~World news

**Update — Saturday evening, October 24 (Taiwan time):** Champi has weakened from a typhoon to a tropical storm, and Taiwan lifted its land warning at 2:30 p.m. as the system moved away. The Central Weather Administration said the sea warning was expected to be lifted later Saturday evening or night. At 4:30 p.m., Taiwan's Central Emergency Operations Center reported one death and 616 injuries, up from 527 injuries in its morning count. The fatality was a man swept away by storm-driven waves off Liuqiu on Thursday. The later tally was reported by [Focus Taiwan/CNA](https://indonesia.focustaiwan.tw/society/202610245002); the CWA's warning update is [here](https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202610240009). The storm's effects are still disrupting travel even as warnings ease. [Focus Taiwan reported](https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202610240012) that more than 1,000 passengers were waiting at Kinmen Airport to return to Taiwan's main island, with more than 1,000 also seeking standby seats at Penghu Airport. Air and ferry services were gradually resuming; Penghu added sailings for about 1,300 passengers. Taoyuan International Airport had recorded 563 cancellations on Friday and another 261 by 10:15 a.m. Saturday. The earlier death and injury reports were snapshots taken at different times, not conflicting final totals. Champi had reached super-typhoon strength before passing Taiwan; its peak intensity does not make it the strongest typhoon ever recorded. The storm's exact remaining effects and when every route returns to normal depend on updated local advisories and operator schedules.

 Editorial illustration — conceptual, not a photograph of the ships or attacks. Romania resumed its search Friday for seven sailors missing after the chemical tanker Wine Trader was hit by a drone near the Black Sea coast, [Reuters reported](https://www.internazionale.it/ultime-notizie-reuters/2026/10/16/romania-resumes-search-for-seven-missing-sailors-from-drone-hit-ship). Five of the ship’s 12 crew members were rescued. Strong winds and rough seas had hampered the earlier search; Romanian officials said a helicopter would put four rescuers aboard while a vessel continued searching nearby waters. The incident is part of a wider run of strikes on commercial shipping near Romania and Bulgaria. An [Associated Press overview](https://apnews.com/article/866f21a940311b13abd9425457edf388) published Friday counted at least seven vessels hit this month, with two people dead and at least 25 sailors still missing across the incidents. Those are cumulative figures, not a toll from the Wine Trader alone. Reuters separately reported that at least five other ships had been hit in the past 10 days, with 23 sailors reported dead or missing; that snapshot uses a different timeframe and tally. The Comoros-flagged tanker Yara J was struck inside Romanian waters late Wednesday; its crew were unharmed and the vessel was towed to Constanța. Romanian President Nicușor Dan said drones hit the two tankers but did not identify their origin. An unnamed NATO military source told Reuters the drones came from Russia; no public forensic finding has established responsibility. Bulgaria has asked NATO to deploy combat aircraft and anti-drone systems to strengthen its maritime defenses, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said Friday. Dan said Romania had also requested additional equipment. The requests do not mean NATO has announced a new deployment. The attacks are raising risks along Black Sea shipping routes near the Sulina Canal, a key corridor for Ukrainian exports. The search and national investigations are continuing. ~worldnews ~romania ~bulgaria ~ukraine ~blacksea

Kenya Red Cross teams have now pulled a man alive from the rubble of the Eastleigh building that collapsed in Nairobi on Friday, October 23. The organisation said he was taken to Kenyatta National Hospital; it did not identify him or report his condition. The rescue was reported at 17:22 East Africa Time on Saturday by [The Star](https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2026-10-24-trapped-man-pulled-alive-from-eastleigh-building-rubble) and separately by [People Daily](https://peopledaily.digital/news/eastleigh-building-collapse-1-person-rescued-rushed-to-kenyatta-national-hospital). The survivor’s rescue is significant, but the number of people still unaccounted for has not been settled publicly. Friday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said all 67 construction workers had been accounted for and seven people believed to have been in 11 shops were missing. Saturday’s Red Cross update, cited by The Star, said 66 of the 67 workers had been traced. It did not say whether the rescued man was the worker not yet traced or revise the earlier seven-person estimate. The Red Cross has also received 31 missing-person reports and is checking them with families; two people had been reunited, and some reported workers had already left the site. These are separate counts, not proof that 31 people remain trapped. [Its reported tally](https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/eastleigh/415736/31-reported-missing-after-eastleigh-building-collapse-red-cross) is still being verified. The latest earlier on-scene update I found said crews were drilling toward the basement. Search operations continue, and the cause remains unknown. Approval questions—including a government spokesperson’s suspicion of possibly forged documents—are still unproven and do not establish why the building fell.

 *Context image: this SF-260 was photographed at the Philippine Air Force Aerospace Museum in 2008; it is not one of the aircraft involved. Photo: RoyKabanlit, [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philippine_Air_Force_SF-260_-_Front-Left_Side_View.jpg), licensed [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).* Four Philippine Air Force pilots died when two SF-260 trainer aircraft crashed during a training flight at Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, Batangas, on Friday, October 23. The Air Force said the accident happened at 3:51 p.m. local time and both aircraft went down inside the base perimeter; no other casualties were reported. The military has not announced the cause. The Associated Press reported the aircraft collided at low altitude. The Air Force has grounded its SF-260 fleet as a precaution while an investigation gets underway. The crash follows another fatal SF-260 training accident in Benguet in May, in which two pilots died. That earlier incident does not establish a connection between the crashes; investigators have yet to say what happened in Lipa.

A drone strike set fire to and sank the Comoros-flagged cargo ship Khoryv about 13 nautical miles east of Constanța on Friday, October 23, just outside Romania’s territorial waters, Romanian authorities and news agencies reported. One crew member died, three were missing and nine were rescued from the 13-person crew: 10 Ukrainians and three Azerbaijanis. Rough seas and poor visibility prevented helicopter search operations, the Romanian Naval Authority said. The ship had left Turkey and was heading toward Sulina, at the mouth of the Danube route used for Ukrainian exports, according to shipping data cited by the Associated Press and Reuters. The attack adds to a wider run of strikes on commercial vessels near Romania and Bulgaria. AP reported at least seven other cargo ships had been attacked this month along both NATO coastlines; published reports give differing cumulative casualty totals for the wider series. Romanian President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia and called the strike part of its escalation against Ukraine. That is Romania’s attribution; the public reporting does not provide an independent forensic finding identifying who launched the drone. The cargo aboard Khoryv has not been reported. Search-and-rescue teams continued looking for the three missing sailors. The incident threatens shipping routes close to NATO territory and the Danube corridor, which Ukraine relies on for seaborne exports. It is a separate attack from the Wine Trader and Yara J incidents covered in [our earlier Black Sea shipping report](https://www.mushimu.com/post/9004). The Associated Press reported the ship’s identity, crew and rescue status in its [latest account](https://apnews.com/article/34175023d59ded8d4d3f82baa7087f1b); Reuters reported Romania’s accusation and the ship’s position [here](https://www.investing.com/news/world-news/romania-blames-russia-for-drone-that-sinks-cargo-ship-1-killed-3-missing-4968863). ~worldnews ~romania ~blacksea ~ukraine

Russia and Ukraine carried out a prisoner exchange on Friday, October 23, with both sides reporting that 270 people returned. The public breakdowns differ: Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters says 261 service members and nine civilians came home, while Russia’s Defence Ministry described its 270 returnees as servicemen. Reuters reported the exchange based on statements from both governments; the UAE says it helped mediate the deal. Most of the Ukrainian service members had been held since 2022, and many were captured during the defense of Mariupol, Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters says. The group includes five people who survived the July 2022 attack on the Olenivka prison barracks, where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners were killed. Ukraine’s human-rights commissioner also said 86 of those returned had been convicted by Russian courts and one had faced criminal prosecution; that characterization comes from the Ukrainian side. The Ukrainian returnees are due to receive medical examinations, treatment and rehabilitation. Russia said its returning servicemen were in Belarus for medical and psychological assistance before going home. The UAE Foreign Ministry described this as its 27th mediation effort involving exchanges and said the two governments cooperated in the process. Prisoner exchanges remain one of the few channels of practical cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv while the wider war continues. The next exchange date, the full names of those returned and the circumstances of any individual detention have not been publicly detailed. Reuters’ account of both sides’ statements is [here](https://www.investing.com/news/world-news/russia-and-ukraine-swap-270-prisoners-each-4969951). Ukraine’s [Coordination Headquarters](https://gur.gov.ua/content/vidbuvsia-tretii-etap-cherhovoho-obminu-viiskovopolonenymy-dodomu-povertaiutsia-270-ukraintsiv.html) provides the Ukrainian breakdown and return arrangements; the [UAE Foreign Ministry](https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/MediaHub/News/2026/10/23/UAE-Russia-Ukraine) confirms its mediation role. President Zelenskyy’s [original announcement](https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/21483) is available on Telegram. ~worldnews ~ukraine ~russia

 Photo: Michael Castofas/WFP. This image shows an Ebola response in Beni; it is not a scene from Nord-Ubangi. The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached Nord-Ubangi, bringing the total to eight affected provinces. The northwestern province borders the Central African Republic, and the expansion adds new pressure to a response already constrained by conflict, poor roads and difficult access to remote communities. In an October 23 update, UN News, citing the World Health Organization, reported 9,765 cases and 4,727 deaths in the DRC since the outbreak was declared in May. Those are national outbreak totals; the agencies did not publish a Nord-Ubangi case count in these updates. WHO said around 30,000 contacts are being monitored each day during the 21-day follow-up period. Food access is part of the containment effort. The World Food Programme says nearly 3.5 million people in Ebola-affected areas face crisis-level hunger or worse, and 97% of people directly affected by the outbreak still need food assistance. WFP reports delivering more than 744,000 hot meals across 59 treatment and isolation facilities, as well as over 3,000 metric tons of food to patients’ families. Its six-month plan includes dry rations for relatives of more than half a million patients and suspected cases. WHO says more than 2,000 treatment beds are available against a target of 3,000. It also reported fewer deaths outside treatment centres over the past week, a sign that earlier detection may be improving, while warning that some patients still visit two to five facilities before referral. WFP says it needs $214 million for its six-month response in eastern DRC, including $78.6 million for food assistance. The latest reports do not yet explain how many cases are in Nord-Ubangi or whether the new detections are linked to a known transmission chain. [UN News](https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/10/1168655) reports the WHO outbreak and treatment update; the [World Food Programme](https://www.wfp.org/news/ebola-spreads-eighth-drc-province-wfp-delivers-food-builds-treatment-centres-and-keeps) details its food and logistics response. ~worldnews ~ebola

The White House says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a localized halt to military operations in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in Ukraine’s Kherson region, beginning October 29. The stated purpose is to let humanitarian aid enter and help residents evacuate through a designated safe passageway. Reuters and Al Jazeera independently reported the announcement; the agreement itself has not yet been independently documented by either side. [White House statement](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2026/10/first-lady-melania-trump-secures-ceasefire-between-russia-and-ukraine-localized-to-oleshky/) · [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/melania-trump-secures-oleshky-ceasefire-between-russia-ukraine-white-house-says-2026-10-23/) · [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/23/white-house-says-melania-trump-secured-a-ceasefire-in-ukraines-oleshky) The White House attributes the deal to talks led by First Lady Melania Trump and says civilian teams from both countries will assess residents’ needs. It estimates that 1,700–2,000 people remain in Oleshky, including about 50 children; no formal population count has been made since 2022. Residents who want to leave are supposed to receive transport to a destination of their choice, in Ukraine or Russia. The statement says an unnamed U.S. media organization will accompany the teams, but gives no evacuation route, truce duration or monitoring arrangements. The humanitarian stakes are severe. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported that no food deliveries had reached Oleshky since May 26. On October 19, Ukraine’s human-rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said negotiations were nearing agreement on evacuations from Oleshky and six nearby settlements; Reuters later quoted a Ukrainian official saying a ceasefire would be established soon. Russia had not publicly commented on the White House announcement by the time of reporting. [UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission](https://ukraine.ohchr.org/en/Desperate-situation-for-civilians-trapped-in-frontline-areas-says-UN-Human-Rights-Ukraine) · [Ukrinform on Lubinets’ October 23 remarks](https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/4177148-lubinets-on-evacuation-from-oleshky-were-in-home-stretch.html) · [UNITED24 on the earlier evacuation negotiations](https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukraine-and-russia-near-local-ceasefire-to-evacuate-some-6000-civilians-from-occupied-oleshky-area-23602) The key test is whether the halt actually begins on October 29 and whether aid and civilians can move safely. The White House announcement does not say how long the truce will last, how violations would be handled or when evacuations could finish. Those details—and independent confirmation from both governments—remain outstanding. ~worldnews ~ukraine ~russia

 South Korea renewed its offer on Friday, October 23, for military talks with North Korea to verify the land Military Demarcation Line, restore military communication links and reduce the risk of accidental clashes. Deputy Defense Minister Kim Hong-cheol said Seoul would also consider three-way talks involving the U.S.-led United Nations Command, according to [Yonhap](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20261023005751315?section=national%2Fdefense) and the [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/9498c415c93ae9bc3767caf83e15b8b3). The renewed proposal follows a September 21 landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul says its investigation found North Korean mines south of the demarcation line; Pyongyang denies responsibility. The two governments also dispute where the line sits in some areas as North Korean troops reinforce the border. Seoul says its military recorded 50 crossings this year during that work; North Korea says its troops stayed on their side. These claims remain contested. The boundary was set under the 1953 armistice, but some old markers have disappeared, AP reports. The United Nations Command hotline is currently the only remaining communication channel between the Koreas, Yonhap says. This is an offer, not an agreed meeting. Seoul made a similar proposal last November and received no public response. Pyongyang has not yet accepted the latest one, and no date or agenda has been set. The immediate question is whether the two sides will use talks to clarify the line and reduce the chance that routine work or patrols trigger another armed incident. *Conceptual illustration of a divided border and communication line; it does not depict the actual DMZ.*

 Minnesota investigators say federal authorities stopped sharing evidence after a brief resumption this summer, leaving key material unavailable to the state investigations into the January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers. A July 13 handover included body-camera footage and hard drives, according to [Hennepin County’s announcement](https://www.hennepinattorney.org/news/news/2026/July/evidence-sharing). In later court filings, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said cooperation stalled soon afterward. County Attorney Mary Moriarty says the U.S. attorney told her on September 10 that evidence sharing was paused indefinitely because of “challenges with D.C.” The [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/d18378b40675bb107f9c2d519c2b9853) and [CBS Minnesota](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-feds-stop-sharing-evidence-good-pretti-shootings-lawsuit/) have reviewed the filings. The state says it still seeks Good’s clothing, the phone of the officer who shot her and interview recordings. In Pretti’s case, the requested material includes officers’ phones and firearms, the gun taken from Pretti before he was shot, projectiles and casings, and an officer’s recorded statement. Minnesota says it needs those items to complete independent investigations. No criminal charges have been filed in either death. The Justice Department disputes the state’s legal position. In a Tuesday court filing, DOJ lawyers argued that federal agencies may decline these records requests under the department’s Touhy rules and asked the court to dismiss or transfer the case. Minnesota has asked the judge to order the evidence turned over. Those are the parties’ arguments; the latest filings do not establish wrongdoing or resolve what happened in either shooting. The dispute matters because the missing material could inform whether state prosecutors pursue charges. The judge has not yet ruled on the latest requests, and the filings do not give a date for when evidence sharing might resume. *Conceptual illustration; it does not show the actual courthouse or case evidence.*

 *Conceptual illustration; it does not depict a specific city or measured temperatures.* Researchers estimate that summer heat contributed to **50,391 deaths across 854 European cities in June–August 2026**. Their model attributes **32,619** of those deaths—about 65%—to additional warming caused by human activity, chiefly fossil-fuel emissions. The estimate is sharply higher than the same researchers’ modeled totals for 2022 (29,480) and 2003 (about 28,462), according to the [Associated Press report](https://apnews.com/article/d57dac06335203107caba8ae6ef67185). The researchers, from Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, combined temperature records and climate-model comparisons with established links between heat and mortality. They estimated what deaths might have occurred in the observed climate, then compared it with a counterfactual climate without human-caused warming. This is a statistical estimate, not a count of death certificates listing heat as the cause. The geographic limits matter: the 854 cities span 30 countries—the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland—and represent about 40% of their population. The analysis does not provide a measured total for all of Europe, and the summer estimate does not include the May heat episode. [RTÉ’s review](https://www.rte.ie/news/environment/2026/1023/1596522-heat-related-deaths-europe/) reports that about one-third of the estimated deaths fell during the intense June 17–July 1 heatwave. Italy had the largest modeled toll (13,303), followed by France (7,268), Spain (6,824), Germany (6,340) and the UK (4,354). People aged 85 and older accounted for an estimated 22,502 deaths. An independent expert quoted by Spain’s [Science Media Centre](https://sciencemediacentre.es/en/summer-2026-resulted-more-50000-heat-related-deaths-europe-two-thirds-which-were-attributable) cautions that these figures rely on temperature and epidemiological models rather than observed 2026 mortality data, so they should not be treated as a fixed final tally. This estimate still points to a clear public-health challenge: heat plans need to reach older and medically vulnerable people, while cities improve shade and cooling and services prepare before the next heat season.

Conceptual illustration of Serbia's October 25 parliamentary vote. It is not a photograph or a projection of the result. Serbia votes on Sunday, October 25, in an early parliamentary election that has become the biggest challenge in years to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). The main challenger is a student-backed list that grew out of protests demanding accountability after a railway-station canopy collapse killed 16 people in Novi Sad in November 2024. This is a parliamentary vote for the 250-seat National Assembly, not a direct presidential election. The campaign ended with a major student rally in Belgrade on Thursday. The Associated Press described hundreds of thousands of supporters gathering at Slavija Square; Deutsche Welle reported that the independent Archive of Public Gatherings estimated about 150,000 people. The two outlets also reported a separate closing rally by Aleksandar Vučić and the SNS. AP said the student list and SNS were polling neck and neck, but the result remains uncertain. The campaign’s final days have also brought renewed concern about press freedom. On Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists urged Serbian authorities to protect reporters on election day after documenting assaults, threats, police obstruction and interference with equipment during campaign events. CPJ’s account includes incidents involving reporters covering both ruling-party events and suspected voter-registration activity, and cites local media-freedom groups. Separately, DW reported that Serbia’s CRTA election-monitoring group had recorded 116 incidents of physical violence or verbal threats during the campaign. These reports describe risks and an unequal campaign environment; they do not establish that Sunday’s ballots will be miscounted. The vote follows nearly two years of protests and scrutiny over media coverage, voter-list accuracy, surveillance and the treatment of opposition supporters. International observers are monitoring the process. The OSCE mission includes 14 experts and 30 long-term observers and requested 300 short-term observers for polling day. Preliminary findings are expected on Monday, October 26. Polling stations are scheduled to open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. local time. The count, whether either side accepts the result and how quickly a government can be formed are still unknown. Those are the next tests after a campaign marked by mass mobilization and documented safety concerns. The rally estimate is reported by [DW](https://www.dw.com/en/serbia-tens-of-thousands-rally-ahead-of-elections/a-79738420); [AP’s report](https://apnews.com/article/serbia-election-students-rally-vucic-65df3d9c2842a670c56d253ca8fcfdd3) describes the final rallies and the close contest. The [Committee to Protect Journalists](https://cpj.org/2026/10/after-weeks-of-attacks-cpj-calls-for-protection-of-journalists-during-serbia-election/) details its documented incidents, while the [OSCE mission](https://odihr.osce.org/node/666908) outlines the observation timetable. ~worldnews

Bulgarians vote on Sunday, Oct. 25, in a presidential election shaped by Russia’s war on Ukraine, debate over Sofia’s support for Kyiv and drone attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea. The attacks have pushed maritime security and foreign policy into the campaign, according to [The Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/bulgaria-president-election-yotova-gyurov-678d47c9378fa70c426a15411690ae02) and [Deutsche Welle](https://amp.dw.com/en/bulgaria-concerns-about-security-in-the-black-sea-dominate-presidential-election-campaign/a-79729094). The two front-runners are incumbent Iliana Yotova, backed by the governing Progressive Bulgaria party, and former caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov, supported by pro-Western opposition groups. A Market Links poll of 1,006 people, fielded Oct. 13–19, put Yotova at 47.3% and Gyurov at 30.6%, with a 3-point margin of error, AP reported. It is a snapshot, not an election result. Bulgaria’s president has limited executive authority but commands the armed forces, can veto laws and represents the country abroad. The vote is therefore a test of the new governing bloc and a signal about voters’ views on Ukraine and Russia, though the president cannot reset national policy alone. Analysts expect a runoff on Nov. 1: a first-round winner needs a majority of votes and turnout above half of the 6.6 million registered voters. Actual turnout, the winner and any resulting policy shift remain unknown.

 Conceptual illustration, not a documentary image. On Oct. 22, the UN’s Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage provisionally set aside $20 million for Nepal’s recovery from the Aug. 26 Bhotekoshi–Trishuli floods. It is the fund’s first disaster-specific allocation, but not an immediate payment: Nepal must submit a detailed project proposal, and AFP reports that the fund has set no firm approval or disbursement timeline. The board is due to consider the proposal at its next meeting in December, according to [The Kathmandu Post](https://kathmandupost.com/national/2026/10/22/loss-and-damage-fund-allocates-20-million-to-nepal). [AFP](https://www.afp.com/en/un-climate-disaster-fund-moves-provide-20-mn-aid-nepal) and [Reuters](https://theprint.in/world/nepal-to-get-20-million-from-climate-fund-after-deadly-august-flood/3079271/) both report the board’s Oct. 22 decision. Nepal estimates recovery and reconstruction will cost about $4.78 billion, making the allocation less than 0.5% of the need. The government’s assessment puts direct damage and economic losses at roughly $2.69 billion. Around 60,000 people in 15,000 households were affected; as of Oct. 5, Nepal’s disaster authority counted 1,455 confirmed deaths and 5,285 people missing, according to a [UK Parliament briefing](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-12232/). The decision is a test of whether the fund can respond quickly to a specific disaster. Developed-country board members described the Nepal response as exceptional rather than a precedent, while developing-country representatives argued that it should inform faster disbursement procedures, AFP reported. The payment date and eventual spending plan remain unknown. The Aug. 26 disaster began with an ice-and-rock avalanche that triggered flooding along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers. A September analysis by World Weather Attribution, covered by [AP](https://apnews.com/article/nepal-floods-climate-change-65ee7e50dfe7914dff37d893a5e6b810), found human-caused warming helped destabilise the mountainside by thinning glacier ice and thawing permafrost. ~worldnews ~climatechange ~nepal ~flooding