Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
- Daniel Noboa (pictured) is elected President of Ecuador.
- The National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, wins the most seats in the New Zealand general election.
- Australian voters reject altering the Constitution to establish an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
- NASA's Psyche mission is launched to explore the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche.
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Two tourists from the United Kingdom and South Africa and a tour guide are killed during a shooting at the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda by Allied Democratic Forces gunmen. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- 2024 Indonesian presidential election
- Chairwoman of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Sukarnoputri announces Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD will be a vice-presidential running mate for Ganjar Pranowo. (Channel News Asia)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2023 Brussels terrorist attack
- Arab–Israeli conflict
- October 2023 Israel–Hezbollah fire exchanges
- Five Hezbollah fighters are killed by Israeli soldiers when they tried to cross a barrier at the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)
- October 2023 Israel–Hezbollah fire exchanges
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion
- Around 500 people are killed in an explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. (Reuters) (AP)
- The Ministry of Health blames the explosion on an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military claims that the explosion was a failed Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket launch. A spokesman for Islamic Jihad calls the Israeli claims "a lie and fabrication". (Reuters) (The Times of Israel)
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declares three days of mourning in the Palestinian territories following the explosion. (BBC News)
- U.S. President Joe Biden postpones an upcoming visit to Jordan following the explosion. (Politico)
- October 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, Evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip
- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says that Israel's blockade of Gaza and its evacuation order in northern Gaza may amount to a forcible transfer of civilians, which is a violation of international law. (The Washington Post) (Reuters)
- October 2023 UNRWA school airstrike
- An Israeli airstrike hits a United Nations school inside a refugee camp in Gaza, killing at least six of the more than 4,000 people sheltering there. Dozens more are injured, including UNRWA staff. (United Nations)
- The Israeli Ministry of Health says that 4,399 people in Israel have been injured since the start of the war. (The Times of Israel)
- The World Health Organization says that 2,800 people have died and 11,000 have been injured in Gaza since Israeli air strikes began, with about half of those being women and children. The organization also says that there have been 51 attacks against healthcare facilities in Gaza, killing 15 health workers and injuring 27 others, and that "we have seen consistent attacks on healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territory". (Reuters) (Reuters 2)
- Hamas announces that Ayman Nofal, a member of the general military council and commander of the central command in the Al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
- Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
- Ukraine launches ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles at Russian bases in Berdiansk and Luhansk, destroying nine helicopters and a supply depot and killing several Russian military personnel. (BBC News) (AP)
- 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
International relations
- Hungary–Russia relations
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold talks at the Belt and Road Initiative forum in Beijing, China. (AP)
- Russia and weapons of mass destruction
- The State Duma votes unanimously to revoke Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. (AFP via The Moscow Times)
Law and crime
- LGBT rights in India
- The Supreme Court of India refuses to legalize same-sex marriage, saying that this is a decision that needs to be made by parliament. (AP)
Politics and elections
- October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
- The Republican majority fails to deliver enough votes for Jim Jordan to become House Speaker on the first vote, with 20 members of the Republican party voting against him. (CNN)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Islamic terrorism in Europe
- Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
- Mali War
- The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, initiates a withdrawal from two camps in Aguelhok and Tessalit, Kidal Region. (AFP via Al-Ahram)
- Mali War
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Evacuations during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- The World Health Organization says that 21 hospitals in Gaza have been ordered to evacuate by Israel, warning that this "may amount to a violation of international humanitarian law". (Financial Times)
- Israel begins evacuating 28 communities located within two kilometers of the border with Lebanon amid clashes with Hezbollah. (Fox News)
- Hundreds of Americans are evacuated by sea from Haifa, Israel, to Cyprus. (The Jewish Chronicle)
- Journalists killed in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Muhammad al-Najjar, a member of the Board of Directors of the national authority for the documentation and prosecution of crimes committed by the Israeli government, is killed in an Israeli airstrike, along with 16 members of his family. (Al Jazeera)
- Eleven Palestinian journalists have been killed by the Israeli military and more than 20 others have been injured, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. (The Express Tribune)
- Kidnappings during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Hamas releases the first video of a hostage on Telegram since the war started, a 21-year-old Israeli woman from Shoham who was kidnapped during the Re'im music festival massacre. In the video, the woman claims to be receiving medical treatment from her captors. (The Jerusalem Post)
- October 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
- The World Health Organization announces that there are only 24 hours of water, electricity, and fuel remaining in Gaza. (CBS News)
- Medical Aid for Palestinians says that hospitals in Gaza are currently facing a "catastrophic" shortage of medical supplies with the United Nations also reporting that at least four hospitals in northern Gaza are no longer operational because of Israeli bombings. (Al Jazeera)
- The chief of the UN agency for Palestine, UNRWA, announces it can no longer deliver assistance to the hundreds of thousands of people in need in Gaza. (The Washington Post)
- Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs, announces that US-backed efforts to re-open the Rafah border crossing have failed, citing Israel's refusal to guarantee the safety of incoming aid convoys and outgoing foreign nationals. (Reuters) (CNN)
- The United Nations reports that more than 400,000 Palestinians are sheltering in UN schools and buildings in the Gaza Strip and that fourteen UNRWA personnel have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. (Al Jazeera)
- Palestinians protest in several cities across the West Bank calling for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
- The UNRWA retracts its statements concerning looting by Hamas affiliates, clarifying that they have confirmed no theft had taken place, after a prior announcement that men claiming to be from Hamas stole fuel and medicine from their offices in Gaza. Subsequently, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid claims to have received additional confirmation from sources within the UN that such theft did, in fact, occur. (Jewish Chronicle) (CBS News) (Times of Israel)
- At least six civilians are killed and eight others are injured in airstrikes near Khan Younis and at least seven people, including five emergency workers, are killed in Israeli airstrikes on two civil defense facilities in Gaza City. (Al Jazeera)
- At least four people, including three children, are killed as a result of an Israeli air raid on the UN Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
- Hamas forces launch missiles at the two largest Israeli cities, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, saying that this was in response to Israel's "targeting of civilians". (BBC News)
- Israeli military forces carry out raids in multiple areas in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Nablus, Bethlehem, and Hebron, arresting around 600 people. Most are held without charges under "administrative detention", where the individuals are not told the reasons for their arrest. (Al Jazeera)
- Hamas Shura Council member Osama Mazini, who was in charge of negotiation affairs concerning the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, is killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip. (Israel National News)
- Evacuations during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- A report by a UN-mandated investigative body has found that Israeli forces used “lethal force without justification” when they shot and killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank last year. (Al Jazeera)
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
International relations
- China–Philippines relations
- Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The Philippine military demands that China stop "dangerous and offensive" actions in the South China Sea after a People's Liberation Army Navy ship performed "aggressive maneuvers" near the disputed Thitu Island last week. (Reuters)
- Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- International reactions to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Colombia–Israel relations
- Colombia requests the departure of the Israeli ambassador following Colombian President Gustavo Petro's remarks criticizing Israel's actions. In response, Israel suspends security exports to Colombia. (AFP via RFI)
- Israel–Pakistan relations
- Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani condemns the Israeli bombing on Gaza, equating the actions with genocide. (Al Jazeera)
- Israel–United States relations
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Israel and reaffirms American support for Israel. (BBC News)
- Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit calls for an immediate end to military operations in Gaza and for aid to be allowed into the enclave. (Times of Israel)
- The China International Development Cooperation Agency announces that they will provide emergency humanitarian aid to the UN Palestine agency and the Palestinian Authority. (Reuters via The Standard)
- Around 25,000 people demonstrate in Cotabato, Philippines, to express solidarity with Palestinians and to condemn Israel's air raids on the Gaza Strip. (AFP via The Straits Times)
- Colombia–Israel relations
- Japan–Russia relations
- Russia suspends imports of Japanese seafood due to concerns over wastewater discharges from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. (AFP via The Jordan Times)
Law and crime
- Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping
- Former Bank of China chair Liu Lian'ge is arrested on allegations of corruption. (AFP via The Manila Times)
- Protests on the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Around 49 anti-war protesters calling for U.S. President Joe Biden to press for a ceasefire are arrested outside the White House by U.S. Secret Service members. (Axios)
- Australia's internet safety commissioner fines American technology company X Corp. for AU$610,500 (US$385,000) for inadequately addressing child sexual abuse content on Twitter. (AFP via The Manila Times)
Politics and elections
- 2024 Indonesian presidential election
- The Constitutional Court of Indonesia rules that regional leaders under the age of 40 can run for president or vice president, thus allowing President Joko Widodo's son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run as a Vice Presidential candidate in the next presidential election. (The Jakarta Post)
Sports
- 2026 Winter Olympics
- The Italian Olympic Committee announces that bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events will not be held in Italy, due to the high costs of rebuilding the Eugenio Monti Olympic Track in Cortina d'Ampezzo. (BBC News)
- 2028 Summer Olympics
- The International Olympic Committee approves the inclusion of cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash, and baseball/softball at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. (Sky Sports)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- October 2023 Hezbollah strike
- One civilian is killed and three others are injured in a cross-border attack by Hezbollah in Shtula, Israel. Israel retaliates with airstrikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. (Reuters)
- United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL says its headquarters in Naqoura, Lebanon, has been hit by a rocket. (Reuters)
- October 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
- An estimated one million Gazans have been displaced, according to the United Nations Palestinian agency, as aid groups describe the situation in the besieged enclave as "catastrophic". (AFP via The Economic Times)
- The Palestinian Ministry of Health says that about 70 percent of people in Gaza do not have access to health services, although the World Health Organization has been able to deliver medical supplies for 2,000 patients. The ministry also says that at least 50 families in the Gaza Strip have had all of their family members killed by Israeli shelling and air strikes. (Reuters)
- Human Rights Watch confirms that Israel has used white phosphorus in Gaza and Lebanon. (France 24)
- Israel conducts military operations in Ramallah in the West Bank, arresting more than 50 people. (Al Jazeera)
- The Israel Defense Forces kill senior Hamas commander Billal Al Kedra in an airstrike in Khan Yunis. (NDTV)
- October 2023 Hezbollah strike
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume
- A man kills a 6-year-old Palestinian Muslim boy and seriously injures his mother during a stabbing attack in Plainfield Township, Illinois, United States. The perpetrator, who was the victims' landlord, states he was motivated by the ongoing Israel–Gaza war. (Reuters)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian attacks across Ukraine over a 24-hour period kill at least six people, including two civilians in Kherson, which was bombarded with over 100 shells by Russian forces. In a separate incident, a 14-year-old boy is killed by a land mine in Mykolaiv Oblast. (AP)
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Herat earthquakes
- Another magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes Herat Province, Afghanistan, killing four people and injuring more than 150 others, several days after a series of powerful earthquakes killed over 1,000 people in the province. (ITV)
- At least 47 people are killed and dozens more are missing after a boat capsized in Province of Équateur, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Africa News)
International relations
- Afghanistan–China relations
- The Taliban government confirms that it will attend the Belt and Road Initiative forum in Beijing, China, next week, as the countries form closer economic ties, including the potential construction of a large copper mine in Logar Province, Afghanistan. (Reuters)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- International reactions to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- The heads of the Arab League and the African Union release a joint statement stating that Israel's planned ground invasion of Gaza "could lead to a genocide of unprecedented proportions". (AFP via Arab News)
- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says that Israel's reaction to Hamas's attack "went beyond self-defence and amounted to collective punishment". (Reuters)
- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announces the provision of 30 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza. (Reuters)
- International reactions to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Law and crime
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Protests on the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Thousands of people attend rallies in support of Palestine in several Australian cities. (ABC News Australia)
- In the United Kingdom, rallies take place in Manchester in northern England, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and London, amid police warnings that support for Hamas could result in arrest. (Al Jazeera)
- Protesters in Amsterdam call on the EU to take a stand against Israel's bombardment of Gaza, condemning European leaders for their silence on the violence Israel is committing in Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
- Thousands of people attend rallies in support of Palestine in Istanbul, Turkey. (France 24)
- Lawyers and human rights organisations in Israel receive dozens of complaints from Palestinian workers and students who have been suspended from schools, universities and workplaces over social media posts or conversations with colleagues. (Al Jazeera)
- Protests on the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- One person is killed and other is wounded in a stabbing attack in Hartlepool, United Kingdom. The attack is being investigated by Counter Terrorism Policing. A suspect has been detained. (BBC News) (The Independent)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Ecuadorian general election
- Ecuadorians vote in the second round of the presidential election between Luisa González and Daniel Noboa. (The Guardian)
- The National Electoral Council declares Noboa as president-elect with González conceding defeat. Noboa is Ecuador's youngest president-elect. (AFP via France 24)
- 2023 Polish parliamentary election, 2023 Polish referendum
- Poles elect members of the Senate and the Sejm. Votes are also cast in a referendum on migration, the removal of the border wall between Belarus and Poland, and the retirement age. (AFP via Barron's) (The Guardian)
- Exit polls suggest that Poland's opposition parties, led by the Civic Coalition under former prime minister Donald Tusk, are poised to secure a parliamentary majority, potentially ending the eight-year governance of the Law and Justice (PiS) party. The exit poll voter turnout reaches a record of 73%. (AFP via Manila Bulletin) (CNN)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- October 2023 Hezbollah strike
- Shia Islamist militant group Hezbollah fires on five Israeli outposts in the Shebaa Farms with guided missiles and mortar shells. A Hezbollah member is killed during a subsequent gunbattle with Israeli troops. (Reuters) (AFP via Barron's)
- Two civilians are killed during shelling by Israeli soldiers in Shebaa, Lebanon. (AFP via Barron's)
- October 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
- 2023 attacks on Palestinians evacuating Gaza City
- Seventy people have been killed in attacks on convoys evacuating Gaza City, according to Hamas. (AP) (NBC News) (Al Jazeera)
- At least 724 children are killed by Israeli shelling and airstrikes in Gaza, Defence for Children International says. (CNN)
- At least 27 Palestinians are killed by Israeli airstrikes in Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip. (Al Jazeera)
- All living generations of 45 families have been wiped from the Gaza civil registry, the health ministry says. (Al Mayadeen)
- The United Nations health organization has condemned Israel’s order to evacuate 22 hospitals treating more than 2,000 inpatients in northern Gaza, saying it "could be tantamount to a death sentence" (NBC News)
- Medical Aid for Palestinians says ambulances in Gaza are being targeted by Israeli air raids. (Al Jazeera)
- The Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza is hit by Israeli strikes and sustained damage, says the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem that runs it. (Anglican Communion)
- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that more than 50,000 pregnant women and newborn babies in Gaza do not have access to essential medical care. (AFP via France 24)
- The UN Palestine agency says that its shelters in Gaza are no longer safe and also warns that there is a shortage of water in Gaza. (The Business Standard)
- 2023 attacks on Palestinians evacuating Gaza City
- October 2023 Jenin incursion
- Israeli forces storm Jenin in the West Bank. (AA)
- Palestine's United Nations envoy says that Palestinians are in danger of mass ethnic cleansing. (Reuters)
- Amnesty International says that they have verified images of Israeli forces near Sderot using white phosphorus-based rounds. (CBS News)
- Al-Dura pediatric hospital is evacuated after being hit with white phosphorus munitions from Israeli airstrikes. (Egypt Today)
- At least 15 hospitals are damaged by Israeli shelling and airstrikes, with two currently inoperable. 28 medical staff are killed and 23 ambulances are damaged or destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. (CBS News)
- At least 2,268 Palestinians have been killed and 8,700 others injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed and at least 3,400 others are injured. (Al Jazeera)
- The Israel Defense Forces announce that airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have killed Murad Abu Murad, the head of Hamas's air operations and Ali Qadhi, a top Hamas commander, both of whom were involved in the 7 October invasion of Israel. (The Washington Post) (The Jerusalem Post)
- October 2023 Hezbollah strike
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Islamic terrorism in Europe
- Arras school stabbing
- France raises its Vigipirate to the highest level and announces the deployment of 7,000 soldiers through Opération Sentinelle following a fatal stabbing incident at a school in Arras, Hauts-de-France, which President Emmanuel Macron describes as "Islamist terror". (AFP via The Straits Times)
- Arras school stabbing
Law and crime
- Protests on the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- More than 5,000 demonstrators march in support of Palestine to the White House in Washington, DC,. (AFP via The Business Standard)
- Thousands of demonstrators march in support of Palestine in San Francisco. (The San Francisco Chronicle)
- Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan formally approves the country joining the International Criminal Court. (The Independent)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum
- A majority of voters in Australia vote to reject the establishment of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. (Reuters) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- 2023 New Zealand general election
- Prime Minister Chris Hipkins concedes defeat to the New Zealand National Party which has won the most seats, although not a majority. Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon is expected to form a coalition government with ACT New Zealand. (Reuters)
- UNITA, Angola's main opposition party, exits a special parliamentary session in objection to the proposed public voting method for President João Lourenço's impeachment motion, which is subsequently dismissed. (AFP via The Manila Times)
Science and technology
- Solar eclipse of October 14, 2023
- An annular solar eclipse is visible in the Western Hemisphere. (AP)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Islamic terrorism in Europe
- Arras school stabbing
- A teacher is killed and another teacher and a security guard are seriously injured in a stabbing attack at a high school in Arras, Hauts-de-France, France. The Chechen attacker is arrested by police. (BBC News)
- Arras school stabbing
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Evacuations during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- The Israeli Defense Forces notifies the United Nations that the 1.1 million Palestinians living north of Wadi Gaza in the Gaza Strip have been ordered to relocate to Southern Gaza within 24 hours ahead of an expected ground invasion. (Times of Israel) (Reuters)
- The Israeli Air Force begins dropping evacuation leaflets over Gaza City warning residents to leave the city immediately. (BBC News)
- Hamas tells Palestinians to remain in their houses and not to relocate to Southern Gaza, despite Israeli orders to do so. (Times of Israel)
- The United Kingdom begins evacuating British citizens from Israel. (Euronews)
- 2023 Israeli ground operations in the Gaza Strip
- Israeli troops conduct "localized raids" into Gaza in an attempt to locate Hamas-held hostages. (Times of Israel) (Reuters)
- At a press conference, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says that the main goal of the upcoming military operation will be to "topple Hamas rule in Gaza". (Axios)
- Israeli soldiers open fire against protestors in the occupied West Bank, killing eleven people and injuring 124 others. (Al Jazeera)
- Human Rights Watch accuses the Israeli Defense Forces of using white phosphorus munitions in its military operation in the Gaza area and Lebanon, saying that this puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries. (Reuters)
- Hamas says that 13 hostages, including foreigners, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. (WION)
- An Israeli missile strike hits a group of journalists on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, injuring six of them, and killing a Reuters videographer, Issam Abdallah. (Reuters)
- Evacuations during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Battle of Avdiivka
- Heavy fighting occurs between Ukrainian and Russian forces for control of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine says that Russia has launched airstrikes and artillery attacks on the city overnight but that its troops were "holding their ground". (Reuters)
- Battle of Avdiivka
- A diplomat at the Embassy of Israel in Beijing, China, is stabbed by an unknown foreign attacker. The diplomat was taken to a hospital for treatment and is in stable condition. The incident is being treated as a terrorist attack. (i24 News)
- Seven people are killed and 15 are injured after a suicide bombing at a mosque in Puli Khumri, Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. (RFE/RL)
Arts and culture
- International reactions to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- German literary society LitProm postpones a ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair honoring Palestinian author Adania Shibli with the LiBeraturpreis award following the war. (The Guardian)
Business and economy
- Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft
- The UK's Competition and Markets Authority approves Microsoft's takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- Mühldorf van crash
- Seven people are killed and 16 others are injured when a vehicle carrying illegal immigrants from the Middle East crashes in Mühldorf, Bavaria, Germany. (AP)
- A military helicopter crashes in Canelas Municipality, Durango, Mexico, killing three people. (AP)
Health and environment
- The United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports a 99% likelihood of 2023 becoming the warmest year on record. (AFP via The Japan Times)
International relations
- International reactions to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- During a CIS Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia will offer to mediate a ceasefire. (The Moscow Times)
Law and crime
- Protests on the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Anti-Israel protests occur in many cities across the Middle East. (AP)
- Cities across the United States tighten their security after former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal called for a Global Day of Jihad against Zionism. (The Guardian)
- Russian police detain one of the three lawyers of Alexei Navalny and raid the houses of the other two, accusing them of belonging to an extremist organization. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
- Jim Jordan wins the Republican nomination for House Speaker after Steve Scalise withdrew his bid. (Axios)
Science and technology
- Discovery Program
- NASA successfully launches its Psyche space probe from Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft will explore the M-type asteroid 16 Psyche, a suspected core of a protoplanet in the asteroid belt. (Reuters)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Arab–Israeli conflict
- October 2023 Syrian-Israeli exchanges
- Syria says that Israel has launched airstrikes on the international airports of Damascus and Aleppo, taking both out of service. Air defences are activated in response to the attacks, and no casualties are reported. (Reuters)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- October 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
- Three of five water plants in Gaza are inoperable due to the Israeli bombings and a lack of fuel, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. (India Today)
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says that life-saving supplies, including food, fuel and water, must be allowed into Gaza. (NHK)
- Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz says that the blockade of Gaza will not end until all Israeli hostages are released by Hamas. (BBC News)
- Former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth says that the ongoing attacks on Palestinian civilians, carried out by Israel, could constitute a war crime. (Daily Post)
- The Norwegian Refugee Council calls for humanitarian corridors to be established in order to allow the safe passage of personnel and relief supplies into Gaza. (NRC)
- The United Nations says that nearly 339,000 people have been displaced in Gaza by ongoing Israeli bombing raids. (The Jakarta Post)
- At least 51 people are killed and 281 others are injured in Israeli air strikes on neighborhoods in Gaza City. (AP) (Ynet News)
- The death toll in Gaza increases to 1,200, with nearly 5,600 others injured. The death toll in Israel surpasses 1,400. (Le Monde)
- Israeli settlers kill a Palestinian father and son during a funeral in the West Bank. (Al Arabiya)
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt denies rumors that the Rafah border crossing is closed, asserting that the crossing remains operational and has not been closed since the beginning of the blockade. The ministry also calls upon the international community to send humanitarian aid to Palestine through the El Arish International Airport. (Al-Ahram)
- October 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- October 2023 Syrian-Israeli exchanges
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Three people are killed and two others are injured in Belgorod Oblast, Russia, after debris from a downed Ukrainian drone hit several houses. (Al Jazeera)
- Battle of Avdiivka
- Ukraine says that Russia has begun an assault on the city of Avdiivka, in Donetsk Oblast, supported by tanks and armored vehicles. (The New York Times)
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Business and economy
- International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva confirms that Zambia, the first African nation to default following the COVID-19 pandemic, has agreed to a debt agreement with foreign creditors concerning US$6.3 billion of its debt. (AFP via Business Recorder)
Health and environment
- 2023 Zimbabwe cholera outbreak
- Zimbabwe bans gatherings of more than 50 people amid a cholera outbreak in the country. (The Guardian)
International relations
- Iran–United States relations, Iran–Qatar relations
- U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo announces that the United States and Qatar will block Iran from receiving $6 billion transferred from South Korea to Qatar last month as part of a prisoner swap. (NBC News) (The Washington Post)
- The United Nations Human Rights Council extends a special rapporteur's mandate to investigate human rights violations in Russia for an additional year, despite Russia's previous refusal to recognize the rapporteur's mandate or permit their entry into the country. (AFP via Barron's)
Law and crime
- 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
- Multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs sues the Malaysian government for alleged violations of a 2020 settlement related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, filing the case at the London Court of International Arbitration. (AFP via The Manila Times)
- 2023 Gabonese coup d'état
- Former first lady Sylvia Bongo Ondimba is jailed by the ruling military junta. (AFP via France 24)
- Death of Elijah McClain
- An Aurora Police Department officer who was involved in the arrest of Elijah McClain is found guilty of negligent homicide and third-degree assault, while another officer is acquitted of manslaughter and assault charges. (CNN)
- Protests on the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Rallies in support of Palestine take place around the world, including in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, and Spain. (DD News) (KTBS)
- French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announces that France will ban all pro-Palestinian protests in the country. (Politico EU)
- United States Senator Bob Menendez is charged with acting as a foreign agent for Egypt while serving as a member of the United States Senate. (ABC News)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Malagasy presidential election
- Madagascar's constitutional court postpones the upcoming election from November 9 to November 16, amid a political crisis involving protests against the Ntsay government following President Andry Rajoelina's resignation. (AFP via Barron's)
- October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
- Steve Scalise withdraws his candidacy for House Speaker a day after being nominated, citing a lack of sufficient support from the Republican Party in the U.S. House. (The Washington Post)