Global Express | October 7, 2026: Israel Marks 3 Years Since Oct. 7 as Reports Say Netanyahu Was Warned

1. Israel Marks Three Years Since Oct. 7 as Reports Say Netanyahu Was Warned

Source: NPR

On October 7, Israel marked three years since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. Israeli and U.S. media have reported that Israel's regional allies repeatedly warned that Hamas was planning an attack, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was personally warned in the weeks and days beforehand.

Citing four people in the Middle East with direct knowledge of the warnings, NPR said the reports were first published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, The New York Times and The Atlantic. Netanyahu has denied he was warned, calling the reports "fake news" and filing a defamation lawsuit last week against the Israeli outlets that published them.

A Palestinian mediator said Hamas' Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar sent a message to Israel on September 14, 2023, and the leader of the United Arab Emirates called Netanyahu days before the attack to warn him, according to the report. Netanyahu has refused to take responsibility for the security failure, a flashpoint ahead of this month's national elections.

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2. Russian Missile Waves Hit Kyiv Overnight, Killing Two

Source: Kyiv Post

In the early hours of October 7, Russia launched repeated waves of missile attacks on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. A Kyiv Post journalist in the city reported several strong explosions after Ukraine's Air Force warned that ballistic missiles were heading toward Kyiv, followed by a second round of explosions before dawn.

The assault came only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address that Ukrainian intelligence had received updated information indicating Russia was preparing a "massive strike," urging residents to take air-raid alerts seriously. The Air Force also warned of ballistic missiles heading toward Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia and tracked jet-powered drones and cruise missiles across several regions.

Damage was reported in several Kyiv districts: a strike in a non-residential area of Obolonskyi, damaged warehouses in Podilskyi, and burning debris in Darnytskyi. The State Emergency Service extinguished a 200-square-metre fire at a garage cooperative in Darnytskyi, where the bodies of two victims were found and two people were rescued. Russia has increasingly targeted Ukraine's energy and transport infrastructure, and Kyiv had already imposed scheduled power cuts.

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3. Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Activate Mecca Defence Pact, Deploy Forces

Source: Al Jazeera

On Monday, October 5, Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed to activate "deterrence measures" under their mutual defence pact and to rapidly deploy forces to the Gulf kingdom to counter attacks by Yemen's Houthis. The decision was announced after the three countries' defence and foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Riyadh.

It marked the first time the alliance – known as the Mecca Alliance for Defence – has been invoked since it was signed on August 7. The pact declares that an attack on any of the three nations will be treated as an attack on all, mirroring a central provision of NATO's founding treaty. Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said the alliance had "reaffirmed the solidarity and unity of our countries, in confronting the heinous attacks against the Kingdom, and holy sites."

A joint statement published by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the three countries would "provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment" to Saudi Arabia. Hours earlier, forces aligned with Yemen's internationally recognised government launched a counteroffensive, saying they had retaken the Red Sea port city of Mocha and now control the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait. The Saudi-led coalition confirmed its participation, saying 100 of its fighter jets are providing air support.

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4. Germany's AfD Wins First State Parliament Speakership Since WWII

Source: DW

On October 6, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured the presidency of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, with Tobias Rausch elected as speaker – the first time a far-right party has held such a post in a German state parliament since World War II. The move came one month after the party won 44% of the regional vote.

Rausch was elected with 48 votes in favour and 29 against from 82 eligible votes, with five abstentions. The AfD holds 39 seats and the populist BSW five, meaning Rausch also drew support from members of other parties. The centre-right CDU parliamentary group had recommended that its 15 lawmakers abstain, but state premier Sven Schulze said some had not followed that advice, prompting the Social Democrats to demand answers.

Lawmakers also voted AfD politician Hans-Thomas Tillschneider to be one of the deputy speakers, with 44 votes in favour and 38 against. Tillschneider is described as a member of the identitarian movement and was one of three AfD parliamentarians who visited Russia in September 2022, months after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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5. US Mortgage Rates Near Three-Year High, Pushing Up Borrowing Costs

Source: NPR

US mortgage rates have hit their highest level in almost three years, making buying a home more difficult at a time when housing prices are already high. NPR reports that surging bond-market yields have pushed up all kinds of consumer interest rates, from loans for homes to cars and higher education.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates in September for the first time this year and signalled that an additional hike could come this year. At the current 7.28% level for the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, a person could end up paying about $900 more for a median-priced home than compared with the 3% pandemic-era rates, the report says.

Existing house sales in August were down about 1.2% from a year earlier. A four-year loan for a used car is about three percentage points higher than at the start of 2022. "If you need to borrow, boy, it's really not a good time," said John Diamond of Rice University's Baker Institute.

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6. Jaguar Unveils $130,000 Electric Vehicle Two Years After Rebrand

Source: CNBC

On October 6, luxury carmaker Jaguar launched its new all-electric Type 01 in New York City, with a starting price of about $130,000 – its first new EV since a controversial rebrand two years ago. The British company, owned by India's Tata Motors, calls it the "most technically advanced" and "most powerful and aerodynamic" Jaguar ever.

Jaguar confirmed to CNBC that the Type 01 has a minimum price tag of $130,000 in North America, with a UK starting price of £130,000 (roughly $172,000). The four-door "Grand Tourer" has a range of up to 450 miles and can accelerate from 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds.

In November 2024, Jaguar faced a social-media backlash over an ad that featured no car and no traditional cat logo, drawing criticism including from Elon Musk. Ferrari and Bentley have also launched their first EVs this year. The launch comes as Jaguar Land Rover continues its recovery from a cyberattack that forced it to halt production last year, and a month after JLR announced it would cut 4,000 jobs.

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7. Delta and Air Canada Planes Collide on Taxiway at Los Angeles Airport

Source: Los Angeles Times

On the morning of October 6, a Delta Air Lines plane collided with an Air Canada aircraft while rolling on a taxiway at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a Federal Aviation Administration statement, Delta Flight 7 was taxiing for departure around 10:30 a.m. when its left wing clipped the horizontal stabilizer of Air Canada Flight 785.

Air Canada told media that its aircraft was being towed to its gate when the other plane made contact with its tail. No injuries to crew or passengers were reported. Delta said the flight was en route to Haneda, Japan, with 275 customers and 15 crew members on board, and apologised to customers for the experience and delay.

The FAA is investigating the incident. A witness, Jayson Lowe, wrote on social media that he was on another flight at LAX when he saw a Delta A350 hit a "parked" Air Canada plane.

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8. Study: US Households Pay 62% More for Water Than a Decade Ago

Source: The Guardian

A new study finds that US households are paying 62% more for drinking water than they did a decade ago, outpacing inflation, grocery prices and household incomes. Food & Water Watch, a Washington DC-based non-profit, analysed 2025 billing data from the 500 largest community water systems in the US, which together serve about 155 million people.

In 2025, the average household using 60,000 gallons of water paid $531 for drinking water service, according to the study, with annual bills ranging from $133 at the cheapest system to $1,416 at the most expensive. Water prices rose 1.6 times faster than overall inflation between 2015 and 2025 – consumer prices increased 39% during that period, compared with a 62% jump in water bills.

Some states saw particularly severe increases: bills in New Hampshire jumped 177% over the decade, followed by Oregon at 114% and West Virginia at 95%. The study also found that corporate-owned utilities charged the average household $823 a year, compared with $494 for publicly owned systems.

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9. Two South Korean Megachurches Hit by Suspected AI-Assisted Cyberattacks

Source: Fox Business

Two South Korean megachurches are investigating suspected cyberattacks that may have exposed the personal data of hundreds of thousands of people. Seoul's Yoido Full Gospel Church and Sarang Church said they are investigating the attacks. Cybersecurity firm Oasis Security said it discovered attack records and account information linked to the two churches on an overseas server.

On October 7, Yoido Full Gospel Church said an initial analysis revealed that data tied to 850,000 of its members may have been compromised, including names and dates of birth, along with a smaller number of records containing national identification numbers, addresses and telephone numbers. The church said it is notifying affected members and had blocked external access and changed its server passwords.

Oasis Security pointed to references to "sub-agents" and extensive attack reports that appeared to have been generated automatically, suggesting AI tools may have been used to help carry out the attacks. The incidents follow recent hacks targeting South Korean commercial banks; President Lee Jae Myung said on October 6 that signs had emerged of AI being used in some recent bank hacking incidents.

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10. Russian Lab Worker's Death Fuels Plague Rumours as Officials Shift Accounts

Source: BBC

A 28-year-old Russian laboratory technician has died after working at a plague research centre in Siberia, drawing international attention and speculation over whether the rare disease may have leaked from a lab. Daria Shipilova worked at the Research Institute for Plague Control in Siberia and the Far East; she was admitted to hospital in late September and died three days later in the town of Shelekhov, outside Irkutsk.

The hospital was quarantined, a local aluminium plant imposed a mask mandate and a large public event in Irkutsk was cancelled. The regional governor said Russia's chief sanitary doctor had arrived in Irkutsk to investigate a "suspected particularly dangerous infection," with about 197 people under medical observation. The governor of neighbouring Buryatia announced that the lab worker had died of plague.

Russia's consumer rights and public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, later said the worker died of pneumonia of unknown cause and that tests found no microorganisms linked to her professional activity. A Russian science journalist stressed that, whatever the cause of death, the risk of a plague outbreak is small. The WHO said it had contacted Russian authorities to assess the situation, and President Donald Trump said the US is "watching" the reports closely.

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