Ethiopia
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called on Monday for greater protection for civilians caught in conflict in northern Ethiopia following deadly drone strikes this past weekend. “Reports of attacks on civilians in Ethiopia’s Amhara and Tigray regions are deeply disturbing,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on social media. He said children, including a newborn, were among fatalities at a displacement camp in Amhara. In a separate strike in the town of Rama in Tigray, several people were reportedly killed while trying to get food. – UN News Ethiopia: Violence in the north is pushing health system to the brink, WHO chief warns
Journalists in war
Global impunity for journalist killings has risen for the first time in more than a decade, while the growing use of drones is an emerging threat for reporters in conflict zones, according to the latest report from UN cultural organization UNESCO. “Journalists are increasingly paying with their lives for reporting from the frontlines of war and far too often those responsible for their killings are not held accountable,” said Director-General Khaled El-Enany. UNESCO first began measuring the proportion of journalist killings that go unpunished in 2012. The rate reached 86 per cent in 2024-2025, up one per cent from the previous two-year period. A confirmed total of 189 journalists and other media workers lost their lives in 2024-2025, or 20 per cent more than during the previous biennium and the highest number since 2014-2015. More than two thirds, 127, were killed in conflict zones, accounting for 67 per cent of the death toll. – UN News Six in seven journalist murders go unpunished, UNESCO reports
Russia – Ukraine
Britain and France are to lead a military exercise to test a multinational force’s ability to deploy to Ukraine, if there is a peace deal. Nearly 3,000 military personnel from 12 European nations will take part in the rehearsal in neighbouring Poland this month. Plans for a reassurance force for Ukraine were set out last year as one of the long-term security guarantees being proposed by European nations. But there are still more questions than answers as to how such a military force might work in practice. Western officials stress that any force sent to Ukraine would not take part in offensive operations or be involved in peacekeeping or ceasefire monitoring missions. Nor would they be operating under the command of Nato or on the front line. Officials say their presence would be to provide reassurance to Ukraine and to help rebuild its armed forces. The US has been involved in discussions, but is not contributing to the mission. Russia has already voiced opposition to foreign troops being stationed in Ukraine and, last year, President Vladimir Putin said they would be “legitimate targets”. – BBC Thousands of European troops to rehearse Ukraine deployment in event of peace
US
On the eve of the election, Democrats appear within striking distance of winning the Senate majority, but many seats in play are in toss-up territory in deep-red states that could still break in either party’s direction. Democrats have expanded the map in ways few predicted at the start of the year, and the national environment has seemed to favor the party for many months. President Donald Trump’s approval rating sits at 34%, according to CNN’s Poll of Polls average, and voter frustration on the economy, the Iran war and corruption appears to be driving Democratic energy across the country. And for the second time this year, CNN is expanding its list to reflect that. This list has expanded to 11 seats to add South Carolina, a red state that has grown competitive in late polling. Texas and Kansas – two other seats few envisioned being on the battleground map in January – have moved up in their positions. Democrats will need to flip four Republican-held seats while holding onto all their own to win the Senate majority this year. And Republicans are spending heavily to defend their Senate majority, fueled by President Donald Trump’s political network as well as tech titan Elon Musk. Over the final month of the midterms, Republicans are outspending Democrats on advertising in the 11 races on this list: $560 million to $521 million, according to AdImpact data. Excluding Georgia and North Carolina – where Republicans have all but waved the white flag – the gap is significantly larger, about $550 million to $469 million. Our ranking of the seats most likely to flip in November is based on CNN reporting, including conversations with strategists involved in Senate races, as well as our analysis of candidate fundraising, polling and the partisan environment in the states. The final ranking is not a prediction of who will win individual races or which party will secure control of the US Senate, but they offer a snapshot of where the contests stand as the midterm campaign season ends. – CNN The top 11 Senate seats most likely to flip in the midterms
A federal judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit by the Trump administration seeking to force Harvard University to turn over records for an investigation into whether it continues to consider race in its student admissions process. US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston rejected the US Department of Justice’s lawsuit, which Harvard contends was filed as part of a broader campaign by the Republican president’s administration against the Ivy League school. Harvard has been a top target of the administration’s effort to leverage federal funding and government power to force changes at universities that Trump says are dominated by “radical left” ideologies. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university has already secured rulings from other judges rejecting the administration’s efforts to terminate over $2 billion in grants, block the school from hosting international students and sue it for allegedly failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment. – CNN Harvard admissions probe case: Judge dismisses Trump administration’s lawsuit
US – Iran
The US military carried out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, three US officials told CNN, characterizing the action as defensive in nature and meant to protect US assets in the region. One official said the US attack came in response to Iran firing at a US aircraft. It does not appear to be the kind of major combat operation that officials have been contemplating, and the Wall Street Journal, which first revealed the operation, reported that other such strikes have been carried out previously in secret. “This was a defensive measure for Iranians using surface to air missiles against US assets,” another US official said. But the new action, on the eve of Election Day, is a reminder that the situation in Iran is still unresolved, and combat is still very much on the table. – CNN US military conducts strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in defensive operation, officials say
