Hamas is seeking eight Gaza hostages at Russia's request, RIA reports (www.reuters.com)
Hungary, Slovakia criticise more aid to Ukraine as EU fights over budget (www.reuters.com)
Bangladesh opposition protest turns violent amid calls for PM to resign (www.reuters.com)
US consumer spending exits third quarter on strong note; monthly core inflation rises (www.reuters.com)
Growth, however, is unlikely to match last quarter’s blockbuster performance. Consumer tapped their savings and put away less money with the saving rate dropping to 3.4% from 4.0% in August. Personal income rose 0.3% after gaining 0.4% in August. Income at the disposal of households after accounting for inflation and taxes...
US halts exports of most civilian firearms for 90 days (www.reuters.com)
Export licences for Ukraine and Israel, as well as some other close allies, will be exempted from the temporary halt in exports
Elon Musk's X launches two new premium subscription plans (www.reuters.com)
Hamas vows 'full force' after Israel steps up Gaza ground operations (www.reuters.com)
Looting hits Mexico's Acapulco after devastating Hurricane Otis (www.reuters.com)
Putin urges measures to stem illegal flow of weapons into Russia (www.reuters.com)
Drone blasts hit two Egyptian Red Sea towns, Israel points to Houthi (www.reuters.com)
Boeing assessing Lockbit hacking gang threat of sensitive data leak (www.reuters.com)
UN committee voices concern about rising Israeli hate speech against Palestinians (www.reuters.com)
Medical team and aid trucks enter Gaza via Rafah crossing (www.reuters.com)
Clarence Thomas loan report spurs new ethics criticism of US Supreme Court (www.reuters.com)
New findings that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas apparently failed to repay at least a “significant portion” of a $267,230 loan he received from a wealthy benefactor prompted Senate Democrats on Thursday to step up their criticism of the court’s lack of an ethics code....
Despite Biden's doubts, humanitarian agencies consider Gaza toll reliable (www.reuters.com)
US strikes Iranian targets in Syria -Pentagon (www.reuters.com)
Blasts hit two Egyptian Red Sea towns, Israel points to 'aerial threat' (www.reuters.com)
Release of hostages needs ceasefire, Hamas official says (www.reuters.com)
South Korean court upholds ban on gay sex within armed forces (www.reuters.com)
South Korea’s constitutional court on Thursday narrowly upheld a law banning same-sex relations within the armed forces, citing a possible risk to the military’s combat readiness in a ruling criticised by activists as a setback for gay rights....
At UN, Iran warns US will 'not be spared' if war in Gaza continues (www.reuters.com)
Iran’s Foreign Minster Hossein Amirabdollahian warned at the United Nations on Thursday that if Israel’s retaliation against Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip doesn’t end then the United States will “not be spared from this fire.”...
White House: Russia is executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders (www.reuters.com)
The Hamas tunnel city beneath Gaza: a hidden frontline for Israel (www.reuters.com)
What lies in wait for Israeli ground troops in Gaza, security sources say, is a Hamas tunnel network hundreds of kilometres long and up to 80 metres deep, described by one freed hostage as “a spider’s web” and by one expert as the “Viet Cong times 10”....
Broken Lebanon cannot afford war, and Hezbollah knows it (www.reuters.com)
With an economy in ruins and a crumbling state, Lebanon can ill afford another war between Hezbollah and Israel....
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried testifies outside jury's presence (www.reuters.com)
The judge released the jurors for the rest of the day following a lunch break and instructed them to return on Friday morning. The unusual move came after Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said they planned to elicit testimony about the involvement of FTX lawyers in key company decisions like document retention and in crafting of loans...
North Korea says Israel bombed Gaza hospital, calls US 'accomplice' (www.reuters.com)
North Korea’s foreign ministry accused Israel of bombing a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Oct 17., saying it had openly committed a war crime “under the undisguised patronage of the United States”....
