The Norwegian Nobel Committee named Navanethem “Navi” Pillay as the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize laureate on October 9 in Oslo. The 85-year-old South African judge spent her career widening the reach of international law. She defended Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists, then served on the High Court of South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. At the Rwanda tribunal her influence helped establish that rape and sexual violence can count as crimes against humanity and genocide. She was United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and chaired the UN inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. She now sits on the International Court of Justice in the Myanmar genocide case.
Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed a superseding indictment on Thursday that charges ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, with conspiracy to commit torture. The filing in Manhattan federal court says the couple directed a campaign of beatings, electric shocks and asphyxiation against political opponents and more than a dozen American citizens held in Venezuelan custody. Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, already face narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking charges and have pleaded not guilty. Both have been held in federal custody since January, and their trial is set for June 2027. FBI Director Kash Patel said the two would now answer for the alleged abuses.
A 28-year-old laboratory worker at Russia's Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute died of pneumonia of an undetermined cause, prompting officials to quarantine dozens of contacts and test them for plague. Russia's health watchdog says plague has not been found among those tested so far, and the WHO says Moscow reported no plague cases in Irkutsk. US officials are monitoring the case and pressing for more information, while Russian authorities say the situation is under control.
South Korea's Defence Ministry says it is weighing steps to force North Korea to apologise for a landmine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone that wounded three soldiers last month. A joint South Korean and UN Command investigation concluded the two mines were planted by North Korean forces about a year ago. Seoul wants Pyongyang to apologise and remove any remaining mines. North Korea rejected the finding, calling it a poor trick to shift blame. The dispute has stalled a fragile push for dialogue, including a South Korean proposal to jointly resurvey the Military Demarcation Line, where only about 200 of 1,292 boundary markers remain intact.
Yemen's internationally recognised government says it has begun a major military operation to retake territory held by the Houthis, including the capital, Sanaa. Rashad al-Alimi, head of the presidential council, announced the campaign in a televised speech on Sunday. Government forces backed by Saudi Arabia said on Monday they had retaken positions near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route at the mouth of the Red Sea. Houthi fighters seized the Red Sea port of Mocha in September. The Houthis reported Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa at the weekend and said they struck Saudi energy sites in reply. The Saudi-led coalition did not confirm the strikes.
Brazilians voted on Sunday in a presidential election that pits incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Pre-election polls showed the two candidates only about two points apart, with all other candidates sharing roughly ten percent. Because no candidate is expected to clear fifty percent of valid votes, the race is likely to go to a runoff on October 25. More than 158 million people were eligible to vote, including about one million Brazilians living abroad. Electronic voting means official results are usually released within hours of polls closing.
Flash floods and landslides in Nepal's mountain valleys have killed at least 800 people, with around 3,000 still missing. Rescue teams are working through villages where roads and bridges were swept away, while bad weather has grounded many helicopter flights. Nepal's foreign minister linked the disaster to rising temperatures and urged stronger global action on climate change. Aid groups say supplies are moving slowly, and officials warn the toll could rise as teams reach areas that are still cut off.
A FlyDubai flight bound for Tel Aviv was diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia after a pilot tried to seize the cockpit in mid-air. Passengers and crew fought back and the aircraft landed safely. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the attacker had 'Islamist radical indoctrination' and intended to bring the plane down. President Donald Trump warned Iran of fresh strikes if Tehran was involved, while Britain said there were strong indications of Iranian links to a separate air base plot. The incident has put cockpit access rules, crew vetting and pilot mental health screening back under review across the airline industry.
The US military said on Wednesday that it has completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending the 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group. The last personnel left Erbil Air Base in the north under a deal between Baghdad and Washington, with a small group staying to protect diplomats. Iraq marked the departure with a new four-day national holiday called Sovereignty Day. Iran-backed groups celebrated, while officials in the Kurdish region said they worry about the loss of US air defences and a possible Islamic State comeback. Analysts say the effects will take time to show because the US presence had already been scaled down for years.
A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia after the captain was stabbed and, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the other pilot apparently tried to crash the aircraft. Flight FZ1073 carried 174 people. Passengers and crew overpowered the attacker and tied him up, and two crew members landed the plane. The captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, was taken to hospital and is in stable condition. Israel's defence minister called it an attempted jihadist terror attack, while no official motive has been given. A repatriation flight carried the mostly Israeli passengers home on Wednesday.