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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday warned that intense rains and flooding are causing a surge in respiratory illnesses among displaced Palestinians in Gaza, with conditions expected to deteriorate further as winter sets in. Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, told reporters in Geneva from Jerusalem that acute respiratory infections are 33,000 cases higher than during the same period last year. Respiratory infections currently account for 11 percent of medical consultations. The WHO expects cold weather, flooding, overcrowded shelters, and poor ventilation to drive numbers higher, warning that winter has not fully set in yet. Nearly one million displaced Palestinians live in flood-exposed areas, with 400,000 residing in locations considered extremely high risk. The warning follows a joint appeal by 53 countries-including the United Kingdom, Turkiye, and Qatar-urging Israel to allow rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza. The nations noted that provisions for expanded aid access agreed under the January 2025 ceasefire deal have yet to be realized. With inputs from Al Jazeera

At least 24 people were killed and 11 others injured when a bus collided with a container truck in India's northeastern state of Assam on Friday. The accident occurred on a highway near Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its one-horned rhinoceroses, about 225 kilometres east of Dispur, the state capital. Children and the bus driver were among those killed, officials said. State Minister Atul Bora described the crash as one of the worst in Assam's history and said police were investigating its cause. He added that witnesses reported the bus was speeding before the collision. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed his grief over the incident in a post on X, saying he was "deeply distressed by the tragic accident." India has one of the world's highest rates of road fatalities, with reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and ageing vehicles among the major contributing factors.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Friday its aerospace force destroyed a US early-warning radar on Bahrain island in retaliation for an "enemy" airstrike on a communications tower in southern Iran's Sirik County. The claim, published by official news outlet Sepah News, was not immediately confirmed by the US or Bahrain. The IRGC called the strike a "serious warning" against "aerial mischief and oil smuggling" in the Strait of Hormuz. Official media had reported a military-nature attack on Sirik County on Thursday night. In a separate Friday statement, the IRGC Navy said that an LNG carrier suffered a "massive" explosion in the eastern Strait of Hormuz after hitting naval mines on an "unauthorized and dangerous" route. The IRGC Navy claimed the vessel ignored warnings while navigating with US fighter aircraft support, warning that other ships violating Iranian regulations or entering high-risk routes despite warnings face similar fates.

A car bombing in Moscow on Friday injured Sergei Zavorotnyi, an adviser to Ukraine's former pro-Russian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, marking the second attack targeting figures linked to the Ukraine conflict in two days. Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed Zavorotnyi was hospitalized and a criminal inquiry is underway. Azarov fled to Russia in 2014 following the ouster of former President Viktor Yanukovych. The blast follows a Thursday car bombing in St. Petersburg that killed a senior Russian military officer.  Media said the explosive device was smuggled from Ukraine via balloon and planted by a suspect who fled Russia immediately after. The incidents form part of a broader wave of targeted attacks against Russian military figures. Moscow blames Kyiv for the campaign, while Ukraine's security service (SBU) has previously claimed responsibility for high-profile assassinations, including Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov in late 2024. Recent bombings in August and September also targeted Russian commanders and defense facility directors across Moscow, Yekaterinburg, and Engels.

Iran has told the UN nuclear watchdog that talks on resuming inspections of its nuclear facilities cannot proceed while the country faces threats of further military attacks, according to a confidential report circulated on Friday. In a communication to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tehran said discussions remained impossible amid what it described as persistent public threats by the US president to launch further military attacks, particularly against its nuclear facilities. Iran said normal monitoring could resume only after the underlying causes of the current situation were addressed and necessary conditions for inspections restored. The IAEA said Iran had not allowed inspectors to access nuclear facilities damaged in Israeli and US strikes during the 12-day war in June 2025. The agency has also been unable to verify the status of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium since the attacks. However, Tehran reiterated its commitment to fully implementing its nuclear safeguards obligations when conditions permit. The IAEA warned that the lack of information about Iran's nuclear facilities and materials raised serious proliferation concerns, urging an urgent resolution. It said it was ready to resume inspections at short notice. Iran also raised concerns over a recent US offer of rewards of up to $20 million for information about its nuclear programme, stressing the need to protect the confidentiality of the agency's activities. The IAEA urged Tehran to consider gradual technical measures to facilitate the return of inspectors. Since June 2025, the only Iranian facility inspected by the agency has been the Bushehr nuclear power plant, where inspections took place from September 12 to 15. The watchdog also expressed growing concern over the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant, which Iran disclosed shortly before the Israeli-US airstrikes last June. An inspection scheduled for the day the attacks began was cancelled, and the agency said it still did not know the facility's exact location or whether it contained nuclear material. According to the IAEA, Iran possesses 440.9 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, close to the 90 percent level generally considered weapons-grade. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has warned that the stockpile could potentially produce up to 10 nuclear bombs if Iran decided to weaponise its programme, while stressing that this does not mean the country possesses such weapons. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful, while the IAEA and Western countries say Tehran operated an organised nuclear weapons programme until 2003.

Around 4,950 people from 1,123 households in five townships in southern Shan state of Myanmar have been evacuated following flooding, the local fire services department said on Friday. The flooding was triggered by prolonged heavy rainfall that began on Tuesday across several townships in the region, according to the department. As of Friday morning, rescue teams were continuing evacuation operations, pumping water from inundated roads and cleaning affected areas where floodwaters had receded, it added.

At least 43 militants were killed in a series of intelligence-based operations conducted by security forces in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province over the past 48 hours, the military said on Friday. The operations were carried out in Mir Ali and Orakzai districts, where security forces engaged multiple militant hideouts, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistani army, said in a statement. The statement said 35 militants belonging to the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan were killed in Mir Ali, while eight others were killed in Orakzai following intense exchanges of fire. A huge cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives, including improvised explosive devices and homemade explosives, was also recovered during subsequent clearance operations, it added. Sanitization operations are underway to eliminate any remaining militants in the areas, the statement said.  

European countries are seeking a representative to join negotiations on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, fearing that a US-led process could leave them sidelined while Washington and Moscow determine the future of a conflict threatening the continent's security. European Union leaders are expected to discuss the appointment at a summit in Dublin on Friday, but disagreements remain over who should represent Europe and whether the role should go to an individual or a group. Ukraine wants stronger involvement from its European allies, reluctant to leave negotiations entirely in the hands of the US administration, which it believes has sometimes appeared sympathetic to Moscow. Russia, however, opposes European participation, accusing the countries of supporting Ukraine's military effort. French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe must take responsibility for its own security, stressing that European support remains essential for Ukraine. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for a single EU representative to ensure Europe speaks with “a single, authoritative voice,” warning that separate diplomatic initiatives could weaken its position. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said Europe needed a coordinated negotiating position, extending beyond the EU to include Britain, Norway, Canada and other partners. Several potential representatives have emerged, including European Council President Antonio Costa, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. France, Germany and Britain, known as the E3, have so far played a prominent role in diplomatic efforts. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the grouping as an established format for negotiations. However, relying on the E3 could exclude smaller EU countries, particularly those bordering Russia and Belarus. US envoy Jared Kushner recently said Europe's ability to identify one representative would be a significant achievement in securing a place at the negotiating table. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said European countries must first agree on a representative before seeking involvement in the talks. Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs warned that recent cyberattacks, arson and drone incidents highlighted the growing security threats facing Europe and the urgency of a coordinated response.

Investigators began what could be a long search for the cause of a Brooklyn apartment building collapse that killed eight people as the fire department ended rescue operations Thursday after the last victim was freed from the wreckage. The three-story building gave way while construction workers were digging Wednesday afternoon at an adjacent lot, causing New York City's mayor to order inspections at about 100 building sites involving companies related to the project. “If there is anyone, or any entity, operating in this city that bears responsibility for what happened, we will hold them fully accountable,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a news conference. Investigators have not determined what caused the collapse. Two children, ages 9 and 10, were killed along with adults ranging in age from 22 to 31, according to the New York City Police Department. There were also 18 injured, including four firefighters, Mamdani said. The children were Colombian, as was one of the adults who was killed, according to the country’s consulate in New York. One witness said he watched bricks fall minutes before the disaster while a woman in a neighboring building said she and fellow residents blamed vibrations from the construction for cracks that appeared in their apartment walls. Emergency workers used power saws and pickaxes to get through the debris, pulling four victims out of the rubble in the early hours of Thursday. Hours later, excavators removed larger chunks of the wreckage so searchers could get deeper into the construction pit, said New York Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore. Witnesses describe the aftermath and destruction James Williams, who works at a deli across the street, said he heard loud banging at the site all day Wednesday and looked outside to see bricks falling. “Two minutes later, the building collapsed,” he said. As the building crumbled and exposed the neighboring building, Williams spotted a woman on a staircase. “There wasn’t anything I could do,” he said, his voice cracking. Customers and stylists at a nearby hair salon jumped up and ran onto the sidewalk as the building fell. “We heard the boom and we all rushed outside and saw smoke and dust everywhere,” said hairstylist Brigitte Anama. She saw emergency workers pulling people from the rubble, including what appeared to be a child. “People were saying, ‘Pray for the baby, pray for the baby,’” Anama said. Dervie Mapp, who lives along the construction site, said she and others complained for months about the project. Her landlord brought engineers into the building, but residents never received an inspection report, she said. Determining cause of Brooklyn collapse will take time, expert says Construction safety expert Glenn Corbett of John Jay College in New York said it’s way too early to know what caused the accident. “It could be a design flaw, it could be a construction flaw, or it could be some kind of work that was going on,” he said. It appeared that the shoring of the excavation work failed, but finding out why will take more investigating, he said. The one-story building previously on the site was demolished earlier this year. Records show a contractor, Mordechai “Marty” Waisbrod, notified the city that excavation would begin in September and include rock blasting. Permit applications indicated plans to dig below 15 feet (4.5 meters). Phone and email messages were left at one of Waisbrod’s Brooklyn-based businesses. Engineering drawings submitted with the applications show various plans to brace walls at the edge of the site. Messages were left Thursday for the engineer, Jieming Wang, and for an inspector who’s listed as being involved with the project. Rescuers faced a massive pile of rubble This was the second high-profile structural problem with a building in New York in the past five months. In July, several buildings in Manhattan were evacuated after support columns buckled inside a skyscraper that once was the headquarters of Pfizer. First responders in Brooklyn worked to clear a massive heap that included mattresses, a broken sink and a refrigerator tossed on its side. Scattered in the debris were vinyl records, clothes and shoes. Firefighters pulled a pregnant woman from the rubble Wednesday, hoisted her up on a stretcher and rushed her to a waiting ambulance. Others were rescued as the night wore on. Building records show there were four apartments on the upper two floors and a commercial unit on the ground floor of the collapsed building. Victims were from multiple countries The police department identified those killed as Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, 9; Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31; Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10; Ndiaye Mamadou, 31; Barry Mamadou, 23; Gabriel Siguencia, 22; Edgar Sapon, 26; and Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26. Some of the victims were from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Trinidad, New York’s mayor said. Two of the dead were construction workers, he said. Some workers who survived joined firefighters in digging out survivors, he said. Caguana Cosquillo and Siguencia were from Ecuador, according to the Consulate of Ecuador in New York. Carlos Caguana said his brother, José, was working at the construction site and had a pregnant wife and a young child. “He was the sole provider for the family,” Caguana told WNBC-TV. The surrounding blocks along Flatbush Avenue, a busy thoroughfare in Brooklyn, are tightly packed with older brick buildings and a few newly built apartment complexes. A mix of Caribbean and Mexican restaurants reflects the diversity of the neighborhood. Inspectors reported violations earlier this year New York City’s buildings commissioner, Ahmed Tigani, said Wednesday that construction workers were excavating the empty lot next door when the building buckled. The city’s Department of Buildings is investigating. City officials said a stop work order was issued in March after inspectors concluded the building next door was being demolished without adequate overhead protection such as netting to shield neighboring buildings, the department said in an emailed statement. In April, inspectors found that the demolition work had resumed in violation of the stop work order, the department said. Work was allowed to continue after the problems were corrected, it said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will chair the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting and deliver remarks, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced Friday. The meeting will be held in Shenzhen from Nov. 18 to 19 under the theme "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together," the spokesperson said. The APEC CEO Summit will be held in Shenzhen from Nov. 17 to 18 under the theme "To Prosper and Win the Future Together," the spokesperson said, adding that President Xi will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech. President Xi will hold a welcome banquet for participating leaders and representatives, and hold bilateral meetings with foreign leaders on the sidelines of the meeting, the spokesperson added.