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Oct 21, 2026 - World

Water and fresh food running out in Taiz as fighting intensifies and Houthi advance cuts off most supply routesThe humanitarian crisis in the besieged Yemeni city of Taiz is becoming unmanageable as the city runs out of water, fuel and fresh food, Oxfam aid workers in the country have warned.Iran-allied Houthi forces have largely encircled the city of more than 900,000 people, cutting it off from most supply routes. This week, heavy fighting has raged around the city’s old airport, causing extensive damage in a densely populated residential area. Continue reading...

Oct 21, 2026 - World

Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander was detained by Israeli troops in the West Bank while helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives, an Israeli rights group said.Lander, the former New York City comptroller, announced his detention Wednesday in a post on X that included a selfie taken aboard a bus.About 90 volunteers with Rabbis for Human Rights, an Israeli group, were detained near Nahalin, a village outside Bethlehem, the Jerusalem Post reported. A source told the Post that Lander was later released with a warning.“I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank,” Lander wrote. “The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.”Lander won the Democratic nomination for New York’s 10th Congressional District in June, defeating Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), PoliticsNY reported. He faces Republican Jennifer Moore in November, according to News 12.In a video posted by the group Israelis for Peace, Lander said, “They’ve just told us that all of the non-Israelis, all of the internationals who have been harvesting today, are gonna get on that bus. That is to say, we’re being arrested by the Israeli military for harvesting olives.”“We were not causing any problem or making any threats to anyone,” he said. “[Palestinians] haven’t harvested it since Oct. 7 because they’re afraid Israeli settlers will come and beat them or burn their olive trees.”Anton Goodman, acting executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, said in a statement quoted by the Post, “We came to accompany farmers to land they had been unable to access for three years, and after two hours of peaceful olive harvesting, large numbers of troops arrived and closed off the area.”“Instead of protecting people working their land, the army is keeping them away from it and detaining those who came to accompany them for identification,” Goodman said.Troops declared the field a closed military zone, an area off-limits to civilians, the Post reported. Activists told the outlet they agreed to go but were detained anyway.Palestinian olive pickers were detained along with the activists, the Times of Israel reported, citing Palestinian media.Police took the foreign volunteers to a regional military headquarters for questioning, a source told the Post. One detainee told the outlet that no one was harmed. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of the rabbinic human rights group T’ruah, and former Israeli Deputy Attorney General Yehoshua Schoffman were among those detained, the Post reported.Jacobs said in a statement that the military “forcibly removed those who came to provide a protective presence.”Gilad Kariv, a member of Israel’s parliament from the Democrats party, said that the group "did not break any laws or violate any lawful orders, nor did they confront anyone.”Israeli authorities are inclined to deport the foreign activists, a source told the Post.

Oct 21, 2026 - World

About 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers held near Nahalin in West Bank and taken to police stationThe Israeli military has detained about 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers helping Palestinians harvest olives near Bethlehem, including the New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, several rabbis and Israel’s former deputy attorney general.“I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis and volunteers,” Lander posted from a bus taking him to a police station. “We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nahalin in the West Bank. The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.” Continue reading...

Oct 21, 2026 - World

Peak body for immunologists changes guidelines as evidence shows up to 90% of those reporting allergy don’t have oneGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe majority of Australians who report a penicillin allergy are not truly allergic, prompting the peak body for immunologists to change its guidelines in a bid to reduce hospitals stays and tackle antimicrobial resistance.Penicillin, one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in Australia, was thought to cause allergies in 10% of Australians, or about 2.8 million people. Continue reading...

Oct 21, 2026 - World

Home and office safety a common concern in Australian federal police and Asio safety briefings with politicians following alleged attack on MP Helen HainesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastSecurity agencies will review safety precautions for MPs’ homes and offices after numerous federal politicians told police and Asio in safety briefings that they were worried about widening threats after the alleged attack on Helen Haines.The Labor government and politicians across the parliament are still considering how they will respond when they return to Canberra next week, with ideas being floated including a new committee on MPs’ safety, greater resources for police, and motions of condolence for Haines, who lost both her legs after Monday’s incident. Renewed calls from the crossbench for reforms to question time and the tone of debate in parliament are unlikely to be taken up by the major parties.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...