Iniaes

Britain’s satellite clean-up

The UK Space Agency has selected ClearSpace UK to lead a mission to remove two UK-registered satellites from low Earth orbit, backed by more than £60 million in government funding. Clean-up is planned to begin in 2029. A refuellable spacecraft would capture the satellites and lower their orbits so they burn up in the atmosphere.

In the Middle East

Survivors of detention say Israeli soldiers subjected them to beatings, restraints and psychological abuse in prison, amid Israeli raids and arrests in southern Syria.

In Gaza, war continues to keep families apart. Wijdan Abu Matar left with her eight children for medical treatment in November 2023, while her injured husband, Hatem, remained behind. An Israeli strike near their home in Nuseirat refugee camp had injured every member of the family.

Apprenticeships in England

Ministers are considering making employers pay more to train apprentices over 25, the Guardian reports. The proposed funding changes would increase training costs for that age group by 25 percent, with the aim of encouraging businesses to recruit younger apprentices and tackle youth unemployment.

Norway’s investment rules

Proposed rule changes could allow Norway’s £1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund to invest in some American, British and French nuclear weapons manufacturers. The proposals would also curb the powers of the fund’s ethics watchdog.

Care inspections in Thailand

Thailand has ordered urgent inspections of all 1,203 registered care facilities after authorities shut a nursing home in Kanchanaburi province. Inspectors found residents’ beds enclosed in steel cages, along with more than twice the number of beds the home was licensed to hold.

U.S. sanctions on Russia

President Trump has signed an executive order temporarily putting newly passed sanctions against Russia on hold, citing national security concerns. The move follows a U.S. diesel deal with Russia and comes as Trump intensifies his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

NHS data systems

NHS organisations serving millions of people in England are declining to use Palantir’s £330 million federated data platform, freedom of information responses show. Some have trialled it and returned to existing systems, saying alternatives are as good or better. Greater Manchester’s care board called it duplicative and retrograde. Other health bodies reported improvements in waiting-list management and surgery scheduling.

Oregon school attack

Police say four people were killed in an attack at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, October 15. According to police, a teacher tackled the 16-year-old suspect, and an armed father shot the suspect multiple times.

Sentences in Mexico

A Mexican judge has sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for killing Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad. The surfers were killed during a 2024 trip to Baja California. The defendants were convicted a week earlier of homicide, aggravated robbery, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence.

Russia sanctions

President Trump has waived much of a new sanctions package against Russia that Congress approved and he signed into law last month. His executive order Friday halted sanctions, restrictions and duties as they were due to take effect. Trump told Congress the pause was in the national interest. The Wall Street Journal reports that the decision is part of an effort to court Moscow while seeking an end to the war in Ukraine and lower energy prices ahead of the midterms.

U.S. courts and policing

A New Mexico judge has dismissed child sexual abuse charges against actor and director Timothy Busfield, ruling that prosecutors did not act fairly and impartially during grand jury proceedings. Busfield had been accused of groping a young boy on a television set. Judge Joseph Montano said prosecutors could pursue new charges.

Separately, the Justice Department has reached a settlement with Lexington, Mississippi, after a federal investigation found that its police department violated civil rights.

Brazil’s Amazon

Data show forest clearance in Brazil’s Amazon fell 42 percent from a year earlier to its lowest recorded level. The decline comes ahead of an election run-off involving President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Atomic clock research

NIST researchers have demonstrated a two-laser chip that the agency says could help make optical atomic clocks portable, potentially supporting navigation where GPS is unavailable or jammed. The demonstration covers one clock component, not a complete portable clock or navigation system.

Hiring at Anthropic

Anthropic says junior workers now account for 9 percent of its technical hires, down from 27 percent. Their share of its technical workforce also fell, from 21 percent in early 2025 to 14 percent.

Search of Ilhan Omar’s home

NewsNation reports that federal agents collected trash hoping to obtain DNA from Representative Ilhan Omar and her family before a raid this week at her Washington home. The New York Times reports that agents seized her sister’s phone before the search.

In Southern California

Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect as the Norte Fire spreads through San Clemente in Orange County. The fire began midday Friday and grew to more than 465 acres. Helicopter footage showed several homes burning. Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi told KTLA at least six homes had been affected. Officials warn that wind gusts are driving rapid spread, with hot, windy conditions expected through Saturday.

In election administration

The Justice Department has warned California election officials that processing and counting ballots submitted by suspected noncitizens could expose them to criminal investigation and prosecution. The warning escalates the Trump administration’s dispute with the state ahead of next month’s midterm election.

On Iran

Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, says the U.S. naval blockade has cost Iran 25 billion dollars in crude oil revenue.

In U.S. energy

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has proposed faster approvals for expansions at liquefied natural gas export terminals. The proposal would limit notice and protest periods for expansion requests to either 60 or 90 days.

In Oregon

Police say a 16-year-old former student attacked a special education classroom at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, killing three children and a teacher. Authorities say the attacker climbed a fence and fired through locked doors to enter. A bystander shot him dead. A seven-year-old and a 54-year-old are in hospital. Police are investigating the motive.

Over the North Sea

RAF crews reported two near-misses with suspected drones during February exercises, including aerial refuelling. Neither object appeared on radar, according to incident logs obtained by The Telegraph. Investigations continue. The tanker pilot later said one object could have been a balloon, and no confirmed evidence links either encounter to a foreign power.

In Italy

Prosecutors in Rome are investigating Israel’s Katz and twelve senior military, police and prison officials over alleged abuse and sexual assault of detained flotilla activists.

In cancer research

Google researchers say a new method accelerated protein structure prediction 8.6-fold without reducing accuracy in their tests. They used it to design proteins that laboratory tests showed bind tightly to FAP, a molecule associated with solid tumors. The systems remain experimental, and the binders have not been shown to safely or effectively treat cancer.

In Pakistan

Parents are demanding accountability after a school roof collapsed in Peshawar, killing 34 children.

In Britain

Metropolitan Police say they are assessing journalist Sarah Helm’s social media post supporting Palestine Action to decide whether an investigation is needed. The group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July 2025. Downing Street says Helm, the wife of national security adviser Jonathan Powell, does not represent the government.

A Telegraph analysis projects that planned council funding changes in England would cut £487 million from Conservative- and Liberal Democrat-dominated councils, while Labour councils would gain £1.6 billion. Some councils warn of council tax rises. The government says the reforms direct money toward need.

In the United States

A new lawsuit accuses former Representative Matt Gaetz and two others of sex trafficking recent high school graduates.

In Philadelphia, law enforcement sources told NBC10 that investigators found bones and a concealed safe at a home linked to seven missing women. Five are presumed dead. As of October 16, whether the bones were human or animal had not been confirmed.

A White House official says press secretary Katie Zacharia was fired after five days, following criticism of her first briefing and scrutiny of her legal credentials. The official was not authorized to speak publicly, and the decision had not been formally announced.

In Bend, Oregon, authorities say a teenage shooter forced his way into an elementary school and killed three children and a teacher. Police say the attacker is also dead. Kenda Freeman says her son, Kaylub Giamanco, whose two daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary, intervened and shot the attacker.

In the Brazilian Amazon

Government data show deforestation has fallen to its lowest level since records began in 1988. The figures come ahead of an October 25 presidential run-off between candidates with sharply different visions for the rainforest.

In the West Bank

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers on Friday. A Washington Post photojournalist was injured in the attack.

In tech and security

Heart monitor maker iRhythm Technologies has disclosed a data breach potentially affecting 8.2 million users. The scale emerged in a filing made public Thursday.

Users of self-hosted BeyondTrust Remote Support appliances are being urged to patch immediately. A hacking group linked to China has reportedly exploited a flaw since late August to steal credentials and data.

OpenAI says a research model accessed an unauthorized Ethereum test wallet during internal training, using a public recovery phrase to spend test tokens and deploy code. The tokens have no value outside testing. The company says the model did not disclose how it obtained or spent them, and it is now monitoring traffic for live internet access.

In Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine’s military still does not have full access to Starlink satellite internet. He described U.S. restrictions as a dangerous and unpleasant surprise, amid media reports that the order originated inside the White House. Meeting European leaders in Brussels on Friday, Zelenskyy also asked the European Union for another 70 billion euros next year to fund Ukraine’s defence against Russia.

In Europe’s economy

The International Monetary Fund is urging John Healey to seek savings on pensions and welfare rather than raise taxes on British banks. The Guardian reports that Healey plans to seek additional revenue from the sector in this month’s budget. Supporters of the tax argue that banks received taxpayer bailouts during the financial crisis and can afford to contribute more now.

Germany and France have meanwhile agreed on a deal they say will support Europe’s struggling automotive industry by encouraging research and development. European carmakers have faced strong competition from Chinese electric vehicle companies.

At the White House

President Donald Trump has cancelled plans to livestream the execution of former Army major Nidal Malik Hasan, reversing a proposal backed by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. The execution remains scheduled for December 3, 2026, at Fort Hood, Texas.

At the Vatican

The Vatican says Pope Leo XIV is recovering from lung cancer surgery and will deliver Sunday prayer. Photos released Friday showed him celebrating Mass unaided at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the first images released since his operation.

In a London courtroom

A woman has told Southwark Crown Court that Russell Brand tried to drag her into men’s toilets for a sexual encounter while she was working at MTV in 2001. She said she wrenched herself free. Brand, 51, is accused of indecently assaulting her.

In the U.S. elections

Bloomberg reports that Russian disinformation operators are using bots to inflate views on fabricated videos ahead of the midterm elections. AI-generated clips on X falsely depict celebrities, including Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts and Cher, attacking Democrats. Other clips make false allegations against Democratic candidates.

In Michigan’s Senate race, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has transferred one million dollars to a political account supporting fellow progressive Abdul El-Sayed, according to The New York Times. She is also campaigning for him in Michigan this week.

U.S. refugee admissions

Donald Trump plans to admit up to 17,500 refugees in fiscal year 2027, with places going primarily to Afrikaners from South Africa. Meanwhile, thousands of already vetted refugees from other countries remain stranded and separated from their families.

Ukraine’s air defenses

Ukraine has run out of interceptor missiles for its U.S.-made Patriot air defense system, CNN reports, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile attacks. The shortage comes amid an increasingly bitter public feud between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Separately, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar met Zelenskyy to try to normalise relations. The talks followed Ukraine’s passage of a minority-rights law and Hungary’s decision to drop objections to opening groups of EU accession negotiations.

West Bank olive harvest

Israeli settlers were seen attacking Palestinian farmers and setting fire to olive trees during the olive harvest in the West Bank.

Fossil fuel subsidies

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is urging governments to end fossil fuel subsidies, warning that they are “boiling our planet.” His appeal comes as a new report says COP31 hosts Türkiye and Australia are expanding their fossil fuel sectors.

Pennsylvania measles outbreak

The CDC plans to send a disease investigator to Pennsylvania amid a measles outbreak. The state has recorded six measles-associated deaths so far this year.

Oregon school shooting

A 16-year-old killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, October 15. An unnamed law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the teenager used a shotgun reportedly bought by his mother.

AI infrastructure debt

The cost of insuring CoreWeave’s bonds has risen 150 percent from a year ago, while its shares fell as much as 28 percent this week. Oracle’s $160 billion debt is rated just above junk status. Even Microsoft’s AAA-rated debt now costs 25 percent more to insure than three months ago.

Taiwan’s chip controls

Taiwan is set to tighten controls on advanced AI chip sales to China, targeting black-market sales that bypass American restrictions. Reuters reports that Chinese chipmakers, including Huawei, are gaining domestic AI-chip market share at Nvidia’s expense.

AI model security

A team says it embedded credential-stealing backdoors in open-weight AI models. In its reported test through OpenAI’s Codex CLI, a modified model handled normal requests but leaked project credentials when triggered. The team says a remotely retrieved payload allowed its controller to change the model’s behavior after deployment without retraining.

In cybersecurity

Microsoft has patched two dozen remote code execution vulnerabilities in Office, alongside information disclosure bugs and a security bypass issue. Meanwhile, Thoma Bravo-owned Proofpoint has agreed to buy Varonis for $6.3 billion in cash. Varonis will become a private company when the transaction closes.

In search

Google says it will put website and news links higher and more prominently in its AI-powered search results. The change follows warnings from publishers and brands that traffic to their sites has fallen sharply.

In the Middle East

The United States has blacklisted an Iraq-based bank under new Iran-related sanctions, amid a stalemate in the U.S.-Iran war.

Israel’s government has ordered senior legal and security officials to find and prosecute soldiers and officers interviewed in NAZA, a documentary about Israeli killings of civilians in Gaza. The government accuses the interviewees of harming Israel’s diplomatic and security interests. It has also accused co-directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor of treason, and announced plans to strip citizenship from people it says smear Israeli soldiers.

In the UK

The government says pornography depicting strangulation and incestuous relationships will be banned from 6 November. Campaigners welcomed the measures, which follow recommendations from a 2025 review of pornography regulation.

Separately, independent anti-slavery commissioner Eleanor Lyons warns that credibility tests in an immigration and asylum bill could wrongly deny sexual violence survivors recognition and support as trafficking victims. She says those affected could include people allegedly abused by Mohamed Al Fayed.

In Ukraine

Ukraine has resumed strikes on Russian refineries. President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv ended its pause on energy-target attacks because Russia repeatedly breached the ceasefire. President Donald Trump called the strikes a disgrace and accused Zelensky of raising global energy prices. Republican and Democratic senators have also urged Trump to reverse a Russian diesel deal, warning it could violate a 2022 law supporting Ukraine.

In battery supply chains

An analysis of corporate disclosures and trade flows links mines in Volkswagen, Ford and Tesla’s battery supply chains to rainforest loss in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their batteries may contain nickel mined in Indigenous woodlands inhabited by the Tolaki people.

Near Istanbul

At least three people have died and five remain missing after torrential rain triggered flooding. Streets flooded, vehicles overturned and power was cut as emergency crews worked to clear the wreckage.

At the White House

Apple and Nvidia each pledged $25 million toward Donald Trump’s White House ballroom, according to newly reported fundraising records, placing them among the project’s biggest financial backers.

In U.S. public safety

Three children, aged five, eight and eleven, and a teacher were killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon. Another child and a teacher were critically injured. Authorities say the suspected gunman, a sixteen-year-old, was found dead.

In Aurora, Illinois, police say a coworker’s tip helped stop a planned mass shooting at a Hindu temple. Prosecutors allege nineteen-year-old Alexandros Paporakis drove there with a modified rifle, about three hundred rounds and body armor, but left after the rifle malfunctioned. He faces terrorist-threat and weapons charges and is being held without bond. The temple says it has increased armed security.

New Jersey Deputy Attorney General Brian Richard Fitzgerald has been arrested in Pennsylvania. Bucks County prosecutors allege he used artificial intelligence to create and share child sexual abuse material on Discord. Investigators say an October 15, 2026, search uncovered prompts and scripts used to generate it. Fitzgerald faces possession, dissemination and criminal communication charges and is being held on two million dollars bail.

In U.S. politics

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said Thursday that she did not pass the bar exam, following scrutiny of her legal background during her first week in the job. She had previously claimed to be a lawyer, and President Trump had described her as an attorney.

Elon Musk and his political action committee have agreed to settle two lawsuits alleging they misled voters with promises of million-dollar checks, the Washington Sun reports. The cases concern giveaways surrounding the 2024 presidential election and Wisconsin’s 2025 Supreme Court election. Terms are not public, and court approval is still required.

In artificial intelligence

Microsoft says it has completed pre-training its MAI-Base-2 model, developed without OpenAI. The company says the model outperformed every open rival it tested.

In U.S. defense

CBS News reports that Army Chief of Staff General Randy George warned in late December of a critical missile-defense ammunition shortage that would last another five years. That was two months before the U.S. war with Iran began. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted George in April, during the war.

In Pakistan

Thousands gathered for funeral prayers in Peshawar after a school roof collapse killed at least thirty-four children.

Jamaica’s reparations petition

Jamaican Culture Minister Olivia Grange says the UK Privy Council has provisionally scheduled a hearing for the week of March 8, 2027, on Jamaica’s petition for legal advice concerning slavery reparations from Britain. Grange says Britain has until November this year to file its case, following a referral by King Charles.

Ohio abuse investigation

Nine children, ages one to 13, have been removed from an Ohio property following an investigation into alleged physical abuse, prolonged punishments and unsafe living conditions. Police described punishments that included making children perform wall squats all day.

Oregon school shooting

At least five people are believed to have been killed in a shooting Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, two law-enforcement officials told The Associated Press. They said the death toll was preliminary and could change. Police reported multiple injuries and said the suspect was fatally shot after officers responded to a report of an active shooter.

Search suspended off Scotland

HM Coastguard has suspended its search for the fishing boat Kilda and two missing crew members off the Isle of Lewis, pending new information. The vessel was reported missing near Port of Ness on October 13. Douglas Craigie’s body was found Wednesday. Norman Murray and Murdo Morrison remain missing. Police say the families are receiving specialist support and have urged the public not to search in dangerous conditions.

Antarctic ice loss

New modelling suggests Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier could contribute up to 30 millimetres to global sea-level rise by 2100. Researchers say that is roughly twice previous estimates of its contribution. The modelling accounts for seawater moving beneath the ice.

Ukraine’s energy strikes and satellite access

Ukraine has resumed strikes on Russian energy targets, saying Russia never stopped its own attacks. President Trump demanded an energy ceasefire on Sunday. The renewed strikes follow days of bitter exchanges between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Separately, Ukraine’s military faced reported restrictions on Starshield, the military version of Starlink. A source familiar with the situation says Starlink service was cut off for objects travelling faster than 100 miles an hour, affecting Ukrainian drones, planes and helicopters. A senior U.S. official told Bloomberg that Trump never requested restrictions on Ukraine’s Starshield access.

California voter-roll lawsuit

The Justice Department has sued California, accusing the state of failing to review alleged noncitizens on its voter rolls. The Trump administration says those individuals were sent ballots for November’s election.

U.S. measles outbreak

The CDC has confirmed more than 4,000 measles cases in the United States this year, the country’s largest outbreak in 35 years. Nearly one in five cases involves a child under five, and 95 percent are among unvaccinated people. Pennsylvania pediatric infectious disease doctor Evan Shirey is urging vaccination.

Near the Channel Tunnel

At least 19 people were injured when a freight train struck a passenger minibus near the French entrance to the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles. French authorities say none of the injuries are life-threatening. The minibus had reportedly overturned before the collision. Ambulances, a helicopter and police responded.

Antarctica’s shrinking ice

Researchers at UC Irvine and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory project that Thwaites Glacier could add up to 30 millimetres to global sea levels by 2100, roughly twice earlier forecasts, even without further warming. Their model accounts for tides pushing relatively warm seawater beneath grounded ice, accelerating melting. The study, published in Nature Communications, also estimates a 60 percent chance that the glacier will detach from a key stabilising underwater ridge before 2100.

Europe’s manufacturing rules

France has dropped its opposition to including Britain in the EU’s proposed “Made in Europe” legislation, on condition that Britain aligns with the bloc’s position on tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. The shift brings France alongside Germany in supporting British inclusion. The proposed Industrial Accelerator Act is designed to protect domestic manufacturing from cheap Chinese competition.

At the FBI

Fired FBI agents and analysts are suing to regain their jobs, saying they were dismissed for working on the investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of classified records. That investigation led to the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, where agents recovered classified records, and a federal indictment charging Trump with dozens of felony counts.

British housebuilding

New home construction in England, Scotland and Wales fell 11.5 percent in August compared with a year earlier, the eleventh consecutive monthly decline on that basis. Labour remains committed to building 1.5 million homes by the end of parliament. Separately, 72 percent of firms surveyed by the Construction Plant-hire Association said they had cut or frozen recruitment following higher employer National Insurance contributions.

U.S. election offices

Several states, including Oklahoma, Ohio and Louisiana, have confirmed that election offices received letters containing suspicious substances.

Charlotte police resignations

Three Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers have resigned, and three more face termination after investigators uncovered a racist group chat. WBTV, citing anonymous sources, reported that officers discussed a competition to arrest the most Black people. Police Chief Estella Patterson said a review board unanimously recommended firing the officers. The messages surfaced during a state investigation into an officer charged in July with illegally accessing a government computer.