The Context

The Duchess of Sussex said she was deeply distressed after reports that images of child sexual abuse allegedly belonging to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, were found at his former home in the Philippines. He denied the accusations as sick lies, while the FBI said it was aware of the allegations and would support Philippine authorities and investigate any claims that US law had been violated. The Duchess said a 2018 letter to the Metropolitan Police contained troubling allegations against her father and that she was assured they were being investigated; she said her distance from him and decision not to allow contact with her children was to protect them. Reports said her half-brother claimed he found four boxes of child abuse photos and videos, and Philippine authorities confirmed they were investigating reports involving an octogenarian American national.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military should prepare for a full closure of the occupied West Bank after two Israeli soldiers were killed in a shooting near Hebron. He said at the scene that the area would be demolished and transformed, residents evacuated, weapons removed and terrorist infrastructure destroyed, with a cordon around Hebron and Halhul and more settlement infrastructure built. The report noted that the attack came amid rising West Bank violence and days before an Israeli general election, with security again dominating political debate. At least seven people were killed and 10 wounded, some critically, in a shooting inside a church in Jordan's Karak region; an eyewitness said two gunmen opened fire during a funeral before fleeing.

Ukraine said it was still facing problems with the Starshield system despite President Donald Trump's claim that the service had been fully restored, with Kyiv saying restrictions on connection speeds were preventing some drones from operating effectively. Prime Minister Andy Burnham told President Trump that Ukraine must have full access to the military version of Starlink. US First Lady Melania Trump announced she had helped broker a localised ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the southern city of Oleshky from Friday 29 October, with a voluntary evacuation; questions remained over how it would be monitored and what security guarantees would apply. French prosecutors opened a terrorism investigation after a gunman killed one person and injured four others, including a 12-year-old girl, in Paris's western suburbs; the suspect was arrested and President Emmanuel Macron called it a racist terrorist attack. Storm Austin caused widespread power cuts and travel disruption, with more than 18,000 homes in parts of England and Wales without power and gusts of 84mph recorded at Jersey Airport, while Storm Bulow was forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain to northern parts of the UK over the weekend.