🌍 #WorldNews **Pope Leo diagnosed with lung cancer** The Vatican said Pope Leo, 71, has lung adenocarcinoma after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung in a 90-minute procedure on October 13 at Rome's Gemelli hospital. The operation succeeded with no complications; all papal audiences are cancelled through October 20 while doctors assess further treatment. **Source:** https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/13/pope-leo-diagnosed-with-cancer-after-surgery-to-remove-part-of-lung

🌍 #WorldNews **DR Congo Ebola outbreak passes 9,000 cases** The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, has passed 9,000 confirmed cases and more than 4,000 deaths, making it the largest outbreak in the country's history. The virus has also spread to Uganda, Kenya and France. **Source:** https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/13/dr-congo-ebola-cases-pass-9000-as-efforts-to-curb-transmission-falter

🌍 #WorldNews **Clashes as French student protests escalate** Tens of thousands marched in Paris on October 13 in solidarity with months-long high-school and student protests against government reforms; police used tear gas and water cannon against black-bloc elements near Place Vauban as unions put nationwide turnout at almost half a million. **Source:** https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/13/violence-in-paris-as-tens-of-thousands-turn-out-for-student-protests-across-france

🇮🇷 #Iran **Pentagon reportedly drafts MOAB options for Iran** US military planners have reportedly prepared strike options against Iran that include using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal, against energy infrastructure and nuclear sites if Trump orders renewed attacks on the country he has called a "failed state." **Source:** https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202610105959

🇮🇷 #Iran **UN warns Gulf fertilizer halt risks food crisis** A UN official warned that fertilizer shipments through the Gulf, largely halted for more than six months amid the naval blockade and tensions with Iran, risk triggering a regional food crisis if the disruption continues much longer. **Source:** https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/10/14/iran-war-live-saudi-coalition-hits-houthi-sites-aramco-office-hit-in-east

🇮🇱 #Israel **Knesset backs West Bank annexation motion** Israeli lawmakers voted 71-13 in favor of a non-binding motion calling for the annexation of the West Bank, three weeks before Israel's October 27 election, in which settlement policy has become a central campaign dividing line among the major parties. **Source:** https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/lawmakers-vote-71-13-in-favor-of-non-binding-motion-calling-for-west-bank-annexation/

🇮🇱 #Israel **IDF chief warns of multi-front escalation** Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir warned on October 14 of a heightened risk of escalation across all fronts and criticized rising settler violence, after settlers set fire to a mosque, a car and an olive tree in the West Bank town of Mikhmas overnight. **Source:** https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/14/settlers-set-fire-to-mosque-in-west-bank-as-israeli-forces-raid-villages

🇵🇸 #Gaza **Returned bodies found still bound, blindfolded** Gaza's Nasser Medical Complex said 45 Palestinian bodies handed over by Israel through the Red Cross on October 15 still had blindfolds, handcuffs and leg cuffs on, intensifying criticism that the year-old ceasefire has failed to end abuses against Palestinians. **Source:** https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/14/israeli-attacks-kill-one-in-gaza-wound-journalists-in-occupied-west-bank

🇵🇸 #Gaza **Israel still blocks Gaza reconstruction start** Israel has not yet allowed the US-backed Board of Peace to begin its first reconstruction contract in Gaza, barring contractors and trucks from entering, even as winter approaches and roughly 94 percent of Gaza's population lacks adequate shelter. **Source:** https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/10/10/gaza-ceasefire-anniversary-marks-year-of-failed-promises

🇷🇺 #Russia **Kyiv strike toll rises to nine dead** Ukrainian officials now say at least nine people were killed in Tuesday night's Russian missile and drone barrage on Kyiv's power grid and a residential building, up from the single death first reported, with hundreds of thousands left without electricity. Moscow says it hit "energy and communications infrastructure"; Kyiv says it got no advance warning. **Source:** https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/14/massive-russian-attack-on-ukraine-kills-at-least-six-cuts-power-in-kyiv