

On Thursday, Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited some of the injured passengers in a hospital in Toledo.

He later expressed condolences to the victims' relatives, pledging that the investigation would determine why the crash happened, and what measures would be taken for this not to happen again.

Young athlete and former minister among victims of Spain train crash

The crash is one of the worst rail disasters in Europe's modern history, and Spain's worst crash since 2013. On Thursday, the country began three days of national mourning.

The moving train, run by state-owned operator Renfe, had 397 passengers on board. The stationary train was run by private operator Iryo, and carrying 147 passengers.

A reported issue with the automatic signalling system - a computer failure - had forced all trains to halt on the affected stretch.

But later the Renfe train was ordered to proceed in "error", according to Spain's transport minister.

The audio recordings were published by several Spanish news outlets including El Pais and RTVE.

In one, a control centre operator is speaking to the driver of the Renfe train, which was having some technical difficulties.

After some exchanges, the control operator tells the driver: "Continue your journey and then proceed under [Lateral Signalling Block], at normal speed with normal operation."

The driver replies: "At normal speed?" To which the controller answers: "Yes."

The Lateral Signalling Block is a back-up or alternative train system used when the automatic signalling or data transmission system fails.

The driver of the stationary Iryo train says in another audio recording that communication with the train-control system has been lost, and it is not moving.

The train "is stationary in front of the entry signal at Urda", the driver tells the control centre operator. After a series of exchanges, the driver is then told to "resume the journey" normally.

The Iryo driver then contacts the control centre again, according to a later recording, saying they cannot start the train. "The train won't allow me to control the [security] system. That's why I am still stopped in front of the entry signal," they say.

The latter recording suggests that the controller had been notified that the Iryo train remained stationary as the Renfe train approached.

Iryo said its carriages were "struck from behind" by the other train.

Spain's transport minister Óscar Puente said on Wednesday that the decision to instruct the trains to move again, without any speed restrictions, was "inexplicable".

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Watch: 'Chaotic scenes' at site of Spain's deadly train crash

Irene Montero - the prime ministerial candidate for the left-wing Podemos party - said responsibility for the crash should not be placed on one worker, adding that train drivers and experts have been warning against the liberalisation of the railway sector for years.

From the crash site, Sánchez said: "We are working day and night not only to support the victims' families, but also to establish every last detail of this tragedy and strengthen safety measures to ensure it never happens again."

Most Spanish politicians have cancelled all public engagements and suspended their campaigning ahead of a snap election on 29 November.

The exception is the far-right party Vox. Its leader, Santiago Abascal, said his party would not take part in what he described as attempts to "use mourning to silence criticism" of the country's rail infrastructure.

Europa Press via Getty Images

Protesters gathered outside the transport ministry offices in Madrid on Wednesday night

Overnight, around 1,500 people gathered outside the Spanish transport ministry building in the capital, according to broadcaster TVE, which reported that demonstrators were largely calling for the resignations of Sánchez and Puente.

Police used tear gas to disperse crowds after protesters hurled bottles and flares. No injuries or arrests were reported.

Rail drivers went ahead with a planned strike on Thursday, with the Spanish Union of Railway Drivers (Semaf) saying the strike action was being held "in defence of railway safety".

The leader of Spain's main opposition People's Party Alberto Núñez Feijóo said: "Spain has the right to know what is happening with its infrastructure."

At the crash site, emergency crews worked through the night under powerful floodlights to cut open metal carriages in the search for victims, with many of those killed in the crash still to be identified.

Hundreds of personnel have been deployed to the disaster site to assist with recovery efforts, Spain's interior ministry said, with drones and helicopters being used to find victims and remove rubble.

A spokesperson for the Spanish Civil Guard told the BBC they had deployed more than 900 people from different specialist departments, and the priority now was identifying the deceased.

They said they did not know how long this would take, but urged those with missing family members to go to one of the local centres which have been set up to offer DNA samples.

Voter voices: Which issues matter most to Americans?

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:52:33 GMT

Voter voices: Which issues matter most to Americans?

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What issues matter most to US voters in this year's midterm elections?

As part of our Voter Voices series, the BBC has been speaking to Americans across the country about their top issue this election.

Many cited the state of the economy - the number one issue for most voters, according to polls - while others raised law and order, immigration and healthcare, among other issues. Some voters mentioned fears about the US becoming either fascist or communist.

Video produced and edited by Meiying Wu

Interviews gathered and filmed by Meiying Wu, Angélica Casas, Blanca Estrada, Eloise Alanna, Sheila Flynn, Katy Bailes, Regan Morris, Keith "Chuck" Tayman, Pratiksha Ghildial and Andrew Sarge Herbert

Subsection
US & Canada

1 day ago

Details of thousands of US immigration agents leaked in major hack

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 01:30:43 GMT

Reuters

US immigration agents often work with their faces covered and do not wear identification.

Kali Hays

Technology reporter

28 October 2026

Updated 29 October 2026

Details of more than 41,000 personnel working for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including thousands involved in immigration enforcement, have been leaked to the public.

The leak includes names, work addresses and phone numbers of DHS staff, including agents working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection, along with descriptions of the work they do for each agency.

Wednesday's leak marks the third time in recent weeks that a government agency has been targeted by leaks or hacks.

A DHS spokesperson said the agency is "aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively."

"We take all security threats against our employees and officers seriously and will work to ensure all are properly protected," the spokesperson added.

"We will update the public when more information is available."

The seemingly unprecedented breach of employee information was made public online. A group called the Department of Peace accessed the information from DHS, while journalist and cybersecurity researcher maia crimew alongside the website Distributed Denial of Secrets put it online.

The information was put in a database named Icepick.

Most of the agents included, more than 21,000 of them, work for CBP, according to the data. Nearly 6,600 work for ICE.

Other records show agents with Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Protective Service and even people working for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

The leaked information also included dozens of previously unknown operation names, the agents that led and worked on those operations, and some of the technology they used in their work, including tech provided by Cellbrite and Palantir.

The groups wrote in an online statement that the the leak was not meant to be a directory of every DHS agent. Rather the aim was to replace "anonymity with accountability", according to Emma Best, a co founder of DDoSecrets.

"The leak is extraordinary but deceptive in its simplicity as it identifies the officials responsible for overseeing covert and undercover operations, the government's hunt for leakers and the failed BlueLeaks investigation - along with key personnel in DHS's ever-escalating rendition and deportation programs," Best added.

BlueLeaks refers to a massive leak of US police data in 2020, data from which DDoSecrets also hosted.

A spokesperson for the Department of Peace pointed directly at actions by ICE agents for the group's work to hack DHS records.

"On July 17th, Markwayne Mullin said he was 'turning up the heat'. This is what happens to ICE when you do that," the spokesperson wrote on Wednesday.

Mullin in March became Secretary of Homeland Security.

The Department of Peace said it accessed the DHS agent profiles through a single sign-on service called Okta.

Okta is a popular online security tool that organisations use to ensure that only people with access to internal platforms are logging on to them.

A spokeswoman for Okta said the company is aware of the claims being made, but said: "Okta is secure, and we have no evidence our data or systems were compromised."

Last month, the FBI was hacked by a group called ShinyHunters, which took personal information about thousands of agents.

In recent days, the Federal Election Commission, which makes public political campaign donation data, was taken offline because of a suspected hacking attempt.

Public backlash to US immigration enforcement has been building as the Trump Administration has pushed a huge increase in arrests and deportations of people suspected of being in the country illegally.

Immigration operations this year have repeatedly turned violent, external, with ICE agents shooting at more than two dozen people and killing at least nine people.

Those killings include the high profile deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both of whom were shot and killed by ICE agents this year in Minnesota, despite not being the targets of arrests.

Often, ICE agents carry out enforcement actions while their faces are covered by masks and sunglasses. Immigration agents rarely identify themselves, despite being required by law to do so, and US politicians have publicly demanded, external DHS enforces the requirement.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, the US has enacted nearly 1 million deportations, external, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute. More than 70% of the deportations have been of people with no criminal record.

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