October 18
Disasters and accidents
Politics and elections
The Iranian Parliament appoints Mehrdad Akhlaghi as Minister of Defence, replacing acting minister Majid Ebn-e-Reza.
Source:
Reuters 
October 17
Disasters and accidents
At least 17 people are killed and 25 others are injured in a crowd crush at a pandal in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Source:
Sky News
An explosion and wildfire occurs at the CFB Wainwright, a Canadian Armed Forces base in Alberta. Seven people are killed and dozens more injured.
Source:
CTV News
Ten tourists are killed and nine others sustain injuries after a resort catches fire in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Source:
AA
Eight people are killed and eight others are injured after a minibus carrying 23 passengers plunges into a drain along the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway near Kota, Rajasthan, India.
Source:
The Times of India
A Piper Tomahawk II aircraft crashes near Drymen, Stirling, Scotland, killing the two people on board.
Source:
BBC News
Law and crime
Over 500,000 people take part in protests across France, according to the national trade union confederation, while clashes and riots erupt in large cities.
Source:
FranceInfo
In Lille, protesters storm the city hall and damage the premises prior to being removed by security forces.
Source:
Ouest-France
Dozens of shops are looted across major French cities amid widespread rioting and civil unrest.
Source:
BFMTV
The Hôtel de Ville in Limoges is destroyed by fire.
Source:
Le Parisien
Yellow vests activists hold mass demonstrations across France against rising fuel prices and join the student protests.
Source:
Al Jazeera
A court in New Delhi, India, orders the release of Cockroach Janta Party founder and activist Abhijeet Dipke on a peace bond, one day after police detained him while he was heading to a protest against the Election Commission of India.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Health and environment
Kenya confirms four additional cases of Bundibugyo ebolavirus, including three health workers who treated Kenya's first patient and one of his relatives, raising the national total to seven. All four are already in quarantine.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Armed conflicts and attacks
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi states that Egypt will take all necessary steps to protect and defend Saudi Arabia should the latter so desire.
Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)Yemeni civil war (2014–present)Egypt–Saudi Arabia relationsHouthi–Saudi conflict
Source:
Arab News
Politics and elections
In Czechia, opposition parties win 22 of the contested 27 seats in the Senate. The lead party of prime minister Andrej Babiš's government, ANO 2011, comes in third place. The election is the first time in the country's history where governing parties did not win a single seat in a senatorial election.
Source:
AP
The fourth round of No Kings protests are held across the United States against president Donald Trump and his administration and to encourage early voting ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
Source:
USA Today
Sports
In ice hockey, the Florida Panthers become the first team in the National Hockey League to record a natural hat trick in three consecutive games.
Source:
The Athletic
October 16
Health and environment
Brazilian environment minister João Paulo Capobianco reports that deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell to 5,796km (2,238sqmi) in the year through July 2026, the lowest level since 1988 except for 2012.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Armed conflicts and attacks
Thirty people are killed and 47 people are injured in a drone strike on a cattle market in Nyala, South Darfur, Sudan.
Source:
Dawn
Source:
The Times of Israel
Sports
In women's rugby union, Canada defeats England 24–21 in a WXV Global Series match in Toronto, ending the Red Roses' four-year unbeaten run at 41 matches (the longest in rugby union history) after Shoshanah Seumanutafa scores a late try.
Source:
Stuff
International relations
Australia agrees to provide Fiji with solar-, wind-, and wave-powered Bluebottle maritime drones and training for surveillance and efforts against drug trafficking and other transnational crime, with deployment expected in 2027.
Source:
AFP via RFI
Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyar and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy agree to improve bilateral relations during a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, with Hungary lifting objections to further European Union accession talks for Ukraine following progress on ethnic Hungarian minority rights in Ukraine.
Source:
Reuters
Law and crimes
Cockroach Janta Party leader Abhijeet Dipke is detained in Delhi, India, ahead of the party's planned march.
Source:
BBC News
South African police rescue about 200 people from an unregistered rehabilitation centre in Mpumalanga and arrest two people while investigating alleged kidnapping and health and safety violations. Fourteen people receive medical treatment following the rescue.
Source:
Reuters
A judge in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, sentences three Mexican men to over 158 years in prison each for the murder of two Australians and an American in 2024.
Source:
AP
Politics and elections
Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, who was named Prime Minister by King Mohammed VI on 29 September, takes office as her four-party coalition Government is formally appointed.
Source:
Morocco World News
October 15
Science and technology
Astronomers discover the first green star, WD J1330+6435, according to a study published by RAS Techniques and Instruments.
Source:
Popular Science
At the General Conference on Weights and Measures, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures votes to abolish future leap seconds and make Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) continuous, starting 20 May 2027. To account for future differences between UTC and International Atomic Time, a leap hour will be observed as needed.
Source:
Scientific American
Health and environment
The United Kingdom declares a severe drought in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex, and West Sussex after prolonged low rainfall left more than 80% of England in drought and major reservoirs below 20% capacity.
Source:
AFP
Politics and elections
The Riksdag votes against the appointment of Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson to repeat as Prime Minister of Sweden. Last 28 September, Andersson already returned her mandate to explore forming a new government.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Law and crime
Three children and a teacher are killed in a mass school shooting at the Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, United States. Two other people are wounded. The perpetrator, a 16-year-old male, is shot and killed by a bystander.
Source:
The Guardian
U.S. president Donald Trump announces that the Department of Defense has reversed its plan to livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the perpetrator of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, scheduled for December 3.
Source:
AP
Argentine police arrest at least 25 people after clashes during a university funding protest in Buenos Aires, while eight police officers are injured.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Northern Irish politician and former Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson is sentenced to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse and rape. The offences occurred between 1985 and 2008.
Source:
BBC News
Armed conflicts and attacks
Saudi Arabia says that it has intercepted a missile intended for Medina. However, the Houthis denied launching a missile at the city.
Source:
France 24
The Houthis launch missiles against Al-Maashiq Palace, headquarters of the Presidential Leadership Council and official residence of President Rashad al-Alimi, in Aden, Yemen, killing five people and injuring 16. No member of the council is harmed in the attack.
Source:
Reuters
Sports
In baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS to advance to the 2026 World Series, their first since 1982.
Source:
ESPN
Disasters and accidents
A roof collapses at a school in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, killing 34 students and a teacher, and injuring 50 more people.
Source:
BBC News
Four people are killed fighting wildfires in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, Indonesia, after flames and thick smoke trapped them. Two others suffer serious burns.
Source:
AFP
Seven people are missing after a San Marino-flagged tanker catches fire off the coast of Romania amid recent drone attacks on merchant shipping in the Black Sea. Search and rescue operations are underway to locate the missing crew members.
Source:
Politico
International relations
A court in Hamburg, Germany, sentences a Danish national to eight years and six months in prison and an Afghan national to four years and six months in prison for plotting to assassinate Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, on behalf of Iran.
Source:
Reuters
Business and economy
The New Yalu River Bridge connecting Dandong, China, and Sinuiju, North Korea, opens following a 12-year delay.
Source:
NK News
The European Central Bank authorizes UniCredit to raise its stake in Commerzbank above 30% without an upper limit, allowing the Italian bank to proceed toward taking control of the German lender.
Source:
The Eastern Herald