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BBC Investigation Finds Sudan’s RSF Systematically Destroyed El-Fasher’s Hospitals, With at Least 43 Attacks on Health Sites: October 23, 2026

EL-FASHER, Sudan — A BBC investigation published Friday says Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces systematically destroyed el-Fasher’s healthcare system during their long siege and takeover of the Darfur city a year ago.

Using sources on the ground, the BBC documented at least 43 separate attacks on hospitals and health sites between May 2024 and October 2025, some hit multiple times. Its data show 55 medical workers killed, 120 injured and 10 forcibly disappeared or abducted in the city from April 2023 to October 2025.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk called the findings “deeply disturbing,” saying repeated RSF attacks on civilian infrastructure, including health facilities, were serious violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. The World Health Organization called el-Fasher “one of the clearest and most severe examples” of the war’s toll on health care in Sudan.

“It was intense. It was deliberate. It was planned,” said Dr. Muhamed Suliman, a surgeon who worked in el-Fasher during the siege. Dr. Alaa Eldin Nugud, health minister of the RSF-affiliated civilian government, dismissed the allegations as propaganda by the army and its allies.

Both sides in the civil war that began in April 2023 have been accused of attacking health facilities; the WHO condemned a March 2026 bombing of al-Daein hospital in RSF-held East Darfur that Sudan’s military is believed to have carried out, which it denies.

Sources: BBC News

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Merz Warns Germany Is a Target of ‘Intensive’ Russian Espionage After Ukrainian Man Is Arrested on Spying Charges: October 23, 2026

BERLIN — Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany is the target of “intensive” espionage after federal prosecutors announced the arrest of a Ukrainian national on suspicion of spying for Russia, BBC News reported.

The Federal Prosecutor General’s Office said Thursday the suspect, identified under German privacy law as Vadym Y., had been in contact with a Russian intelligence service through an intermediary since at least July 2025 and gathered information including “on the production of armoured vehicles, ammunition, and explosives.” He was due before an investigating judge on Friday.

Merz called the case a “success” but warned: “Let us not delude ourselves — the activities of Russian intelligence services in Germany remain at a consistently high level.” Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Montenegro, he added, “We will likely see more such cases in the coming months and years.”

Germany, one of Ukraine’s leading European arms suppliers, has made several espionage arrests this year, the BBC noted — including, earlier this month, former BND foreign intelligence chief August Hanning, on suspicion of espionage and treason. Investigators have not said which foreign powers were involved in that case.

Berlin accused Russia in September of launching an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport; President Vladimir Putin accused Germany of planting evidence.

Sources: BBC News

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Ukraine Says Starlink Limits Persist Despite Trump’s Claim Musk ‘Put It Back,’ and Turns to Finland for Its Own Satellite System: October 23, 2026

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s military is still seeing problems with SpaceX’s satellite network, defence ministry sources said Friday, a day after President Donald Trump said Elon Musk had lifted limits on the service, BBC News and Al Jazeera reported.

The sources told the BBC that drones travelling faster than 161 km/h (100 mph) were still losing connection, hampering operations, and that there was “currently no confirmation that these restrictions have been lifted.” Asked Thursday whether he had called Musk, Trump said: “Bottom line, he put it back.”

Kyiv first reported on Oct. 13 that uplink speeds had been restricted. Musk has said he was not behind the slowdown and suggested the Pentagon could be, since the military-grade Starshield service is controlled by the U.S. military; the White House has repeatedly denied deliberately limiting the network.

On Friday President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would “use more of Finland’s satellite capabilities,” naming Nokia and ICEYE, after the Finnish firms signed a letter of intent with Ukraine’s defence ministry during Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s visit to Kyiv, Al Jazeera reported, citing DPA.

The dispute has unfolded amid a row between Trump and Zelenskyy over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, as Trump has waived some Russia sanctions ahead of next month’s U.S. midterm elections.

Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera

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Two Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gun Attack at Hebron Checkpoint as Netanyahu Orders Full West Bank Closure Days Before Election: October 23, 2026

HEBRON, West Bank — Two Israeli soldiers were killed Friday when two suspected Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a military checkpoint at the entrance to Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said, according to BBC News. Three other Israelis were wounded before the attackers were shot dead.

The military said it found a large quantity of ammunition in the attackers’ vehicle and believes they had intended a larger attack on nearby Route 35 but ran into the checkpoint. The Associated Press, via NPR, reported the army said the gunmen carried an M16 rifle and a handgun.

Hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had instructed security forces to immediately cordon off Hebron and prepare to fully close the West Bank starting Friday. “The lives of the residents of Judea and Samaria, of the settlers, the lives of the soldiers … are a million times more important than freedom of movement,” Netanyahu said, as quoted by NPR.

The attack lands four days before Israel’s general election. Netanyahu’s Likud cancelled Friday campaign events, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a West Bank campaign “exactly like in Gaza or Lebanon,” and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged dismantling the Palestinian Authority, the BBC reported. Opposition leaders including Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett offered condolences.

The military began raids on the attackers’ homes. The UN says at least 96 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank this year, and four Israelis by Palestinians.

Sources: BBC News, NPR / The Associated Press

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Typhoon Champi Shuts Down Taiwan, Grounding Hundreds of Flights as It Skirts the North-East Coast: October 23, 2026

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Typhoon Champi churned close to Taiwan’s north-east coast on Friday, shutting schools, offices and the stock exchange and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights across East Asia, BBC News and CBC News reported.

Work and classes were suspended in nearly all of Taiwan’s 22 counties and cities, with only the outlying Kinmen archipelago carrying on as usual, the BBC said. One person died after being swept away by waves, authorities said, while 171 people were injured and about 1,000 evacuated.

Forecasters said up to 90 centimetres (35 inches) of rain could fall on the north-east through Saturday, with rainfall peaking Saturday morning. Champi was packing gusts of 191 km/h (119 mph) on Friday afternoon. Weather agencies in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan expect the eye to pass without making landfall, though a Central Weather Administration forecaster told Reuters that could not be ruled out if the storm “stalls, loops or wobbles.”

In Japan, nearly 8,400 households lost power in Okinawa and more than 160 flights were cancelled across four Japanese airlines. Waves also battered Batanes in the northern Philippines.

Earlier this week Champi became the planet’s strongest storm of the year, with maximum sustained winds of 298 km/h (185 mph). It is Japan’s 30th typhoon of 2026 — the first time since 2013 the country has seen so many — in a season the BBC linked to an unusually strong El Niño.

Sources: BBC News, CBC News

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Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake in Tibet Kills at Least 16 and Collapses Hundreds of Homes in High-Altitude Nagqu: October 23, 2026

NAGQU, Tibet — A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck a remote, mountainous part of Tibet on Thursday night, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens, Chinese state media said, according to BBC News and The Associated Press via CBC News.

The quake was centred in Baqên County in the Nagqu region, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) north-east of the regional capital, Lhasa, Xinhua reported. The U.S. Geological Survey said it struck at 10:33 p.m. local time at a depth of 18 kilometres.

The Nagqu media office said at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed. Of 46 people injured, 11 were in serious condition, the office said; the BBC, citing local emergency officials via Xinhua, put the injured at 65. Local media said more than 12,400 people had been relocated, and state media reported more than 400 aftershocks by Friday morning, the BBC reported.

Premier Li Qiang called for “urgent efforts” to organise rescue operations and medical treatment, noting the area sits at about 4,800 metres (15,750 feet) and is prone to aftershocks. Beijing allocated 50 million yuan (about $7.5 million) for relief.

Rockfalls closed a section of National Highway 317 to all but emergency traffic, railway authorities halted trains through the region, and communications were down in parts of the area, Xinhua said. Survivors spent the night outdoors in subzero temperatures, and intermittent snow is forecast for the next three days. CCTV called it the region’s biggest earthquake in five years.

Sources: BBC News, CBC News / The Associated Press

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World Brief, Evening: October 22, 2026

Iran says it hit seven tankers in a day and Donald Trump calls it made up, as oil tops $113 and AI stocks drag markets down; a magnitude 7 quake kills 16 in Tibet; and Trump says Elon Musk has switched Ukraine’s Starlink back on. Ten stories as of Thursday evening, October 22.

1. Strait of Hormuz / Iran, and Washington. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says seven tankers were struck in a single day: four it says it hit while they were transferring oil ship to ship, and three it says hit mines west of the strait. That would be the biggest one-day toll since the war began on February 28, though the claims couldn’t be independently verified, Al Jazeera reported. The Guard warned that “the conflict will extend to” U.S. bases in the region if the escorts continue. Trump hit back on Truth Social, saying Iran is “making up fake hits, mines, and everything else” to push up oil prices before the midterms, per CBS News. Brent crude still jumped 4% to $113.17, its highest in five months. A selloff in AI stocks did the rest: the Nasdaq fell 2.6% and the S&P 500 1.2%, its worst day since July, after Seoul’s Kospi lost 3.5% and Hong Kong 3%, The Guardian reported. American Airlines now expects a loss this year because of fuel costs, per The Guardian.

2. Baqên County, Nagqu / Tibet, China. A magnitude 7 earthquake struck at about 10:33 p.m. local time Thursday, killing at least 16 people and injuring 32, 11 of them seriously, Xinhua reported, per Al Jazeera. Local reports say 339 homes collapsed and power is out, while rockfalls have closed roads into the high-altitude area, BBC News reported. It’s the strongest quake to hit China since January 2024. With foreign media restricted in Tibet, state media is the main source of information.

3. Kyiv / Ukraine, and Washington. Trump says Elon Musk has restored Ukraine’s Starlink access. “Bottom line, he put it back,” he said, without addressing a Wall Street Journal report that he’d phoned Musk to lift the speed caps, BBC News reported. Earlier on Thursday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the military system’s speed “has not been restored” fully and that he was waiting to hear back from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The caps, which began around October 13, have hobbled Ukraine’s drones and interceptors. Musk says the U.S. government controls the military-grade Starshield version, while the White House denies ordering any limits, per Al Jazeera.

4. Paris, Marseille and Lyon / France. Paris is extending its overnight curfew around Place de la République and Les Halles until Monday, while Marseille and Lyon are banning all protests this weekend, BBC News reported. The Louvre, the Orsay and the Picasso museum will close on Saturday, and Marseille is suspending public transport. Emmanuel Macron said only authorized union marches will go ahead elsewhere, and blamed “seditious acts organised by far-left groups.” Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 2,700 people were arrested and 217 jailed after last weekend’s riots.

5. Strasbourg / European Parliament. The International Criminal Court and its officials have won the European Parliament’s 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, less than two weeks after Trump announced new sanctions against the court, Al Jazeera reported. Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the prize recognizes the court’s work “upholding international law and justice.” ICC President Tomoko Akane said it comes as the court faces “unprecedented challenges.” The U.S. sanctions take effect in six months, and Brussels is considering a blocking statute to shield the court in The Hague.

6. Brasília / Brazil. Three days before Sunday’s runoff, Lula’s campaign has asked the top electoral court to disqualify Flávio Bolsonaro, accusing Meta of curbing Lula’s reach on its platforms to help his rival, BBC News reported. Bolsonaro has filed his own petition to disqualify Lula over mass government WhatsApp messages. UN experts say Meta must keep a level playing field. Meta denies favoring either side. Polls show the race is very close.

7. Canuto / Ecuador. Opposition leader Luisa González, who lost the presidency to Daniel Noboa in 2023 and 2025, was arrested in the rural western town of Canuto in a money-laundering probe into about $500,000 in 2023 campaign funds, Al Jazeera reported. She called the accusations “absurd.” Her Citizen Revolution Movement and former President Rafael Correa call the case political persecution. Local elections are set for November 29.

8. Tunis and Sfax / Tunisia. In rare unrest, police fired tear gas at protesters in Ettadhamen, a suburb of Tunis, after the death of a man detained on suspicion of drug dealing, which his family blames on police abuse, Al Jazeera reported. There were clashes in Jebiniana, in Sfax governorate, over another death linked to police, and students in Sfax are planning a strike. It comes days after the largest protest against President Kais Saied in years.

9. Ottawa / Canada. Canada has told its diplomats in the U.S. to stay away from midterm candidates until Election Day on November 3, after the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa accused Canadian leaders of potential interference, CBC News reported. Diplomats are also not to be photographed with candidates and are told not to pick sides on social media. Global Affairs Canada calls the guidance routine, per Politico. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who’s named in the embassy’s list, said meeting both Republicans and Democrats “is diplomacy.”

10. Barrow Island / Western Australia. Satellites have picked up huge methane plumes over Chevron’s Gorgon gas plant on five passes since last November, prompting a warning from the U.N. Environment Programme, ABC News reported. The latest, in late August, averaged about 7.8 tonnes of methane an hour, well above the U.S. “super emitter” threshold. Chevron says satellite data carries “a wide range of uncertainty.” The state government is investigating.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula) and Serbia’s snap parliamentary election. October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, as the Fed’s two-day meeting opens in Washington (October 27–28). November 3, the U.S. midterms. Full board at the link.

World Brief: October 22, 2026

Missiles hit Kyiv only hours after Moscow said it was ready to talk again; oil jumped past $110 as Iran says seven tankers were hit in and around the Strait of Hormuz; and Nigeria now knows a bit more about how Ebola got to Abuja. Ten stories as of Thursday morning, October 22.

1. Kyiv / Ukraine, and St Petersburg / Russia. Ukraine’s capital came under a new missile attack Wednesday night, hours after Russia said it was “ready in principle” to resume peace talks and President Trump said the world was “the closest we’ve been” to ending the war, BBC News reported. Several houses were hit and six people were injured, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said. The strike followed about three hours of talks between Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg; Putin aide Yuri Ushakov called the American ideas not very “useful” and floated a new round around November 10 in Abu Dhabi. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’d accept a deal freezing the war along the current front line. On Thursday he said Russia used ballistic missiles with cluster warheads against Kyiv:

2. Strait of Hormuz and the northern Gulf / Iran. The navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Thursday that four vessels it accused of illegal oil transfers were struck and caught fire in the northern Gulf, and three more hit mines west of the strait, Al Jazeera reported. Brent crude climbed above $110 a barrel on the fear of more disruption. The Guard has also announced what it calls an “offensive” doctrine: if attacked again, spokesman Hossein Mohebi said, Iran will “both respond and launch an offensive,” including against neighbouring countries hosting U.S. bases. Media reports say the U.S. and Israel are weighing strikes on Iran in the coming weeks, nearly eight months into the war.

3. Dammam / Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Saudi authorities say an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Wednesday evening killed two people, a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident, and injured eight; Yemen’s Houthis say the airport was among the sites they hit with drones and missiles over 48 hours, BBC News reported. Two more people, from the Philippines and Nepal, were killed by debris from a drone intercepted near an Aramco facility at the Shaybah oil field. At least 21 people have been killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports since the start of October. Washington has ordered some diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia, and the U.K. is deploying jets to help defend it.

4. Marseille, Corsica and Lyon / France. At least four people are dead after Storm Adam flooded southern France, including two women aged 86 and 26 found drowned in a cellar in the Bouches-du-Rhône, BBC News reported; the same storm killed at least three in eastern Spain. Storm Austen is next, with an orange wind warning for five western departments from Thursday evening. Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron says only authorised union marches will be allowed on Saturday after last weekend’s riots, with Lyon, Toulon, Grenoble and central Rouen banning demonstrations outright, per BBC News. At least 2,500 people have been arrested, and Macron blamed “seditious acts organised by far-left groups.”

5. Abuja / Nigeria, and Kampala / Uganda. Nigeria’s first Ebola patient in more than a decade is a 42-year-old diplomat’s wife who spent two and a half weeks on holiday in Kampala and fell ill three days after getting home to Abuja on October 3, BBC News reported. Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate says she’s stable and improving; 44 contacts are being traced and 46 people have been barred from flying. Uganda rejects the link. It’s the Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, and Africa CDC has called an emergency meeting of health officials for October 28, per DW. More than 9,500 people have been infected since May.

6. Agadez / Niger, and Benghazi / Libya. Two women kidnapped in northern Niger, Austrian aid worker Eva Gretzmacher, 76, and Swiss community worker Claudia Abbt, 69, have been freed after more than a year in captivity and handed over in Benghazi, BBC News reported. Both governments confirmed the releases, but nobody has said who held them or what was asked. On Libyan TV the women thanked eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and his son Saddam. Kidnappings of foreigners have soared across the Sahel.

7. The inter-Korean border. North Korea says it will restart propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the border “within October,” Kim Yo Jong said after touring front-line fortification work, NPR reported. Tensions are up after land mine blasts injured three South Korean soldiers, and she warned of “no mercy” if South Korean warning shots harm North Korean troops. Seoul’s defence ministry says it would take “proportionate measures.”

8. Brasília / Brazil. Brazilians vote Sunday in a presidential runoff between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the jailed former president, BBC News reported. Bolsonaro narrowly won the October 4 first round but fell short of 50%, and polls now have them neck and neck. A record 21% of eligible voters stayed home in round one, even though voting is mandatory.

9. Ottawa / Canada, and Washington. The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa has accused Canadian officials of trying to influence the November midterms, citing meetings with Democrats and talk of tariffs aimed at politically important states, BBC News reported. Prime Minister Mark Carney noted Washington started the trade fight and announced a nearly C$9bn aid package for businesses hit by U.S. tariffs; Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he has “no interest at all” in U.S. elections.

10. Wangaratta / Australia. Independent federal MP Helen Haines remains in critical condition three days after being hit by a four-wheel drive outside her electorate office in north-east Victoria; she has lost both legs, ABC News reported. Brendan Nugent, 43, has been charged with three offences and is due back in court February 4. Police say the motive is still unknown. Donations to Save the Children in her name passed $400,000 in a day.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula) and Serbia’s snap parliamentary election. October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, and the Fed’s two-day meeting in Washington (October 27–28). Also October 28, Africa CDC’s emergency Ebola meeting. Full board at the link.

Australia’s Snowy 2.0 Hydro Project Could Now Cost A$25 Billion, 12 Times Its Original Price, With Completion Pushed to 2029: October 22, 2026

SYDNEY — Australia’s biggest renewable energy project, the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro scheme, could cost up to A$25 billion — about 12 times its original price — and will not be fully running until late 2029, a long-awaited review released Thursday found, ABC News and The Guardian reported.

Government-owned Snowy Hydro set a target cost of about A$22 billion, with A$3 billion more allowed if needed. The project was announced by then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2017 as a A$2 billion scheme due to run by 2021; a 2023 reset put it at about A$12 billion, with first power in late 2027.

Chief executive Dennis Barnes said he was “incredibly disappointed” by the costs but that the project was in its “strongest position yet.” “This job is 80 per cent people costs, we’ve got 5,000 people on the job now,” he told ABC News. He could not rule out further blowouts.

The review found 65% of machine tunnelling and 90% of cavern excavation are complete. The tunnel boring machine Florence, which was stuck for nearly a year after hitting soft ground in 2023, is still not halfway through its 15-kilometer tunnel, The Guardian reported.

Snowy 2.0 will link two reservoirs through about 27 kilometers of tunnels to an underground power station, storing surplus wind and solar power. With 2,200 megawatts of capacity, it is meant to act as a giant battery as Australia moves away from fossil fuels. The Albanese government is expected to announce new oversight and financing arrangements in the coming weeks.

Sources: ABC News, The Guardian

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Lula Accepts Flávio Bolsonaro’s Terms to Open Bank, Tax and Phone Records Days Before Brazil’s Neck-and-Neck Run-Off: October 22, 2026

BRASÍLIA, Brazil — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has agreed to expanded conditions set by his right-wing challenger, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, for both men to open their personal bank, tax and phone records ahead of Sunday’s presidential run-off, Al Jazeera reported, citing Reuters.

Lula offered on Tuesday to release his and his family’s records if Bolsonaro did the same. Bolsonaro’s campaign answered that it would comply only if Lula also disclosed records of his advisers and security staff and of companies held by his children. Senator Camilo Santana, speaking for Lula’s campaign, said the president had accepted and would file a formal response with the electoral court on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera.

The records fight comes as both campaigns navigate the fallout of a corruption scandal around banker Daniel Vorcaro. Bolsonaro is under investigation over an investment he allegedly sought from Vorcaro and denies wrongdoing. Lula’s sons are also under investigation in separate cases, which they deny.

Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro — who is serving a sentence of more than 20 years for plotting a coup — narrowly beat Lula in the Oct. 4 first round, and polls show the two neck and neck, BBC News reported. A record 21% of eligible voters stayed home in the first round despite compulsory voting.

Lula, who turns 81 two days after the vote, has cast the race as a “battle for democracy” and is courting older voters, Reuters reported. Bolsonaro is campaigning on crime and closer ties with the Trump administration.

Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC News, Reuters

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