The New England Aquarium said on 6 November that a whale photographed near Anticosti Island, Quebec, on 25 September was accompanied by a previously unrecorded North Atlantic right whale calf. The calf brings the 2026 season count to 24, the species’ most productive calving season since 2009, according to the aquarium and Associated Press. NOAA estimates the endangered population at about 380. Scientists say entanglement and vessel strikes remain major threats, so the higher birth count is not evidence that the species has recovered.
An IPC analysis released on 23 September projected that 5.4 million people in Somalia would face Crisis-level hunger or worse from October through December 2026, including 1.5 million in Emergency. It said nearly 26,000 displaced people in Baidoa were likely to face Catastrophe-level food insecurity; famine risk depended on a plausible worst-case of more severe flooding and displacement. FEWS NET separately assessed a credible famine risk in southern Somalia through January if extreme flooding occurs. Le Monde reported on 8 October that conflict continued to obstruct aid access in parts of the southwest.
Mexico’s Education Ministry agreement, published 22 September, takes effect 3 November. It restricts students’ personal phones and other personal devices throughout the school day in initial, preschool, primary and secondary education, with exceptions for planned teaching use, emergencies, health, disability, accessibility, inclusion and extraordinary community needs. States may adjust implementation. Upper-secondary schools and universities use different community or institutional arrangements. AP reports some parents fear they will have trouble reaching children.