UN adopts pandemic declaration despite opposition from three countries
📍 international
🔭 Public health
🔭 Diplomacy
🧩 Publication date: October 12, 2026
🧩 Vote: 153 in favour, three against and two abstentions
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response on October 12. Argentina, Israel and the United States voted against it, while New Zealand and Paraguay abstained. The vote followed objections that prevented adoption by consensus at a September 25 high-level meeting.
The non-binding declaration calls for stronger cooperation guided by science, equity and human rights. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the commitment but urged governments to complete negotiations on the pathogen-access and benefit-sharing annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement. That annex would connect the sharing of pathogen samples and genetic data with access to resulting vaccines, treatments and diagnostics. Its completion is necessary before the agreement can open for signature.
([globalissues.org](https://www.globalissues.org/news/2026/10/12/44328))
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Former Congolese president Kabila launches coalition including M23 rebels
📍 Democratic Republic of the Congo
🔭 Armed conflict
🔭 Politics
🧩 Publication date: October 13, 2026
🧩 Event date: October 12, 2026
Former Democratic Republic of the Congo president Joseph Kabila launched a new political and military coalition on October 12, bringing together groups opposed to the current government, including the M23 armed movement. Le Monde reported the development shortly after midnight on October 13, drawing on reporting by the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
The formation brings a former national leader into a coalition that includes rebels responsible for capturing extensive territory in eastern Congo. The report describes an alliance combining political opposition with armed groups, rather than a solely electoral organization.
([lemonde.fr](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/archives-du-monde/13-10-2026/))
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North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters
📍 North Korea
📍 South Korea
🔭 Defence
🔭 Regional security
🧩 Publication date: October 12, 2026
🧩 Event date: October 12, 2026
North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward waters east of the country on October 12, according to South Korea’s military. Jang Do Young, spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said missiles of different types were launched from an area around Pyongyang.
The account identified the vicinity of the North Korean capital, whose main airport has frequently been used as a launch site in recent years. The October 12 report did not provide precise flight distances, identify all the missile types involved or establish the purpose of the launches.
([t.co](https://t.co/0Kwxr7rYyd))
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UN warns that growing insecurity threatens Colombia’s peace agreement
📍 Colombia
🔭 Peace process
🔭 Human rights
🧩 Publication date: October 12, 2026
🧩 Number: 501 former combatants killed since the 2016 peace agreement
Colombia’s 2016 peace agreement must be implemented fully despite worsening insecurity, the UN’s top representative in the country told the Security Council on October 12. Miroslav Jenča called for adequate funding, stronger coordination between institutions and better protection for former combatants.
The briefing acknowledged progress in rural development, transitional justice and reparations, while highlighting persistent threats from armed groups, child recruitment and violence against women. Government figures presented to legislators indicated that illegal armed groups had grown from approximately 15,000 members in 2022 to around 28,000.
More than 11,000 former FARC-EP members remain committed to reintegration, supported by roughly 6,000 productive projects and 300 cooperatives. Their security remains precarious: the UN report recorded 501 former combatants killed since the agreement was signed. Jenča urged sustained international support and stronger public services and economic opportunities in conflict-affected communities.
([globalissues.org](https://www.globalissues.org/news/2026/10/12/44327))
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Investigation finds signs of extensive AI use in Spanish self-published bestsellers
📍 Spain
🔭 Artificial intelligence
🔭 Books
🧩 Publication date: October 13, 2026
🧩 Methodology: 119 recent books compared with 56 books published in 2019 and 2020
An EL PAÍS investigation published on October 13 found that 13 of 44 recent self-published bestsellers in its sample received AI-detection scores suggesting that more than half their text was generated by artificial intelligence. The newspaper examined 119 popular Spanish-language books published in 2025 and 2026 and compared them with 56 earlier titles.
Using the Pangram detector, reporters found some indication of AI-generated text in 35 of the recent books. Extensive apparent use was concentrated in self-published works, particularly romance novels. None of the older comparison books showed signs of AI generation.
The newspaper emphasized that detection is not infallible and cannot establish exactly how an author used AI. A high score might reflect automated writing or the expansion of a person’s own notes and ideas. Spanish politician Alvise Pérez, whose book received a particularly high score, disputed the finding and maintained that he had written it himself.
([english.elpais.com](https://english.elpais.com/technology/2026-10-13/how-much-ai-is-in-spains-bestselling-books.html))
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IMF projects higher US inflation as energy costs and AI investment reshape outlook
📍 United States
📍 international
🔭 Economy
🔭 Inflation
🧩 Publication date: October 13, 2026
🧩 Forecast: US headline inflation of 3.6% in 2026 and 2.8% in 2027
The International Monetary Fund expects US headline inflation to reach 3.6% in 2026 before easing to 2.8% in 2027, according to an October 13 report on its updated economic outlook. The 2026 estimate is 0.2 percentage points above the fund’s April projection. Core inflation is not expected to return to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target until mid-2028.
Higher energy prices associated with conflict in the Middle East are a major source of pressure. The IMF also identifies the rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence investment as a growing source of demand for construction, energy, capital goods and skilled workers.
The fund nevertheless forecasts US economic growth of 2.3% in both 2026 and 2027. Its assessment warns that reliance on the technology investment cycle creates vulnerabilities if that boom slows, while prolonged high oil prices could produce a less favourable combination of growth and inflation.
([english.elpais.com](https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2026-10-13/imf-forecasts-us-inflation-will-pick-up-in-2026-before-easing-next-year.html))
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Nepal confronts the unresolved grief of families searching for flood victims
📍 Nepal
🔭 Disaster recovery
🔭 Mental health
🧩 Publication date: October 12, 2026
🧩 Information type: Reported follow-up feature on missing people after flooding
An Inter Press Service feature published on October 12 examined the psychological toll on Nepali families whose relatives remain missing after devastating floods and landslides. The report focused on the aftermath of flooding in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river valleys in Rasuwa district and the difficulty of living without confirmation of a loved one’s fate.
Psychiatrist and anthropologist Brandon Kohrt, who has worked in Nepal for nearly 25 years, described this experience as ambiguous loss: a state in which families cannot establish whether someone is alive or dead. He linked the current experience with unresolved disappearances during Nepal’s civil war and earlier disasters.
The interview explored how families find ways to act while waiting, including providing DNA samples and taking part in culturally meaningful rituals. Kohrt stressed that substitute funeral rites may help some families, but others are not ready to accept death without evidence. The feature presents recovery as a process requiring support even when searches cannot yet provide answers.
([globalissues.org](https://www.globalissues.org/news/2026/10/12/44318))