Global Express | October 3, 2026 — Flydubai Pilot Attacked Captain With Crash Axe, UAE Says Attempted Terror Attack

1. Flydubai Pilot Attacked Captain With Crash Axe, UAE Says Attempted Terror Attack

Source: NBC News

A United Arab Emirates official said on Saturday, October 3, that a Flydubai pilot attacked his fellow pilot with a crash axe and tried to seize the aircraft's flight controls in an attempted terrorist attack. UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al Shamsi said an investigation into flight FZ1073 showed the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the flight deck using a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft.

Sources from three agencies briefed on the investigation said the alleged attacker is Omani citizen Hamam al-Hammami. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that he had previously been banned from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views. The flight was carrying 174 mostly Israeli passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, and crew and passengers entered the cabin to subdue the attacker, averting a crash.

Indian national Capt. Smit Machchhar, the pilot who was attacked, was severely injured and is recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital; India's embassy called him an "Indian braveheart." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker had undergone Islamist radicalization. President Donald Trump said Iran would be hit again if it was behind the attack, but a senior U.S. official said there were no indications Iran directed or was involved.

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2. Saudi Arabia Weighs Offensive to Retake Bab el-Mandeb From Houthis

Source: Daily Sabah

Saudi Arabia is preparing for a possible military offensive against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, with Riyadh weighing either a limited operation to retake territory around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait or a broader assault on several fronts, regional and Western officials said. The operation could begin within weeks and would be led on the ground by Saudi-backed Yemeni forces supported by Saudi airstrikes.

Officials said more than 100,000 Yemeni troops could be mobilized depending on the scale of the operation. The United States is providing intelligence, including targeting information, while several regional and European countries are supplying mainly defensive military assistance; Saudi allies are not expected to take a direct combat role. The Houthis seized control of the strait last month after advancing down Yemen's western coast. Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is a major route for trade between Europe and Asia.

The Houthis said on October 2 that Saudi forces had carried out 94 strikes against areas under their control during the previous 24 hours, and claimed 1,350 strikes since the latest fighting began. The Saudi-led coalition said the same day it intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched toward the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait. On Saturday, Saudi Civil Defense said shrapnel from another intercepted missile injured one person in the Asir region.

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3. UK Charges Two Iranian Men Over Alleged Plot Against Jewish Community

Source: Al Jazeera

British authorities have charged two Iranian nationals with planning an attack against the Jewish community in northern England. The UK Crown Prosecution Service said on October 2 that Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, were charged with "preparing to commit or assisting another to commit an act of terrorism" in Manchester "on or before" Yom Kippur, which began at sundown on September 20.

Police said the two men were allegedly in contact with an overseas third party who may be in Iran in relation to the plot, and that they tried to acquire components and equipment to make an improvised explosive device and conducted reconnaissance on potential targets. Both were arrested in Manchester on September 20 and were due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Saturday.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the two men arrived in the UK on a small boat from Europe several years ago; one had been granted asylum and the other had a live asylum claim. She said Britain faces serious threats from the Iranian regime. Police said there was no connection between the case and the suspected plot involving the RAF Fairford air base, over which a dual UK-Iranian national was arrested on Thursday.

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4. Brazil Attorney General Warns Foreign Meddling 'Cannot Be Tolerated'

Source: The Guardian

Brazil's attorney general said foreign meddling in his country's institutions and democracy "cannot be tolerated" after a Guardian report revealed how the Trump administration was pushing to direct funds to a campaign against Brazil's supreme court. Writing on X, Jorge Messias called the report "an important alert for Brazilian sovereignty."

Brazil is three days away from its presidential election, in which leftwing incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces far-right rival Flavio Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, with the two neck and neck in the polls. According to the Brazilian television network GloboNews, the attorney general's office filed a criminal complaint on Thursday to investigate potential wrongdoing.

The report said the Trump administration was pushing to direct more than $175 million of the State Department's flagship human rights fund to a slate of awards, including a $40 million grant for an anti-communism fund, support for a group advancing white Afrikaner rights in South Africa, and the campaign against Brazil's supreme court. A $1 million award is titled "Countering lawfare and censorship in Brazil." Last year, the Trump administration used sanctions and tariffs to pressure Lula's government and the supreme court.

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5. G20 Trade Ministers Split as Overcapacity Statement Rejected

Source: DW

A two-day meeting of G20 trade ministers in Milwaukee ended with the bloc's divisions laid bare. The United States, which holds this year's G20 presidency, said on October 2 that "a few" members rejected a ministerial statement calling for action on industrial overcapacity and "non-market" policies, and that Washington was "deeply disappointed."

The overcapacity issue is widely seen as aimed at China. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the draft statement was supported by all members except a few, who firmly refused to open that path of cooperation. On forced labor, a U.S.-led statement urging the removal of forced-labor goods from supply chains was signed only by Mexico and Argentina.

The only area of consensus was food trade: ministers agreed that food and agricultural trade should not be used as a tool of economic or political coercion. The same day, the G7 agreed under U.S. pressure to release about 100 million barrels of diesel reserves to bring down record U.S. diesel prices.

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6. UN: Global Food Prices Hit Nearly Four-Year High in September

Source: The Business Standard

Global food prices rose in September to their highest level in nearly four years, driven by logistics bottlenecks and adverse weather concerns, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on October 2. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 136.0 points in September, up from a revised 134.0 points in August and its highest level since November 2022.

Benchmark indices for cereal, sugar and vegetable oil prices rose last month, while meat and dairy prices declined. FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea, coupled with climate shocks, are applying mounting pressure on energy, transportation and essential food commodities. If these pressures persist, he cautioned, they could ultimately pass through to retail consumer prices, particularly in countries heavily reliant on food and energy imports.

Driven by fears over a severe El Nino pattern, international sugar prices surged to an 18-month high, while conflict-related disruptions to Black Sea trade pushed wheat futures to a three-year peak in early September. The FAO kept its forecast for 2026 global cereal production largely unchanged at 2.979 billion metric tons, a 2.1 percent decrease from 2025 but still the second-highest harvest on record.

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7. Car Crashes Into Rugby Fans in Australia, Injuring at Least 10

Source: DW

A car drove into a crowd of rugby league supporters in the eastern Australian city of Newcastle on Saturday, October 3, after its driver appeared to lose control, leaving at least 10 people injured, authorities said. New South Wales officials said several children were among the wounded, and two people were in critical condition, including a 5-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man.

The incident occurred in Newcastle's Wallsend suburb, about 110 kilometers (68 miles) north of Sydney. Fans had gathered on the streets to cheer on the Newcastle Knights rugby team as it left for the National Rugby League grand final against the Sydney Roosters, to be held in Sydney on Sunday.

Local reports, citing police, identified the driver as an 18-year-old man who was arrested and taken to hospital for mandatory testing. Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris said the driver was a rugby fan who lost control of his vehicle, saying he was "revving the car, he was excited, he was a supporter." Police said initial inquiries indicated the incident was not terrorism-related. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the incident "horrible."

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8. French High School Protests Spread Nationwide, Clashes Erupt

Source: Euronews

High school students in Paris, Toulouse and Lille have staged fresh demonstrations and blockades to demand better resources for schools, Euronews reported. Footage from October 1, 2026 showed pupils gathering outside the Henri IV and Lamartine high schools in Paris and burning bins, clashing with police in Toulouse, and smashing bus shelters while facing tear gas in Lille, as the protest movement spread across France.

Across the country, pupils denounce underfunding, unsafe buildings and teacher shortages while facing a heavy police presence. Students and staff warned that the mobilization is unlikely to stop until their demands are met.

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9. Weight-Loss Drug Delivers 25% Loss at Highest Dose in Phase 3 Trial

Source: ScienceAlert

An experimental weekly injection delivered an average weight loss of 25 percent at its highest dose after 80 weeks in a phase 3 trial. The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine and led by Yale University obesity researcher Ania Jastreboff, enrolled 2,339 adults with obesity but without diabetes, who were randomly assigned to weekly injections of 4, 9 or 12 milligrams of retatrutide or a placebo.

After 80 weeks, average weight reductions were 17.6 percent in the 4-milligram group, 23.7 percent with 9 milligrams and 25 percent with 12 milligrams, compared with 3.9 percent for the placebo group. In a 24-week extension, the 12-milligram group's average weight loss reached 29.9 percent after 104 weeks. Among 574 participants with knee osteoarthritis, pain scores fell by an average of 4.1 points on a 0-10 scale with 12 milligrams, versus 2.5 with placebo; among 243 participants with obstructive sleep apnea, episodes decreased by an average of 32.1 per hour at the highest dose, versus 9.6 with placebo.

Side effects accompanied these improvements, with gastrointestinal problems most common; about 42 percent of the highest-dose group reported nausea, and around 11 percent stopped treatment due to adverse events, compared with 4.6 percent on placebo. The drug remains experimental, and manufacturer Eli Lilly funded the research.

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10. World Leaders Congratulate China on 77th Anniversary, Eye Deeper Ties

Source: Xinhua

On the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, many foreign dignitaries attended National Day receptions hosted by Chinese embassies and missions, praising China's development achievements and the results of cooperation with China, and expressing hope to deepen ties, Xinhua reported from Beijing on October 2.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz said that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China has achieved remarkable progress on its path of national development and rejuvenation, and that Pakistan is immensely proud of their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. Czech Prime Minister Babis said the new Czech government is willing to develop relations with China on the basis of dialogue, cooperation and mutual benefit.

Bahamian Prime Minister Davis said that over the past 77 years China has become an important center of global manufacturing, trade, science, technology and innovation, and has made notable achievements in improving livelihoods and large-scale poverty reduction, noting that 2027 will mark 30 years of China-Bahamas diplomatic ties. Officials including Kenya's Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Irish Minister of State Noel Grealish and German State Secretary Bernhard Koetz also delivered remarks, hoping to deepen cooperation across fields.

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