What's Going On Around The World Today

An Israeli soldier was killed and at least nine people were wounded yesterday by a Palestinian gunman in the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva.

During the attack, an Eritrean asylum seeker in Israel was also killed after police mistook him for a second terrorist at a bus station in the desert city. A couple of hours later, it became clear there was just one gunman, who was killed at the scene, BuzzFeed News’ Sheera Frenkel writes. The attacker was identified as a 21-year-old Arab citizen of Israel, the Associated Press reports.

According to a graphic video from the scene, a mob of people gathered around the Eritrean man “throwing a bench at him and kicking him. Several of those present [made] efforts to stop the aggressors,” Frenkel writes.

Violence in the area erupted about a month ago. It started over tensions surrounding a Jerusalem site that’s holy to both Jews and Arabs alike — the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif.

Following months of rumors in the Palestinian press that Israel was preparing to allow Jews to pray on the site (at the moment, Jews can visit, but are not allowed to pray there), a news item emerged in September that stated an Israeli government minister had visited the site and said a prayer.

That same week, Israeli government banned two Muslim groups that consider themselves protectors of the site, spurring rumors that Israel was planning on seizing control of the site.

A quick succession of attacks then spread from Jerusalem into the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel. Nine Israelis have been killed in attacks, most of them “lone wolf” stabbings by Palestinian assailants. At least 41 Palestinians have been killed in the past month. About 20 of them were identified as attackers, while 21 people died in clashes and protests with Israeli security forces. Palestinians have said Israeli forces are using “excessive force” in response to the attacks, the New York Times writes.

WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON

Canadians are headed to the polls today in a tight parliamentary race, after a 78-day election cycle.

Usually, Canada’s election seasons last roughly 50 days and “this kind of slog is unprecedented for modern Canada,” the Washington Post reports. It’s the country’s longest election season since 1872.

In Canada, the prime minister and governor general can dissolve the government and call for an election at any time. Today’s election day had already been scheduled when Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper moved to disband the government in August. The longer campaign season almost doubles the election spending cap to $52.7 million from $25 million. This is favorable for the conservative party, who have more money than the other parties, BuzzFeed Canada’s Paul McLeod writes.

In August, we spoke with BuzzFeed Canada’s political editor Paul McLeod about some of the biggest issues in the country’s elections. You can also follow BuzzFeed Canada on Twitter.

What’s next?

Early polls suggest the election will go to the Liberal Party’s Justin Trudeau, but it will likely be a close call. (Trudeau is the son of Canada’s 15th prime minister, Pierre Trudeau.) Meanwhile, Harper is trying to become the first ever prime minister in Canada to be elected four consecutive times.

Harper is describing himself as the candidate who can fix Canada’s troubled economy, while claiming that Trudeau — who is 43-years-old — is still too inexperienced to lead the country, BBC News writes.

Seperately: Canada already saw its first snow storm of the year and people are not happy about it.

To stay up to date on today’s Canadian elections and other news, download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS and Android.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?

A hidden, 200-year-old chemistry lab once used by U.S. Founding Father Thomas Jefferson was discovered at the University of Virginia.

The 1820s lab was uncovered during a renovation at the university’s Rotunda, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. School officials said the room was “likely created” by Jefferson, who helped design the building, BuzzFeed News’ Michelle Broder Van Dyke writes. Jefferson, the third president of the U.S., also founded the school.

The university was built in the 1820s, a time when people first started studying chemistry. The room is believed to be one of the few labs that survives from that time period, Broder Van Dyke writes.

Quick things to know:

• At least nine people were killed and 16,000 people were displaced in the Philippines on Sunday after Typhoon Koppu triggered flooding and landslides. (BuzzFeed News)

• Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to the United Kingdom this week. And here’s what to expect from his trip. (The Guardian)

• Voting began Sunday in Egypt’s first parliamentary election in four years. (New York Times) The election is seen as the “final step” in putting the country back on a democratic course. There are two rounds of voting with final results expected in December. (Reuters)

• British Prime Minister David Cameron extended the power for parents to block their children’s passports if they fear they’d go overseas to join terror groups. (BBC News)

• A veteran jihadist who led a network of high-ranking al-Qaeda terrorists known as the “Khorasan Group” has been killed in a U.S. airstrike in northwest Syria, the Pentagon said Sunday. (BuzzFeed News)

• Hungary closed its border with Croatia over the weekend, diverting thousands of migrants and refugees on their way to Western Europe to nearby Slovenia. A 216-mile razor-wire fence is also being completed at the border. (BuzzFeed News)

• A 47-year-old former Uber driver from Boston was sentenced on Friday to 10 to 12 years in jail on charges of aggravated rape, kidnapping, and assault and battery. (BuzzFeed News)

• Authorities are searching for a suspect after one person was killed and five others injured in a shooting at a Zombie-themed event in Florida on Saturday. (BuzzFeed News)

• Maryland may recall its license plates displaying the Confederate flag after a federal judge lifted an injunction that previously protected the speciality plates. (BuzzFeed News)

• Vice amended an article about a woman claiming to have dated the Dalai Lama. (BuzzFeed News)

• A California family transformed their daughter’s cancelled wedding reception into a feast for the homeless community. (BuzzFeed News)

• The long wait for new music by Adele might be over: The first snippet of her new album ~may~ have been released over the weekend. (BuzzFeed)

Happy Monday

Who would win in a fight between a corgi and a pumpkin? In the case of Bilbo, it might actually be the pumpkin. The pup is quite confused by the tiny orange fruit. At first, Bilbo tried to show the pumpkin who’s boss.

Evidently, that didn’t work. So he got even more confused.

Bilbo’s owner, Jackie Sullivan, uploaded the videos of Bilbo fighting with inanimate objects (the dog had a brief face off with a water bottle last year) and the videos totally took off. She told BuzzFeed that it was surreal to see her beloved Corgi turn into an internet star. Go get ‘em, Bilbo, we’re on your side.

This letter was edited and brought to you by Claire Moses and Millie Tran. You can always reach us here.