Current-events digest: 02 October 2026

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni civil war

Red Sea crisis

2026 Yemen offensives, Strait of Bab al-Mandab crisis

Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive on the Houthis in the coming weeks to take back the Bab al-Mandab Strait. (Reuters)

Ethiopian civil conflict

2026 Ethiopian offensive

Ethiopian government forces push Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels out of Afar Region after recapturing the towns of Abala, Erebti and Megale. (AFP via France 24)

Sudanese civil war

Kordofan campaign

Sudan's armed forces announces that they have recaptured the North Kordofan town of al-Mazroub. (Al Jazeera)

War crimes in the Sudanese civil war

The death toll in the Rapid Support Forces drone attack on the University of Kordofan in El Obeid rises to 10. (AFP via Arab News)

Russo-Ukrainian war

Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure

A Russian drone strikes Pivdennyi Bridge in Kyiv, Ukraine, for the fourth time in two days. (The Kyiv Independent)

Boko Haram insurgency

Eighteen people are killed as Boko Haram gunmen open fire on villagers collecting firewood in Marte, Borno State, Nigeria. (Reuters)

Business and economy

2026 Iran war fuel crisis

The G7 countries announce a plan to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil to combat rising fuel prices caused by the Iran war. (The New York Times)

Argentina introduces an immigrant investor program allowing foreigners to obtain citizenship through a US$350,000 contribution to the Ministry of Economy or an $800,000 government bond, with lower additional payments required for spouses and children. (AFP)

Disasters and accidents

Twenty people are killed and five others are injured after a four-vehicle crash in Plateau, Nigeria. (Xinhua)

The United States National Park Service confirms that the Hōlei Sea Arch, located on Hawaii's Big Island, has collapsed into the Pacific Ocean. (The Guardian)

International relations

China–Japan relations

2025–2026 China–Japan diplomatic crisis, East China Sea EEZ disputes

A Chinese research vessel leaves Japan's exclusive economic zone after the Japan Coast Guard repeatedly ordered it to halt what Japan described as unauthorized scientific surveys near Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture. (AFP via CNA)

Law and crime

2026 French lycée protests

Mass rioting continues for a third day across France with hundreds reportedly injured and over 735 schools shut, while more than 2,000 people are arrested. (BBC News)

Riot police clash with protesters in Paris, Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille as justice minister Gérald Darmanin says protests had "gone from high-school student demonstrations to a public order disturbance" and urges an immediate end to violence. (BBC News)

French government ministers, including education minister Édouard Geffray, accuse the far-left of inciting the youth-led unrest across the country. Intelligence agencies briefing the government during a crisis meeting on the riots accuse the left-wing La France Insoumise of actively inciting people to join the protests. (AFP via NDTV) (Ynet News)

French police near Angers, Pays de la Loire, arrest four Ukrainian nationals suspected of stealing more than €200,000 (US$225,000) in electronics from moving trucks on highways by boarding the vehicles at speed and transferring cargo to an accompanying car. (Vietnam.vn)

Politics and elections

2026 Spanish housing protests

Spain's parliament rejects two government housing decrees that would have expanded protections against evictions, limited some real-estate practices, encouraged rentals through tax incentives, and allowed tenants to renew residential leases automatically. (AP)

2026 Swiss Federal Council election

Swiss president Guy Parmelin announces his resignation from the Federal Council effective December 31. Parliament is expected to elect his successor on 9 December. (AFP) (Swissinfo)

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