Israeli settlers attack European diplomats, Palestinians and journalist in West Bank

This is the morning edition of the One News Page Global Briefing, for Sunday, the eighteenth of October, twenty twenty-six. Here is what matters now.

Masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive farmers across the occupied West Bank on Friday, torching cars and trees and beating residents in a coordinated effort to disrupt the annual olive harvest. Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was among those assaulted and severely beaten while covering the harvest. At least two people were injured in one village assault involving about eighty settlers, and Palestinian medics treated multiple casualties. Reporters Without Borders condemned the assault on Levine as brazen violence. In a separate incident, European diplomats and a French mayor were also reported to have been attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, according to Belgian officials. The attacks drew international condemnation and added to a surge of settler violence during the olive harvest, a period that is both an economic lifeline and cultural touchstone for Palestinians.

In the United States, a sixteen-year-old gunman opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, killing three children aged five, eight and eleven and a teacher, and wounding at least two others before he was fatally shot by a community member, authorities said. Police found the suspected shooter dead at the scene after a bystander confronted him. The attack prompted a lockdown and has left the city of Bend mourning, with residents holding a candlelight vigil for the victims.

Meanwhile, in Europe, Pope Leo X I V, seventy-one, was discharged from Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic on Saturday and returned to the Vatican just four days after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung to extract a cancerous tumour. His doctors, Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritoria, said he was fit for discharge and reported continued improvement. The Vatican had initially expected a weeklong hospital stay and cancelled his audiences through Tuesday; a planned trip to Latin America in November remains on his schedule.

In Washington, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving a sweeping new sanctions package against Russia that Congress had passed and he had signed into law last month, saying the pause was in the national interest. The restrictions were due to take effect imminently. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the decision unfortunate and urged support for the sanctions, warning that the delay would encourage Russia to continue its assault.

Also at the White House, Katie Zacharia has left the post of White House press secretary after only five days, which would make her the shortest-serving holder of the job in White House history. President Donald Trump told reporters he had asked her to reconsider whether she wanted to stay, and two U S officials said she was being moved out. The departure followed a rocky debut at the press-room podium and mounting scrutiny over her legal credentials, including questions about whether she was licensed to practise law; she does not appear to be registered with any state bar where she has lived.

In Mexico, a judge has sentenced three men to one hundred and fifty-eight years and nine months in prison each for the twenty twenty-four murders of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad during a surf trip to Baja California. The men were found guilty last week. Prosecutors said the killings occurred during an attempted robbery. The case drew global condemnation, particularly in Australia, where two of the victims were from.

In Canada, a major fire at a military base in Alberta has caused deaths and injuries, Defence Minister David McGuinty said on Saturday. Prime Minister Mark Carney called it a serious incident, but authorities have not released casualty figures or a cause, describing the situation as very active and delicate.

In sport, Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley in the second round at London's O2 Arena on Saturday night to retain his W B O world heavyweight title. Dubois dominated their rematch, and Wardley's corner threw in the towel to end the contest. The victory reinforced Dubois's standing as Britain's leading heavyweight.

In Britain, London's Metropolitan Police said no further action would be taken against Sarah Helm, wife of national security adviser Jonathan Powell, over an X post that was accused of supporting the banned protest group Palestine Action. The force determined that the post did not meet the criminal threshold. Helm, a journalist and author, had posted in response to a discussion about the author Sally Rooney.

In entertainment news, representatives for actor Selma Blair said she did not intend to harm anyone during an alleged altercation with cabin crew on a Delta flight, describing the episode as a medical emergency. Blair has a neurological condition that can produce involuntary responses, her publicist said. She was arrested on allegations that she assaulted two flight attendants, a police officer and a nurse.

Across the United States, No Kings rallies were held on Saturday to urge voters to cast ballots early in the midterm elections. Organizers billed the hundreds of events as nonpartisan, though they built on nearly two years of demonstrations by people opposed to Donald Trump's presidency. Thousands gathered at rallies nationwide.

In Florida, a seventy-one-year-old man was killed by a twelve-foot alligator while fishing at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park near Lake Apopka in Winter Garden, close to Orlando. Witnesses said he had been fishing when the attack occurred. Authorities said the reptile was later removed as a danger to the public.

That was the morning edition of the One News Page Global Briefing. Read the complete briefing and explore its supporting coverage at one news page dot com.