The Economist - The world this week - October 3rd 2026

Oct 2, 2026

Weekly global briefing covering leaders’ actions, international politics, and business developments. Highlights include US-Iran tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, the end of US and British troops in Iraq, a diverted flight in Israel after a stabbing, and key appointments in Morocco. Coverage also addresses regional security and intelligence warnings, economic and infrastructure moves in Africa, and events in Asia and Europe such as Myanmar violence, flooding in Thailand, and attacks in Kyiv.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages353

Reading Time14 h 50 min

AccessFree to download

The world this week

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Cartoon: Democracy v autocracy

October 3rd 2026 The world this week Leaders Letters By Invitation Briefing Asia China United States The Americas Middle East & Africa Europe Britain International Business Finance & economics Science & technology Culture Economic & financial indicators Obituary The world this week Politics Business Cartoon: Democracy v autocracy The world this week Politics Oct 1st 2026 Donald Trump rejected a deal offered by Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels within seven days and resume nuclear talks if America lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. He told aides he expected to begin bombing Iran again after the midterm elections in November. Mr Trump said America had “total control” of the strait and that “massive amounts of oil” were passing through it. The last American and British troops left Iraq, ending their presence in the country since 2014, when they were sent as part of an international coalition to fight Islamic State, a jihadist group. The Iraqi prime minister said their departure heralded a shift to Iraq taking “full responsibility for its security and stability” A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia when it plunged nearly 20,000 feet in less than two minutes and issued a distress signal, after a co-pilot stabbed the captain. Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, claimed that early evidence suggested the rogue pilot had intended to crash the plane, killing everyone on board, and called it an “attempted jihadist terror attack”Passengers tackled the attacker, allowing other pilots to land the plane. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, described the Indian captain as a “true hero” for fighting back. Fatima Zahra El Mansouri was appointed Morocco’s first female primeminister, after her liberal party won the most seats in a recent parliamentary election. King Mohammed VI chose Ms Mansouri, a former mayor of Marrakesh, over Fouzi Lekjaa, her party colleague and head of the football federation. Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, and William Ruto, Kenya’s president, broke ground on a $16bn refinery in Lamu on Kenya’s coast, which they hope will reduce fuel costs and import bills for refined products in east Africa. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s president, and several other African leaders attended the ceremony. Mr Dangote already operates a big refinery in his native Nigeria. Umaro Sissoco Embaló, the former president of Guinea-Bissau, who was ousted in a coup in November 2025, said he would return to the country to stand in presidential elections on December 6th. The announcement added fuel to suspicions that Mr Embaló orchestrated the coup, which happened just before the publication of results in an election he had been expected to lose. The summit between Mr Trump and Xi Jinping produced no big breakthroughs, though China and America did agree to reduce tariffs on $30bn-worth of each other’s goods, not including soyabeans, and said they would set up a US-China Super-Intelligence Dialogue (China calls it an AI dialogue) . This would include a mechanism for reporting AI incidents. Britain’s MI5 intelligence service warned British academics that the China General Technology Research Institute in Beijing had strong ties to Chinese intelligence, and was funding research to aid China’s espionage operations. MI5 said academics were probably unaware of the links, but urged universities to cut their ties with the CGTRI, and said they could be in violation of national-security laws if they did not. Malaysia began repatriating the first batch of 5,000 asylum-seekers to Myanmar under a plan that it has co-ordinated with the Burmese junta. Refugees from Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim population have encountered a wave of hostility in Malaysia, facing forced evictions from villages and schools. There are thought to be 126,000 Rohingya in the

FAQs

What major US-Iran dispute is discussed in the October 3rd update?

The update says Donald Trump rejected an Iran offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels within seven days and to resume nuclear talks only if the US lifts its blockade of Iranian ports.

Which aviation incident is highlighted as involving a diverted flight?

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia after it plunged nearly 20,000 feet in under two minutes and issued a distress signal following a co-pilot stabbing the captain.

What other global incidents are reported alongside political developments?

The briefing reports developments including flooding in Thailand, a drone attack on Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv, and reports of fatalities from an air strike in Myanmar.

Oct 2, 2026

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