BBC News (World)

China: WHO seeks data on 'pneumonia clusters' in children The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked China for more information on "clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia" reportedly spreading among children in the north of the country. Non-state media reports say paediatric hospitals in parts of the country are overwhelmed with sick children. Chinese authorities have attributed a spike in flu-like illnesses this winter to the lifting of Covid measures. The WHO is urging people in China to take measures to reduce transmission. read more

Guns N' Roses Axl Rose accused of 1989 sexual assault in lawsuit Former model Sheila Kennedy has sued Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose for alleged sexual assault and battery. According to her lawsuit, the popular rock musician attacked her during a violent hotel room encounter in New York in 1989. Ms Kennedy was diagnosed with anxiety and depression due to the alleged assault, the lawsuit says. Mr Rose's representatives did not respond to BBC News' requests for comment. read more

Sam Altman: Ousted OpenAI boss to return days after being sacked OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman will return as boss just days after he was fired by the board, the firm has said. The agreement "in principle" involves new board members being appointed, the tech company added. Mr Altman's sacking on Friday astonished industry watchers and led to staff threatening mass resignations unless he was reinstated. "I am looking forward to returning to OpenAI," Mr Altman said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. read more

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Binance chief Changpeng Zhao pleads guilty to money laundering charges The Binance chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, has resigned after pleading guilty to money laundering violations. "I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself", he said in a post on X. The Justice Department said it was requiring Binance, the largest crypto-exchange in the world, to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) in penalties and forfeitures. It said Binance had helped users bypass sanctions across the world. read more

Sacked OpenAI boss Sam Altman to join Microsoft Sam Altman is joining Microsoft, the tech-giant has announced, ending speculation he might return to OpenAI just 48 hours after his chaotic ousting. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Mr Altman would be joining Microsoft to lead "a new advanced AI research team". Meanwhile, ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear will become OpenAI's new boss. Writing on X, he called the job a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity". read more

WHO says Gaza's al-Shifa hospital a death zone, as hundreds leave The World Health Organization (WHO) has described al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City as a "death zone" after a visit to the complex. A joint UN team led by the WHO assessed the hospital for one hour following its occupation and evacuation by the Israeli military. The team said they saw evidence of shelling and gunfire and observed a mass grave at the hospital's entrance. They were told it held the remains of 80 people. Following an evacuation which the hospital director said was ordered by the Israeli army but which the army said was requested by the director, 300 critically ill patients remain in al-Shifa - formerly the largest and most advanced hospital in Gaza. read more

China navy used sonar pulses against divers, Australia says Australia has accused China's navy of using sonar pulses in an incident in international waters that resulted in Australian divers suffering injuries. The Australian defence minister said a Chinese warship had resorted to "unsafe and unprofessional" actions during the encounter off Japan earlier this week. The warship approached an Australian frigate as divers were clearing fishing nets from its propellers, he said. The Chinese ship then emitted dangerous sonar pulses, the minister added. read more

Bowen: Ceasefire demands will grow without proof of Hamas HQ at Al-Shifa It is now days since Israeli forces entered Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and what appears to be happening on Friday is that they are continuing their search for evidence of this being a key Hamas command centre. We have to remember that there is no independent scrutiny inside the hospital; journalists cannot move freely into Gaza, and any who are reporting from the site are working under the aegis of the Israeli military. The evidence Israel has produced, so far, I do not believe to be convincing in terms of the kind of rhetoric Israelis were using about the set-up at the hospital, which suggested this was a nerve centre for the Hamas operation. read more

Al-Shifa Hospital director in Gaza says no water or oxygen left The director of the Gaza Strip's main hospital raided by Israeli soldiers says the facility has now run out of oxygen and water, and patients "are screaming from thirst". Muhammad Abu Salmiya said the conditions were "tragic" in Al-Shifa, where there were more than 650 patients, 500 medical staff and 5,000 displaced people. Israeli tanks were surrounding the hospital in Gaza City, he said, with drones buzzing overhead and Israeli soldiers still moving around inside, as their search of the complex lasted a second day. read more

US and China agree to resume military communications after summit The US and China have agreed to resume military-to-military communications in an effort to ease rising tensions, President Joe Biden says. "We're back to direct, open, clear communications," he said following a rare meeting with China's President Xi Jinping in California on Wednesday. It was the first time the pair had spoken in person in more than a year. But there were still signs of tension between the two - Mr Biden repeated his view that Mr Xi is a dictator. read more

Xi Jinping arrives in the US as his Chinese Dream sputters When Xi Jinping stepped off his plane in San Francisco for the Apec summit, it was in circumstances very different to the last time he landed on American soil. Five years ago, when he was wined and dined by Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Mr Xi was in charge of a China still on the ascendancy. It had a buoyant economy outperforming forecasts. Its unemployment rate was among the lowest in years. While consolidating his power for a second term, Mr Xi proudly pointed to China's "flourishing" growth model as something other countries could emulate. read more

Israel-Gaza war: US says Hamas has command centre under Al-Shifa hospital The US says it has intelligence that Hamas has a command centre under Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. National Security spokesman John Kirby said the group stored arms there and were prepared for an Israeli attack. This is the first time the US has independently backed claims by close ally Israel that Hamas uses hospitals to hide its bases. Hamas denies this. The statement came as Israel faced mounting global pressure to protect civilians trapped in the hospitals. read more

Gaza war: US and UK raise pressure on Israel to protect hospitals Israel is facing mounting international pressure to protect civilians trapped in Gaza's hospitals, as it released what it said was evidence of a Hamas base in one medical facility. US President Joe Biden said that Al-Shifa hospital "must be protected" from intense fighting around the complex. His comments came as Israel released video of what it said was a Hamas hideout under the Rantisi hospital. It accuses Hamas of using hospitals to hide military bases. Hamas denies this. read more

Iceland quake evacuees return to collect belongings Residents of an Icelandic town struck by hundreds of earthquakes have briefly been allowed back to their homes to collect belongings. More than 500 quakes hit the south-western Reykjanes Peninsula on Monday. Thousands of people have been evacuated from the town of Grindavik, under which most of the tremors have taken place. A volcanic eruption is still expected, scientists say, despite the quakes being weaker in recent days. read more

Five US troops die in training air crash in eastern Mediterranean Five American service members have died in a helicopter crash in the eastern Mediterranean, the US military says. It says the aircraft suffered a mishap while refuelling as part of a routine training exercise. The US has increased its operations in the region since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. President Joe Biden paid tribute to the victims, saying service members were putting "their lives on the line for our country every day". read more

Macron calls on Israel to stop killing Gaza's women and babies Israel must stop killing babies and women in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron has told the BBC. In an exclusive interview at the Élysée Palace, he said there was "no justification" for the bombing, saying a ceasefire would benefit Israel. While recognising Israel's right to protect itself, "we do urge them to stop this bombing" in Gaza, he said. But he also stressed that France "clearly condemns" the "terrorist" actions of Hamas. read more

Kenya's Ogiek people being evicted for carbon credits - lawyers Kenya's government is illegally evicting hunter-gatherers from their ancestral lands to profit from carbon offsetting schemes, human rights lawyers say. Hundreds of members of the Ogiek community are being evicted from the Mau Forest, say their representatives. Ogiek leader Daniel Kobei said armed forest rangers were "pulling down the houses with axes and hammers". Kenya's government says such operations are to protect the environment. read more

'I’m calling from Israeli intelligence. We have the order to bomb. You have two hours' The call to Mahmoud Shaheen came at dawn. It was Thursday 19 October at about 06:30, and Israel had been bombing Gaza for 12 days straight. He'd been in his third-floor, three-bedroom flat in al-Zahra, a middle-class area in the north of the Gaza Strip. Until now, it had been largely untouched by air strikes. He'd heard a rising clamour outside. People were screaming. "You need to escape," somebody in the street shouted, "because they will bomb the towers". read more

European Commission calls for talks on Ukraine membership The European Commission has recommended that formal talks should begin with Ukraine on joining the European Union. The step takes Kyiv closer to the coveted prize of EU membership, five months after the 27 member states gave it candidate status. Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen praised its "excellent progress, even as it's fighting an existential war." She said talks should also start with Moldova and that Georgia should become a candidate, if it passed reforms. read more