Here is your evening roundup of the top world news for October 5, 2026: a suspected plague case in Siberia that has triggered quarantines, new details from the Flydubai cockpit investigation, and a snapshot of crypto and oil markets.
Suspected plague case in Siberia: lab worker’s death under investigation
A 28-year-old laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute in Siberia, identified as Darya Shipilova, died around October 1-2 after reportedly breaking a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples. Around 200 of her contacts are under medical observation, several hospitals have been placed under quarantine, and public events in Irkutsk have been cancelled as a criminal investigation has been opened. Russian authorities have not confirmed plague: health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor says the cause of death was “pneumonia of unknown aetiology”, that all contacts are currently symptom-free, and that laboratory tests have been negative so far. The White House told Axios it is “aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options”.
Flydubai probe: co-pilot suspected of trying to crash plane in Saudi desert
Investigators are examining whether co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami moved both engine fuel switches from “Run” to “Cutoff” and pushed Flydubai flight FZ1073 into a steep descent, trying to crash it in the Saudi desert after his plan to crash into Tel Aviv failed. The Israeli probe has found that he likely acted alone, with no terror-group or Iran link found so far; President Trump had earlier suggested a possible Iran link. The co-pilot reportedly told interrogators that he had planned the attack before Flydubai hired him, saying: “The dream was to crash into Ben-Gurion Airport.” These are new details on the September 30 incident, when passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot on the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight.
Market snapshot
Bitcoin held around $86,100-86,700, testing the $87,000 resistance for a third time after a September high near $87,400. Ether traded near $2,710, up 0.7%, with total crypto market capitalisation around $2.93 trillion and the Fear & Greed index at 70 (Greed). Cardano stood out with a 10.4% gain, while Zcash fell 14.78% on the week. Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting are due on October 7, and the odds of an October rate hike have fallen to around 17-22.7% after weak September jobs data of only 29,000 new jobs. Brent crude traded near $101.59-101.60, down about 0.65-0.7% on Monday on higher Middle East exports and the G7’s 100-million-barrel reserve release, with WTI around $90.12; Brent had briefly touched $103.06 earlier on Monday on Houthi claims against Aramco. There were no new China-UK or China-USA tariff moves.
Watch: today’s video briefings
Reuters World News — top world stories:
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