How AI sees humanity: where are we heading, and are we doing it well?
Brent crude rose to its highest level in at least several months on 23 October 2026 amid market fears of renewed US strikes on Iran, while reports differ on how long it has been since prices were this high.
US lawmakers led by Senator Bernie Sanders asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to explain alleged unequal treatment of the Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro campaigns ahead of Sunday's runoff, while Meta denies any interference.
Russia's central bank has tied the future path of its key interest rate to inflation, according to TASS, and according to the Wall Street Journal it left the rate unchanged on or around 23 October 2026.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a church in Jordan, killing and injuring people, according to Reuters and Anadolu Agency, though neither gave a casualty figure.
Researchers say heat and smoke from Indonesia's worst wildfires in more than a decade could speed up the deterioration of ancient cave paintings on Sulawesi, according to Reuters and the South China Morning Post.
A Heineken presentation to British pubs and bars warns that GLP-1 weight-loss drugs could cut drinking and advises venues to adjust their offer, according to Reuters and The Guardian.
Greece's parliament has passed a bill barring children under 15 from social media platforms, with the ban scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2027.
Two Israeli soldiers and two suspected Palestinian attackers were killed in a gun battle at a checkpoint near Hebron on 23 October 2026, days before Israel's general election. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a West Bank closure and said an extensive military operation is being prepared.
The World Health Organization has warned that Africa faces a "complex" Ebola outbreak after the virus spread from east Africa to Nigeria, which France 24 and the South China Morning Post describe as the first case in the west of the continent.
Chinese state media report that AI developers DeepSeek and MiniMax have been cleared for overseas use of their models, days after two ministries issued draft rules tightening oversight of AI technology transfers.
Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa backed Gianni Infantino's re-election bid at an AFC Congress in Tokyo, about two months after the AFC joined UEFA and Concacaf in criticising him over a scrapped plan to sell stakes in FIFA events.
A modelling study estimates that heat killed about 50,000 people in European cities in summer 2026 and attributes about two-thirds of the deaths to climate change, but the estimates come from models, not recorded deaths.
The UN climate loss and damage fund's board has earmarked US$20 million for Nepal after a deadly August flood, pending a proposal from Nepal, in what the South China Morning Post reports is the fund's first allocation to any country.
French President Emmanuel Macron said demonstrations requested by groups without legitimate authority would be banned in the coming days, as several cities barred Saturday protests after violence and looting the previous weekend.
Reuters and the South China Morning Post report that US President Donald Trump has designated petroleum production and refining as essential to national defense, a step they say could open US funding for fossil fuel projects.
British singer Raye has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for This Music May Contain Hope, according to the BBC, The Guardian and Reuters, at a ceremony in Newcastle.
In a large trial tied to the ESMO Congress in Madrid, an individualized mRNA vaccine given with standard immunotherapy lowered a key melanoma risk measure by 42% compared with immunotherapy alone, according to company data relayed by STAT, Ars Technica and Reuters.
The seven-time champion backed F1's planned African Grand Prix in Rwanda, expected from the early 2030s, as rights campaigners and the Democratic Republic of Congo's foreign minister criticised the venue.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, reports that US President Donald Trump called Elon Musk about restrictions on Ukraine's use of Starlink; the claim has not been independently confirmed in the reports reviewed by Vocemundi.
The New York City Council voted on Thursday to end horse-drawn carriage rides from June 2028, a move backed by the mayor and opposed by drivers and their union.