Microsoft is offering voluntary exit packages to roughly 60,000 employees, about 27% of its workforce, in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. The company says eligibility covers staff at level 70 or below and vice presidents and below. Employees must accept by the first week of December, with departures on 31 Dec. The offer follows an April early retirement scheme that about 30% of those eligible accepted, and a July cut of 4,800 jobs. Microsoft is spending heavily on AI data centers while reducing headcount to trim costs. Shares rose about 1% on Monday, 26 Oct.
A UN commission of inquiry says Israel has continued genocidal acts in Gaza after the October 2025 ceasefire, and that the situation in the West Bank has worsened. Israel's Geneva mission calls the report a misinformation campaign. The Palestinian health ministry reports 74,561 deaths in Gaza since October 2023, including 1,565 since the ceasefire took effect. It also says Israeli forces killed 14 Palestinians over the past two days, including a six-year-old girl. The report covers events from 7 October 2023 to September 2026.
More than 29,000 double‑envelope ballots, about 6 % of the total, have been counted, and the Central Elections Committee expects the remaining count to finish by the afternoon. Projections after regular ballots show Benjamin Netanyahu’s right‑religious bloc at 53 seats, Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition at 48 seats, and Arab‑led parties at 19 seats, leaving all three blocs short of the 61 seats needed for a majority. Voter turnout reached 77.7 %, the highest since 1999.