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World Brief, Evening: October 25, 2026

Lula pulls off the comeback in Brazil, Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić concedes to the students, and María Corina Machado is back in Venezuela. Meanwhile, Israel’s army chief is reported to be pushing back on Netanyahu two days before the vote. Ten stories as of Sunday evening, October 25.

1. São Paulo and Brasília / Brazil. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won a fourth term, beating far-right Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff. With nearly 99% of votes counted he had 51.75% to Bolsonaro’s 48.25%, The Guardian reported. Three weeks ago he lost the first round by 2.2 million votes. Tonight he won by 4.3 million, the first time a first-round runner-up has come back since democracy returned in the 1980s. Turnout helped: abstention fell from a record 21.08% to 19.21%. Electoral court president Kassio Nunes Marques recognised the result, but Bolsonaro said it was “impossible to concede” and that his lawyers will try to get the election annulled. Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, starts his new term on January 5, 2027, and he’ll face the most right-wing Congress of Brazil’s democratic era, BBC News notes.

2. Belgrade and Novi Sad / Serbia, and Sofia / Bulgaria. “It is clear that we have lost these elections,” Vučić told supporters at his Serbian Progressive Party headquarters, conceding to the student-led movement that grew out of two years of protests over the Novi Sad canopy collapse. He said the Student List would get 135 to 140 of parliament’s 250 seats and his party about 105, The Guardian reported. A CeSID-Ipsos sample put it at 138 to 104. Pollsters had turnout at 67.6% by 7 p.m., the highest since Yugoslavia broke up. Crowds danced in Belgrade’s Slavija square and in central Novi Sad. “Serbia is free,” one student told BBC News. Next door, Bulgaria’s presidential race goes to a November 1 runoff: exit polls had incumbent Iliana Iotova at about 35–36.5% and pro-Western ex-caretaker PM Andrey Gyurov at 31–33.5%, on turnout of only about 22% by 8 p.m., per Al Jazeera.

3. Lara and Caracas / Venezuela. Opposition leader María Corina Machado is home after more than 10 months in exile. “I am here. With you,” she posted, and she was photographed at Mass in Lara state before heading for Caracas in a caravan of supporters, BBC News reported. An adviser said in September that she’d been turned back seven times. Her spokesman thanked Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and called the return “a major step toward a democratic transition.” Trump said he didn’t “know anything about” it but hoped she was safe. Since U.S. forces seized Nicolás Maduro in January, Washington-backed Delcy Rodríguez has served as interim president; Maduro is jailed in New York and has pleaded not guilty.

4. Tel Aviv and Palmahim / Israel. Two days before Tuesday’s election, Channel 12 reported an “unprecedented confrontation” between Netanyahu and IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir. Zamir is said to be resisting an unspecified order for military action tied to Iran and asking for signed legal authorization, The Times of Israel reported. The report described the mood at a meeting at Palmahim airbase Sunday as “extremely sour.” Netanyahu called the report “nonsense” and said “there was no fight.” His main rival, ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot, and his centrist Yashar party have regularly pipped Likud in recent polls, BBC News notes.

5. Washington, Tehran and Riyadh. Leaving the White House for Michigan, Trump was asked whether the U.S. might strike Iran today. “Would I tell you that? The answer is no. There will not be a strike today,” he said, per The Jerusalem Post. Earlier he told Fox News, “Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal?” Iran’s foreign ministry says messages are still going to Washington through intermediaries, AP reported. Over in Saudi Arabia, the coalition intercepted another Houthi ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh, Al Jazeera reported. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper visited the Strait of Hormuz, The National reported.

6. Scotland, London and northern Europe. Storm Boelo killed two men on Sunday, both hit by falling trees: a 60-year-old near Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway, and a man in his 20s whose car was struck in Finchley, north London, BBC News reported. More than 90,000 UK properties were still without power at 19:00 GMT, and gusts hit 85 mph at Machrihanish. Boelo and Storm Austen hit within about 24 hours. About 59,000 homes in France, mainly in Normandy and Brittany, were still without power at midday, and in Germany a blackout around Freiburg left the main hospital taking emergencies only, Al Jazeera reported.

7. Orléans / France, Prague and Rome. Marine Le Pen launched her presidential campaign in Orléans in front of what organisers said were 8,500 supporters, promising a French “renaissance” and to “re-establish the rule of law” against a backdrop of mass protests, Al Jazeera reported. Several thousand marched in Prague’s Old Town Square against Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s bill to scrap public media licence fees, which the lower house fast-tracked in a 4:36 a.m. vote, per Al Jazeera. In Italy, protesters briefly forced their way into the Colosseum on Saturday; police arrested nine and briefly detained 371, including 110 minors, ABC News reported.

8. Taraba / Nigeria, Makueni / Kenya, and Kampala / Uganda. The death toll from Friday’s raid on Binnari village has risen to at least 48, Taraba police told BBC News. Some victims drowned trying to flee, and Amnesty puts the toll at 52. The Kenya church bus crash near Mtito Andei now stands at 24 dead and 24 hurt. Officials say the bus driver was overtaking when he hit an oncoming cement truck, Al Jazeera reported. And Uganda ordered a 21-day quarantine for citizens coming back from DR Congo, as Ebola cases in Kenya and Nigeria raise questions about travel through the country, per Al Jazeera.

9. Michigan and Alaska / United States. Nine days out from the midterms, Trump rallied for Michigan Republicans in Port Huron, brought rapper Nicki Minaj on stage, and went after Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s Muslim faith, claiming he would “invite jihadists” into America, BBC News reported. On the Sunday shows, Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s suit to block certification of Alaska’s Senate result. “Why is this controversial?” he asked CNN, per Al Jazeera. Democrat Mary Peltola, who is challenging Sen. Dan Sullivan, had minor injuries in a car crash in Anchorage on Saturday and pushed back events in Fairbanks and Bethel, The Guardian reported.

10. Canberra / Australia. Parliament paused Monday for tributes to independent MP Helen Haines, who lost both legs in an alleged attack outside her Wangaratta office. Her first words on waking were about her staff’s safety and thanks to the bystanders who helped, fellow MP Allegra Spender said, The Guardian reported. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called her “a fighter” and warned against a “normalisation of the language of grievance and violence.” Opposition leader Angus Taylor disagreed that robust debate leads to violence. A 43-year-old man has been charged.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, as the Fed’s two-day meeting opens in Washington (October 27–28). November 1, Bulgaria’s presidential runoff (Iotova vs Gyurov). November 3, U.S. midterms. Full board at the link.

World Brief: October 25, 2026

Brazil and Serbia are both voting today, with Bulgaria picking a president too; Israel is sealing off the West Bank ahead of Tuesday’s election; and Iran says another round of war won’t change its mind. Ten stories as of Sunday morning, October 25.

1. Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo / Brazil. Polls opened at 8 a.m. Brasília time for the presidential runoff between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, and right-wing Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, the son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro. Almost 160 million people are eligible to vote, voting ends at 5 p.m. Brasília time (1 p.m. Pacific), and first results are expected 30 to 60 minutes later, DW reports. Bolsonaro voted in the rain in Rio’s Vila Isabel and declared, “Brazil will change. Brazil will win”; he has pledged to free his father. Lula voted in São Bernardo do Campo and said the right “wants to govern with the American flag.” Bolsonaro won the first round on October 4, and no candidate who trailed after round one has ever come back to win, BBC News notes. The Guardian says the two go in virtually tied, with Saturday’s final polls showing Bolsonaro slightly ahead.

2. Belgrade / Serbia, and Sofia / Bulgaria. Serbians are voting in a snap parliamentary election that pits Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party, in power since 2012, against the Student List born of two years of protests over the deadly 2024 Novi Sad station canopy collapse. Turnout hit 46% by 2 p.m., nearly a million votes more than at the same point in the last election, BBC News reported. Students have put at least two observers at each of the 8,210 polling stations, and there were reports of attacks on election monitors. Polls close at 8 p.m. local time (noon Pacific). Next door, Bulgarians are choosing a president; incumbent Iliana Iotova, who favours dialogue with Moscow, leads pro-Western challenger Andrey Gyurov in the polls, and a runoff follows if nobody clears 50%, DW reports.

3. Hebron / occupied West Bank and Tel Aviv. The Israeli military says all West Bank land crossings will close on Tuesday’s election day, and most Palestinian workers are barred from settlements starting today, BBC News reported. Defence Minister Israel Katz says about 2,000 Hebron residents have been displaced since Friday’s checkpoint attack that killed two Israeli soldiers; the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society puts it at 293 families, about 2,200 people, and says Israeli troops have taken over homes as barracks and observation posts, Al Jazeera reports. Hebron’s mayor said the operation was being “driven by the elections.” In Tel Aviv on Saturday, thousands rallied to demand a state inquiry into October 7, joined by opposition leaders including Gadi Eisenkot, who is neck and neck with Netanyahu.

4. Tehran / Iran. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that a renewed war with the U.S. and Israel would not change Iran’s positions, and that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz “will no longer be the same,” ABC News (Australia) reported. Iran’s army said it shot down a U.S.-developed LUCAS drone over Bandar Abbas, according to the semi-official Tasnim agency. Al Jazeera rounds up U.S. reporting that CENTCOM has strike options ready, mostly framed around the period after the November 3 midterms, though Trump suggested Saturday a strike could come as soon as “tomorrow.” A third U.S. carrier group, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and about 10,000 more troops are headed to the region by the end of November.

5. Riyadh / Saudi Arabia and Taiz / Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone aimed at Riyadh, a cruise missile aimed at Khamis Mushait, and 10 more ballistic missiles fired at the south of the kingdom, Al Jazeera reported; falling debris injured two people. Riyadh’s King Khalid airport reopened two terminals Sunday, after a Houthi attack on October 10 killed 13 people, and the Houthis immediately called it a “military target.” Inside Yemen, the Houthis are pressing toward Jabal Sabr above besieged Taiz, where the UN says “time is running out” to reach 800,000 people.

6. Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv / Ukraine. Russian strikes Saturday evening killed four people in the Dnipropetrovsk region and injured 22, and Russia launched 153 drones plus cruise missiles overnight, ABC News reported. In Kharkiv, a home-improvement store was hit and then rescuers were struck in a second attack. Zelenskyy tallied the week and asked Europe to unblock Patriot interceptors it has already approved:

Meanwhile, Elon Musk now says SpaceX did restrict Ukraine’s Starlink service, accusing Kyiv’s military of using it for “offensive drone strikes,” BBC News reported. A presidential adviser called that “very strange,” saying Starlink-linked drones are capped at 70–90 km/h and don’t work over Russian territory anyway.

7. Paris, Marseille and across France. More than 1,300 people were arrested after another day of mass protests on Saturday, BBC News reported. The interior ministry estimated 410,000 marchers (unions said about 800,000), and 53 officers were hurt. The marches were largely peaceful, but police used tear gas and water cannon in several cities, barricades burned in Marseille, and a 20-year-old protester in Toulouse lost several fingers when an explosive went off nearby. Paris arrests (142) were less than half last week’s, and officials avoided a repeat of the previous weekend’s looting.

8. Makueni / Kenya, and Taraba / Nigeria. A church bus carrying people home from a funeral hit a lorry head-on at Kanga, near Mtito Andei on the Nairobi–Mombasa highway, early Sunday, killing 22 people, AP reported. Sixteen people are being treated in hospital, Daily Nation reports, and the crash happened on the same highway where 17 people died three weeks ago. In northeastern Nigeria, gunmen on motorcycles raided the village of Binnari in Taraba state, killing at least 10 people by the police count; Amnesty International says families told it as many as 50 died, BBC News reported.

9. Ohio, Michigan and Georgia / United States. With nine days to the midterms, Barack Obama hit the trail in Ohio and Michigan and called the vote “our last best chance to at least rein in some of the foolishness of this administration,” BBC News reported. Trump, who cast his ballot early in West Palm Beach, told a Georgia rally “we’re in the golden age of America,” acknowledged oil prices are “temporarily high,” and repeated his pledge of a $5,000 payout to every adult if Republicans win both chambers. On Iran, he said, “I may have to finish it off, or maybe they’ll make a deal.”

10. Canberra / Australia. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett has drawn a direct line between heated political rhetoric and threats against MPs, saying her daily threat report is “some days … pages and pages long,” The Guardian reported. Women MPs are more often singled out, often with threats of sexual violence, she said. It follows the alleged car attack on independent MP Helen Haines, who remains in serious but stable condition at Melbourne’s Alfred hospital after a double leg amputation.

Coming Up

Today: Brazil runoff and Serbia’s snap election (results tonight). Oct 27: Israel’s Knesset election. Oct 27–28: Fed meeting. Nov 3: U.S. midterms. The full board is on The Watch.

World Brief, Evening: October 24, 2026

Elon Musk accuses Ukraine of breaking Starlink’s terms as speeds come back; France logs nearly 1,000 arrests after another big protest day; and Brazil and Serbia both vote tomorrow. Ten stories as of Saturday evening, October 24.

1. Kyiv / Ukraine. Hours after Kyiv said its Starlink and Starshield links were back to pre-restriction speeds, Elon Musk weighed in. “Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” he posted, The Guardian reported. A week earlier he’d said any limits were “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” Presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov says Ukraine is now “physically unable” to use Starlink for long- and medium-range attack drones. The cap of 160 km/h led to the failure of several combat missions earlier this month. Zelenskyy thanked Trump and the State Department, and the defence ministry says links are now stable at more than 400 km/h, per DW.

2. Paris, Marseille and across Europe. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said nearly 1,000 people were arrested in France on Saturday, a number he expected to rise, after a largely peaceful day turned into late clashes, BBC News reported. Police used tear gas and water cannon in several cities including Paris, barricades burned in Marseille, and two people were seriously hurt, in Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand. The ministry counted about 410,000 marchers; unions said about 800,000. The looting of last weekend wasn’t repeated. Elsewhere, riot police in Tirana fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets, and more than 300 protesters and police were injured as crowds hit the Education Ministry, Al Jazeera reported. Hundreds of soldiers helped police keep protesters from gathering in Milan, and about 25,000 rallied for state pensions in Madrid ahead of Spain’s general election next month, per Al Jazeera.

3. Tehran, Aden and Saudi Arabia. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed Washington for the collapse of the interim deal to end the war, but said both sides should return to it and “conclude it,” Al Jazeera reported. The Revolutionary Guards warned even limited U.S. strikes would bring a response “several times greater.” In Yemen, the government says the Houthis fired two ballistic missiles at Aden International Airport, the fourth such attack this month, and hit the coastguard headquarters. Saudi civil defence said two ballistic missiles were launched toward Mecca and Medina and intercepted; the Houthis called that a “huge lie” and said they aimed at three Saudi airports, oil infrastructure and an airbase, per Al Jazeera.

4. Tel Aviv and Hebron / Israel and the West Bank. Thousands rallied in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square three days before Tuesday’s election, demanding a state inquiry into the October 7 failures, with Netanyahu’s main rival Gadi Eisenkot and Democrats leader Yair Golan in the crowd, Al Jazeera reported. Polls show the two blocs neck and neck. In Hebron, Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed “about 2,000” people have been displaced and said they won’t return “until we’ve finished dealing with all the Hamas issues,” while the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says about 70 people were arrested in the raids, per Al Jazeera. The military says crossings in and out of the West Bank will be fully closed on election day.

5. Rio de Janeiro / Brazil. On the last day of campaigning, Lula waved a flag from a truck on Copacabana Beach and told supporters voters must choose between “someone who kisses the national flag or someone who kisses the American flag,” Al Jazeera reported. Flávio Bolsonaro’s backers, including hundreds of motorcyclists in yellow shirts, gathered in Minas Gerais. A CNT/MDA poll released Saturday has Bolsonaro on 46.3% and Lula on 45%, inside the 2.2-point margin of error. Brazilians vote Sunday, per BBC News.

6. Belgrade / Serbia. Serbia also votes Sunday, in a snap parliamentary election that looks like the toughest test yet for Aleksandar Vučić, who stepped down as president to run for prime minister, BBC News reported. His main challenge is the Student List, 250 candidates picked by university assemblies after two years of protests over the Novi Sad station canopy collapse that killed 16. A reported 150,000 turned out for its final Belgrade rally. One political scientist told DW it’s the first competitive election since 2012, with polls suggesting the students could top 40%.

7. Taraba / Nigeria. Gunmen on about 50 motorcycles attacked Binnari village after Friday prayers, looting shops and food. Police say 10 bodies were recovered, survivors told AFP at least 20 died, and Amnesty International puts the toll at 40, Al Jazeera reported. Also Saturday, President Bola Tinubu launched his bid for a second term at a rally in Kaduna, ahead of a January 2027 vote, blaming his rivals for Nigeria’s hunger and poverty, per DW.

8. Nairobi / Kenya. Rescuers pulled two people alive from the rubble of the 16- or 18-storey building that collapsed in Eastleigh on Friday, and five are still missing, BBC News reported. Police have launched a manhunt for the building’s owner and its contractor. Officials say 66 of the 67 construction workers got out unharmed; those missing are thought to have been in shops at the base.

9. Pacific coast / Mexico. Hurricane Vance was about 335 miles southwest of Acapulco Saturday afternoon with 90 mph winds, weakening as it crawls north-northwest, the National Hurricane Center said. No coastal watches are up yet, but a tropical storm watch may be needed for Mexico’s southwest coast tonight or Sunday. Forecasters expect 4 to 6 inches of rain, up to 10 in places, across Colima and western Michoacán and Jalisco through Thursday, with possible life-threatening floods and mudslides.

10. Vanuatu. More than 20 earthquakes have rattled the sea off northern Vanuatu since Saturday afternoon, after a magnitude 6.9 quake about 197 km west-northwest of Port-Olry, Pacific Media Network reported. The tsunami warning was cancelled, and there are no confirmed reports of major damage or casualties. The USGS first put the main quake at 7.2, per RNZ.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula) and Serbia’s snap parliamentary election. October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, as the Fed’s two-day meeting opens in Washington (October 27–28). November 3, U.S. midterms. Full board at the link.

World Brief: October 24, 2026

France is back on the streets under one of the biggest police deployments in years; Israel is clearing a whole Hebron neighbourhood; and Ukraine says its Starlink link is fully back. Ten stories as of Saturday morning, October 24.

1. Paris and across France. More than 70,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed nationwide for another day of mass protests, and by early Saturday afternoon police said they had arrested at least 135 people and seized a variety of weapons, while describing the situation as calm, Al Jazeera reported. The Paris march ran from Porte d’Italie toward Porte de Vincennes; at least 24 metro stations were shut, the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay closed for the day, and Art Basel Paris cancelled its weekend programme. In Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse about 150 people, and in Orléans thousands shouted anti-fascist slogans at the National Rally’s party congress. The student-led movement drew more than half a million people on October 17. Macron met student representatives Friday for the first time and promised more teachers and an overhaul of the Parcoursup admissions system, but they are calling for more marches. The Yellow Vests say they will protest on October 31.

2. Hebron / occupied West Bank. Israeli forces were razing the Ein Deir Baha district on Saturday after Friday’s checkpoint shooting that killed two soldiers. The Hebron municipality estimates 35 hectares (86 acres) have been destroyed or marked for destruction and about 1,500 people evicted, The Guardian reported; a municipal spokesperson put it at about 300 families. The whole city of 250,000 is sealed off by checkpoints, and the Wafa news agency reported plans to displace a further 2,500 people. “We are being collectively punished for something we neither did nor supported,” local activist Issa Amro said. Israel votes Tuesday.

3. The Gulf / Iran. Iran’s armed forces chief, Gen. Ali Abdollahi, said in a statement on state media that “the US president can only dream” of U.S. forces entering the Persian Gulf again, after Trump told a Florida rally Friday that the U.S. “may do another Epic Fury,” Al Jazeera reported. Brent crude is around $117, its highest since April. At a coordination meeting in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said a new attack on Iran “would widen the war.” BBC News reports that Saudi authorities say at least 21 people have been killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports since the start of October, and non-emergency U.S. embassy staff have been ordered out of Saudi Arabia.

4. Kyiv / Ukraine. Ukraine says its military Starlink and Starshield connections are stable again at speeds above 400 km/h, after more than a week of restrictions that cut drone links, BBC News reported. Who ordered the limits is still unclear; Trump denied doing so. Zelenskyy announced the restoration himself:

Meanwhile, the fighting goes on. Al Jazeera reports Ukraine hit a petrochemical plant in Togliatti and an electronics plant in Oryol, where the regional governor reported three deaths. Russian strikes killed people in Lozova, Chernihiv, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November.

5. Karak / Jordan. King Abdullah visited Karak and promised an “iron fist” after gunmen attacked a church funeral, killing eight people and wounding 40, Al Jazeera reported. Tolls differ between outlets, with NPR reporting seven dead. Nobody has claimed it, and Jordan has declared three days of national mourning. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan called it “a result of a terrorist ideology and blind extremism.”

6. Nairobi / Kenya. A 65-year-old woman has become Kenya’s second Ebola death in the country’s first-ever outbreak, BBC News reported. She was a close relative of the first victim, and seven other patients are in isolation. The health ministry says all cases are in “one cluster, with no evidence of community spread.” More than 4,000 people have died across Africa since the outbreak was confirmed in DR Congo in May. Separately, a 16- to 18-storey building under construction collapsed in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area, and rescuers are searching for seven people believed trapped in shops at its base, BBC News reported.

7. Washington / Alaska and Maine. The Justice Department has sued to block certification of Alaska’s Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses by less than the vote of a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot, arguing the shared name will confuse voters, BBC News reported. “I’m the one that said do it,” Trump told reporters. Polls show Democrat Mary Peltola narrowly ahead. Also Friday, the White House said it will ease some of its 50% tariffs on Canadian goods from October 30, after Maine Sen. Susan Collins said she had lobbied for the change, BBC News reported.

8. Taiwan. Typhoon Champi glanced off Taiwan’s northeast coast early Saturday, killing a man swept away by waves off Liuqiu island and injuring 527 people, The Guardian reported. Taipei and much of northern and central Taiwan had a second day of office and school closures. DW reports 259 flights were cancelled Saturday. The storm is weakening as it heads north toward China’s Zhejiang coast.

9. São Paulo / Brazil. Brazil picks its president tomorrow. Some 33.4 million people skipped the first round, a 21% abstention rate and the highest for a general election since 1998, and a Quaest poll shows Flávio Bolsonaro and Lula in a statistical dead heat, Al Jazeera reported. In São Paulo’s former factory belt, BBC News found voters who backed Lula in 2022 now switching to Bolsonaro, frustrated by prices, crime and corruption.

10. Melbourne / Australia. Independent MP Helen Haines, who lost both legs when she was hit by a car outside her electorate office in Wangaratta on Monday, has been upgraded from critical to serious but stable, BBC News reported. The 43-year-old man accused of the attack faces three charges, and police say more could follow, including attempted murder.

Coming Up

Oct 25: Brazil runoff and Serbia’s snap election. Oct 27: Israel’s Knesset election. Oct 27–28: Fed meeting. Nov 3: U.S. midterms. The full board is on The Watch.

World Brief, Evening: October 23, 2026

Netanyahu says the biggest West Bank operation since 1967 is “on the way” as Israel’s top court briefly halts Hebron demolitions; Trump floats “another little Epic Fury” on Iran as oil passes $117; and Macron calls the Trappes shooting a racist terrorist attack. Ten stories as of Friday evening, October 23.

1. Hebron / occupied West Bank. A day after two Israeli soldiers were killed at a checkpoint outside Hebron, Benjamin Netanyahu said plans are drawn up for the largest Israeli military operation in the West Bank since 1967. No date is set, “but it is on the way,” he said, The Guardian reported. He’s put Hebron and nearby Halhul under siege and said residents of the gunmen’s home neighbourhoods would be forced out, while Defence Minister Israel Katz said “the Jenin refugee camp model arrives in Hebron.” Bulldozers started on Palestinian homes within hours, before Israel’s high court issued a temporary order to stop the demolitions after a rights lawyer petitioned. Israeli forces have since launched what they call a “targeted and thorough” operation in the city, per Al Jazeera. Israelis vote Tuesday, and Netanyahu’s Likud cancelled campaign events set for Friday morning, BBC News reported.

2. Fort Myers, Istanbul and the Gulf / Iran. At a Florida rally on Friday, Donald Trump said, “We may do another little Epic Fury,” the name of the U.S.-Israeli operation that started the Iran war in February. He didn’t elaborate, France 24 reported, but he’s signalled openness to new strikes after the November 3 midterms. Hours earlier in Istanbul, foreign ministers from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Britain, France, Germany and Italy urged Washington and Israel not to restart the attacks, warning it would spread the war, The Guardian reported. Brent crude passed $117 at one point, its highest since April, before easing to about $116, per The Guardian. The Saudi-led coalition said it shot down a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh, per Al Jazeera. And oil from the tanker Gem No.2, hit near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month, is now washing ashore near Umm Al Quwain in the UAE, closing some beaches, BBC News reported.

3. Karak / Jordan. The death toll from Friday’s attack on a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak rose to seven, with about 40 wounded, two of them critically, The Guardian reported. CCTV footage verified by BBC News appears to show three gunmen walking from a road toward the church. Jordan declared three days of national mourning, and Prime Minister Jafar Hassan blamed “terrorist ideology and blind extremism.” Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya said a group of “extremists” carried out the attack and that authorities already have the suspects’ names, though they haven’t released them, DW reported. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called it “especially heinous.”

4. Trappes and La Verrière / France. Emmanuel Macron went to Trappes on Friday and called the drive-by shooting west of Paris “a terrorist and racist attack” that “marks a turning point for our country,” saying the gunman picked victims by the colour of their skin, The Guardian reported. The man killed was named as Pengo Bossio Wangi; a 12-year-old girl was shot eight times and is in hospital. Prosecutors named the 39-year-old suspect as Kevin T. and said he had a Sten gun, a World War II submachine gun, plus teargas grenades, and had booby-trapped his home with gas canisters wired to a timer. Meanwhile, France is deploying 70,000 police for Saturday’s protests, DW reported. Macron posted:

5. Oleshky / Ukraine, and Moscow. Russia has confirmed the local truce for occupied Oleshky that the White House says Melania Trump helped broker, and says it will halt fire at 4 a.m. on October 27, earlier than the October 29 start Washington announced, DW reported. Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the plan is a ceasefire first, then aid, then free movement out of the city. In Russia, all four Moscow airports shut down twice on Friday during a drone raid, and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 17 drones were shot down approaching the capital, the Kyiv Independent reported. Ukrainian defence ministry sources say Starlink is still having problems after Trump said Elon Musk had “put it back”; Trump said Friday, “If there is a problem, I will get it straightened out,” per BBC News.

6. Nairobi / Kenya, and Bunia / DR Congo. Kenya recorded its second Ebola death, a 65-year-old woman who was a close relative of the first victim and was already in quarantine, BBC News reported. Seven other patients are being treated, and the health ministry says all cases are in one cluster with “no evidence of community spread.” In Bunia, the WHO says the first people were vaccinated in a trial testing whether the Ervebo vaccine protects against the Bundibugyo strain behind this outbreak, which has no approved vaccine, Al Jazeera reported. Separately in Nairobi, a multistorey building under construction collapsed in the busy Eastleigh district; about 11 people in ground-floor shops are unaccounted for, and police are hunting the owner, per Al Jazeera.

7. Buenos Aires / Argentina. A federal judge dropped the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina over the $Libra cryptocurrency, which crashed after Milei posted about it in February 2025, BBC News reported. Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, acting at prosecutors’ request, said “the reported events do not constitute a criminal offence.” He also dismissed the case against U.S. businessman Hayden Davis, the token’s self-described launch adviser. The presidential office called it “absolute proof of his innocence,” per Al Jazeera.

8. Canuto / Ecuador. A judge ordered opposition leader Luisa González held in pre-trial detention, a day after her arrest in the rural town of Canuto in a money-laundering probe into about $500,000 of 2023 campaign advertising, Al Jazeera reported. She calls the charges “absurd.” Her Citizen Revolution party, whose president said Ecuador is “living under a dictatorship,” has been barred from next month’s local elections.

9. Washington and Ottawa / Canada. The White House is lifting some of its 50% tariffs on Canadian goods from October 30, including plywood, some paper products, certain machinery and refrigeration equipment, while adding levies on others such as carpets, BBC News reported. Maine Republican Susan Collins, in a tight Senate race, says she lobbied for the relief for her state’s farmers. Canada’s Dominic LeBlanc said Ottawa “stands ready to work constructively.” Trump said Canada “is working very hard to make a deal with us,” per DW.

10. Taiwan, and Nagqu / Tibet. Typhoon Champi raked Taiwan’s north-east, killing one person and injuring at least 350, with more than 4,300 evacuated and over 400mm of rain in Yilan County on Friday, Al Jazeera reported. Forecasters say the worst comes Saturday as it heads toward Okinawa and China’s east coast. In Tibet, the injured count from Thursday’s magnitude 7 quake rose to 76, with the death toll still 16, and more than 5,000 rescuers deployed, per ABC News.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula) and Serbia’s snap parliamentary election. October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, as the Fed’s two-day meeting opens in Washington (October 27–28). Full board at the link.

World Brief: October 23, 2026

Israel is tearing down homes in Hebron after two soldiers were killed at a checkpoint; oil is back above $115 on talk of new U.S. strikes on Iran; and gunmen hit a church funeral in Jordan. Ten stories as of Friday morning, October 23.

1. Hebron / occupied West Bank. Two Israeli soldiers were killed when two suspected Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint at the entrance to Hebron; the attackers were shot dead, BBC News reported. A preliminary military investigation says the gunfight lasted more than 20 minutes, and the army believes the pair meant to hit civilians on nearby Route 35. Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would “destroy” the attackers’ neighbourhood, and by Friday afternoon Israeli diggers were seen demolishing Palestinian buildings in the city. His office ordered Hebron cordoned off and a full closure of the West Bank starting Friday, The Guardian reported; Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a campaign “exactly like in Gaza and Lebanon.” The UN says at least 96 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank this year. Israel votes Tuesday.

2. The Gulf / Iran. Brent crude rose above $115 a barrel Friday, its highest since May, The Guardian reported, after Tehran said it would attack oil facilities, undersea cables, datacentres and AI facilities in the Gulf if a new U.S.-Israeli offensive is launched. Traders are reacting to widespread reports that Washington is considering renewed strikes after the November 3 midterms. Oil was about $72 in February, before the war, and hit $126 at the end of April. NPR reports U.S. military reinforcements are moving into the region, and Reuters reports ship attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have hit a record high this month.

3. Oleshky / Ukraine, and Abu Dhabi. The White House says First Lady Melania Trump has secured a localised ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky, on the Dnipro in the Kherson region, set to begin October 29, BBC News reported. Russia hasn’t commented; a senior Ukrainian official told Reuters a ceasefire there would be established soon. Ukraine estimates about 6,000 people remain in and around the city, including 200 children. Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said trilateral talks with Ukraine and the U.S. are planned for “the first half of November in Abu Dhabi,” and Russia and Ukraine each swapped 270 prisoners of war, Al Jazeera reported.

4. Off Constanța / Romania, Black Sea. A drone strike sank the Comoros-flagged cargo ship Khoryv about 13 nautical miles off Romania’s port of Constanța, just outside Romanian waters, Romania’s naval authority said. One sailor was killed and three are missing; nine of the 13 Ukrainian and Azerbaijani crew were rescued, DW reported. President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia, calling it “part of Russia’s escalation process in its war in Ukraine.” Reuters counts at least seven cargo ships hit off Romania and Bulgaria in the past two weeks, with some 30 sailors dead or missing; NATO said Tuesday it would send more patrol aircraft, radar and drones to the Black Sea.

5. Karak / Jordan. Gunmen opened fire on a funeral inside a church in the village of Hmoud, in Karak governorate, killing six people and injuring 28, a government spokesperson said, BBC News reported. The attackers arrived by car and fled; no one has claimed responsibility. Karak has a sizeable Christian community, and attacks like this are rare in Jordan. Al Jazeera also covered the attack. King Abdullah II vowed the harshest response:

6. Trappes and La Verrière / France. A gunman shooting from his car killed one person and wounded five, three seriously, including a 12-year-old girl, in a spree of almost 15 minutes in the suburbs south-west of Paris, BBC News reported. The suspect was arrested. France’s anti-terror prosecutors are investigating “murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise,” with the aggravating circumstance of targeting people over race, ethnicity, nation or religion. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called it “clearly a terrorist crime.” Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh said the attack had a “racist, probably Islamophobic overtone.” DW has more.

7. Nagqu / Tibet, China. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Baqên County in Tibet’s Nagqu region Thursday night, killing at least 16 people and injuring 65, 11 of them severely, according to Chinese state media, BBC News reported. Some 339 homes collapsed and more than 12,400 people were relocated; more than 400 aftershocks have followed. The area sits around 4,800 metres up, and survivors spent the night outside in subzero temperatures. The Guardian has more.

8. Taiwan, and Okinawa / Japan. Typhoon Champi shut schools, offices and Taiwan’s stock exchange and cancelled hundreds of flights across the region as it skirted the island’s north-east coast, BBC News reported. One person was swept away by waves and died, 171 were injured and 1,000 evacuated. Forecasters expect up to 90cm of rain, with the worst on Saturday morning; the eye may pass without making landfall. Nearly 8,400 households lost power in Okinawa.

9. Abuja / Nigeria, and Uganda. Switzerland confirmed that the woman with Ebola in Nigeria is the wife of a Swiss diplomat, BBC News reported. The 42-year-old, Ugandan-born, tested positive October 20 after about a week at a private clinic in Abuja; the Swiss say she didn’t travel to DR Congo, contradicting accounts from Uganda. Her husband is isolating without symptoms. Africa CDC is checking whether she crossed paths with a Kenyan man who died of Ebola and passed through Uganda’s main airport the same day. DR Congo’s outbreak has killed some 4,600 people. The Guardian has more.

10. Brazil. Brazilians vote Sunday in the presidential runoff between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, seeking a fourth term, and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Al Jazeera reported. Bolsonaro took 47% to Lula’s just over 45% in the October 4 first round, and polls now show the race within the margin of error, with Lula closing the gap. A survey released Wednesday found 10% of voters still open to changing their minds, NPR reported.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula) and Serbia’s snap parliamentary election. October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, and the Fed’s two-day meeting in Washington (October 27–28). Just past that, November 3, the U.S. midterms. Full board at the link.

World Brief, Evening: October 22, 2026

Iran says it hit seven tankers in a day and Donald Trump calls it made up, as oil tops $113 and AI stocks drag markets down; a magnitude 7 quake kills 16 in Tibet; and Trump says Elon Musk has switched Ukraine’s Starlink back on. Ten stories as of Thursday evening, October 22.

1. Strait of Hormuz / Iran, and Washington. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says seven tankers were struck in a single day: four it says it hit while they were transferring oil ship to ship, and three it says hit mines west of the strait. That would be the biggest one-day toll since the war began on February 28, though the claims couldn’t be independently verified, Al Jazeera reported. The Guard warned that “the conflict will extend to” U.S. bases in the region if the escorts continue. Trump hit back on Truth Social, saying Iran is “making up fake hits, mines, and everything else” to push up oil prices before the midterms, per CBS News. Brent crude still jumped 4% to $113.17, its highest in five months. A selloff in AI stocks did the rest: the Nasdaq fell 2.6% and the S&P 500 1.2%, its worst day since July, after Seoul’s Kospi lost 3.5% and Hong Kong 3%, The Guardian reported. American Airlines now expects a loss this year because of fuel costs, per The Guardian.

2. Baqên County, Nagqu / Tibet, China. A magnitude 7 earthquake struck at about 10:33 p.m. local time Thursday, killing at least 16 people and injuring 32, 11 of them seriously, Xinhua reported, per Al Jazeera. Local reports say 339 homes collapsed and power is out, while rockfalls have closed roads into the high-altitude area, BBC News reported. It’s the strongest quake to hit China since January 2024. With foreign media restricted in Tibet, state media is the main source of information.

3. Kyiv / Ukraine, and Washington. Trump says Elon Musk has restored Ukraine’s Starlink access. “Bottom line, he put it back,” he said, without addressing a Wall Street Journal report that he’d phoned Musk to lift the speed caps, BBC News reported. Earlier on Thursday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the military system’s speed “has not been restored” fully and that he was waiting to hear back from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The caps, which began around October 13, have hobbled Ukraine’s drones and interceptors. Musk says the U.S. government controls the military-grade Starshield version, while the White House denies ordering any limits, per Al Jazeera.

4. Paris, Marseille and Lyon / France. Paris is extending its overnight curfew around Place de la République and Les Halles until Monday, while Marseille and Lyon are banning all protests this weekend, BBC News reported. The Louvre, the Orsay and the Picasso museum will close on Saturday, and Marseille is suspending public transport. Emmanuel Macron said only authorized union marches will go ahead elsewhere, and blamed “seditious acts organised by far-left groups.” Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 2,700 people were arrested and 217 jailed after last weekend’s riots.

5. Strasbourg / European Parliament. The International Criminal Court and its officials have won the European Parliament’s 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, less than two weeks after Trump announced new sanctions against the court, Al Jazeera reported. Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the prize recognizes the court’s work “upholding international law and justice.” ICC President Tomoko Akane said it comes as the court faces “unprecedented challenges.” The U.S. sanctions take effect in six months, and Brussels is considering a blocking statute to shield the court in The Hague.

6. Brasília / Brazil. Three days before Sunday’s runoff, Lula’s campaign has asked the top electoral court to disqualify Flávio Bolsonaro, accusing Meta of curbing Lula’s reach on its platforms to help his rival, BBC News reported. Bolsonaro has filed his own petition to disqualify Lula over mass government WhatsApp messages. UN experts say Meta must keep a level playing field. Meta denies favoring either side. Polls show the race is very close.

7. Canuto / Ecuador. Opposition leader Luisa González, who lost the presidency to Daniel Noboa in 2023 and 2025, was arrested in the rural western town of Canuto in a money-laundering probe into about $500,000 in 2023 campaign funds, Al Jazeera reported. She called the accusations “absurd.” Her Citizen Revolution Movement and former President Rafael Correa call the case political persecution. Local elections are set for November 29.

8. Tunis and Sfax / Tunisia. In rare unrest, police fired tear gas at protesters in Ettadhamen, a suburb of Tunis, after the death of a man detained on suspicion of drug dealing, which his family blames on police abuse, Al Jazeera reported. There were clashes in Jebiniana, in Sfax governorate, over another death linked to police, and students in Sfax are planning a strike. It comes days after the largest protest against President Kais Saied in years.

9. Ottawa / Canada. Canada has told its diplomats in the U.S. to stay away from midterm candidates until Election Day on November 3, after the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa accused Canadian leaders of potential interference, CBC News reported. Diplomats are also not to be photographed with candidates and are told not to pick sides on social media. Global Affairs Canada calls the guidance routine, per Politico. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who’s named in the embassy’s list, said meeting both Republicans and Democrats “is diplomacy.”

10. Barrow Island / Western Australia. Satellites have picked up huge methane plumes over Chevron’s Gorgon gas plant on five passes since last November, prompting a warning from the U.N. Environment Programme, ABC News reported. The latest, in late August, averaged about 7.8 tonnes of methane an hour, well above the U.S. “super emitter” threshold. Chevron says satellite data carries “a wide range of uncertainty.” The state government is investigating.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula) and Serbia’s snap parliamentary election. October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, as the Fed’s two-day meeting opens in Washington (October 27–28). November 3, the U.S. midterms. Full board at the link.

World Brief: October 22, 2026

Missiles hit Kyiv only hours after Moscow said it was ready to talk again; oil jumped past $110 as Iran says seven tankers were hit in and around the Strait of Hormuz; and Nigeria now knows a bit more about how Ebola got to Abuja. Ten stories as of Thursday morning, October 22.

1. Kyiv / Ukraine, and St Petersburg / Russia. Ukraine’s capital came under a new missile attack Wednesday night, hours after Russia said it was “ready in principle” to resume peace talks and President Trump said the world was “the closest we’ve been” to ending the war, BBC News reported. Several houses were hit and six people were injured, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said. The strike followed about three hours of talks between Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg; Putin aide Yuri Ushakov called the American ideas not very “useful” and floated a new round around November 10 in Abu Dhabi. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’d accept a deal freezing the war along the current front line. On Thursday he said Russia used ballistic missiles with cluster warheads against Kyiv:

2. Strait of Hormuz and the northern Gulf / Iran. The navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Thursday that four vessels it accused of illegal oil transfers were struck and caught fire in the northern Gulf, and three more hit mines west of the strait, Al Jazeera reported. Brent crude climbed above $110 a barrel on the fear of more disruption. The Guard has also announced what it calls an “offensive” doctrine: if attacked again, spokesman Hossein Mohebi said, Iran will “both respond and launch an offensive,” including against neighbouring countries hosting U.S. bases. Media reports say the U.S. and Israel are weighing strikes on Iran in the coming weeks, nearly eight months into the war.

3. Dammam / Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Saudi authorities say an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Wednesday evening killed two people, a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident, and injured eight; Yemen’s Houthis say the airport was among the sites they hit with drones and missiles over 48 hours, BBC News reported. Two more people, from the Philippines and Nepal, were killed by debris from a drone intercepted near an Aramco facility at the Shaybah oil field. At least 21 people have been killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports since the start of October. Washington has ordered some diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia, and the U.K. is deploying jets to help defend it.

4. Marseille, Corsica and Lyon / France. At least four people are dead after Storm Adam flooded southern France, including two women aged 86 and 26 found drowned in a cellar in the Bouches-du-Rhône, BBC News reported; the same storm killed at least three in eastern Spain. Storm Austen is next, with an orange wind warning for five western departments from Thursday evening. Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron says only authorised union marches will be allowed on Saturday after last weekend’s riots, with Lyon, Toulon, Grenoble and central Rouen banning demonstrations outright, per BBC News. At least 2,500 people have been arrested, and Macron blamed “seditious acts organised by far-left groups.”

5. Abuja / Nigeria, and Kampala / Uganda. Nigeria’s first Ebola patient in more than a decade is a 42-year-old diplomat’s wife who spent two and a half weeks on holiday in Kampala and fell ill three days after getting home to Abuja on October 3, BBC News reported. Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate says she’s stable and improving; 44 contacts are being traced and 46 people have been barred from flying. Uganda rejects the link. It’s the Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, and Africa CDC has called an emergency meeting of health officials for October 28, per DW. More than 9,500 people have been infected since May.

6. Agadez / Niger, and Benghazi / Libya. Two women kidnapped in northern Niger, Austrian aid worker Eva Gretzmacher, 76, and Swiss community worker Claudia Abbt, 69, have been freed after more than a year in captivity and handed over in Benghazi, BBC News reported. Both governments confirmed the releases, but nobody has said who held them or what was asked. On Libyan TV the women thanked eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and his son Saddam. Kidnappings of foreigners have soared across the Sahel.

7. The inter-Korean border. North Korea says it will restart propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the border “within October,” Kim Yo Jong said after touring front-line fortification work, NPR reported. Tensions are up after land mine blasts injured three South Korean soldiers, and she warned of “no mercy” if South Korean warning shots harm North Korean troops. Seoul’s defence ministry says it would take “proportionate measures.”

8. Brasília / Brazil. Brazilians vote Sunday in a presidential runoff between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the jailed former president, BBC News reported. Bolsonaro narrowly won the October 4 first round but fell short of 50%, and polls now have them neck and neck. A record 21% of eligible voters stayed home in round one, even though voting is mandatory.

9. Ottawa / Canada, and Washington. The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa has accused Canadian officials of trying to influence the November midterms, citing meetings with Democrats and talk of tariffs aimed at politically important states, BBC News reported. Prime Minister Mark Carney noted Washington started the trade fight and announced a nearly C$9bn aid package for businesses hit by U.S. tariffs; Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he has “no interest at all” in U.S. elections.

10. Wangaratta / Australia. Independent federal MP Helen Haines remains in critical condition three days after being hit by a four-wheel drive outside her electorate office in north-east Victoria; she has lost both legs, ABC News reported. Brendan Nugent, 43, has been charged with three offences and is due back in court February 4. Police say the motive is still unknown. Donations to Save the Children in her name passed $400,000 in a day.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula) and Serbia’s snap parliamentary election. October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, and the Fed’s two-day meeting in Washington (October 27–28). Also October 28, Africa CDC’s emergency Ebola meeting. Full board at the link.

World Brief, Evening: October 21, 2026

The U.S. is pulling non-emergency staff out of Saudi Arabia as attacks there kill three more people; Russian missiles hit Kyiv hours after the Kremlin said it’s ready to talk again; and Pope Leo needs no further cancer treatment. Ten stories as of Wednesday evening, October 21.

1. Riyadh and Dammam / Saudi Arabia. The State Department ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, citing Houthi attacks on “civilian airports and other critical infrastructure” and warning that “the hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly,” BBC News reported. By evening, a strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed one person and injured eight, the kingdom’s civil aviation authority said, per Al Jazeera. Earlier, debris from a drone shot down near Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield killed two people, a Filipino and a Nepali national, according to DW. Neither attack was immediately claimed. Spokesperson Tommy Pigott called reports of a wider Gulf drawdown “inaccurate,” though Reuters and AFP cited sources saying families would leave other Gulf posts too, and the New York Times reported the U.S. and Israel have drawn up plans for a “short but intensive operation” against Iran after the November 3 midterms, The Guardian reported. Saudi Arabia has also called off its “Davos in the Desert” investor meeting because of the strikes, per NPR. Pigott’s post:

2. Kyiv / Ukraine, and St Petersburg / Russia. Russian missiles hit Kyiv on Wednesday night, damaging several houses and injuring six people, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, just hours after Moscow said it was “ready in principle” to resume peace talks, BBC News reported. Steve Witkoff spent about three hours with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg; Putin aide Yuri Ushakov floated a new round around November 10 in Abu Dhabi. Donald Trump said peace is “maybe now the closest we’ve been,” and Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News he’d accept freezing the war on the current front line: “Freeze and stop. And of course this is minimum what we need from Russia today.” Ushakov sounded cooler on what Witkoff brought from Oslo: “there wasn’t much there that was useful,” per BBC News, where Steve Rosenberg notes a possible Putin–Trump–Xi meeting on the edges of next month’s APEC summit in China.

3. Paris / France. Ahead of more protests on Thursday, Paris police banned gatherings around the Élysée Palace, Place de la Bastille, both houses of parliament and tourist spots including the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., DW reported. Marine Le Pen hit back at Emmanuel Macron’s claim that AI fakes fed foreign leaders’ “stupid” comments: “The images we saw last Saturday are not generated by artificial intelligence: they show the sad reality of what France has become after 10 years of Macronist rule.” Nearly 150 people have been jailed and more than 800 brought before the courts since Saturday’s riots, and the Financial Times reports EU regulators are looking at pro-Russian and far-right accounts that spread violent videos, per BBC News.

4. Vatican City. Pope Leo XIV won’t need further treatment after surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his lung. Tests confirmed a lung adenocarcinoma that was localized, and “a subsequent oncological assessment has confirmed that no further treatment is necessary,” the Vatican said, BBC News reported. The 71-year-old had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on October 13 and was back in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday for his first general audience since leaving Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, per Al Jazeera. A Latin America trip is planned for early November.

5. Abuja / Nigeria. Nigeria’s first Ebola patient is a 42-year-old diplomat’s wife who spent two and a half weeks on holiday in Kampala, Uganda, Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya and Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate told BBC News, contradicting Uganda’s account that she only passed through. Pate says she’s “stable, she’s improving,” while an unnamed official told AFP her condition had deteriorated into multi-organ failure, per Al Jazeera. Nigeria’s CDC confirmed the Bundibugyo strain, which has no vaccine or specific treatment; 44 contacts, most of them health workers, are isolated. Kaseya says the outbreak is “no longer one country’s fight” and will convene Africa’s health ministers next week.

6. Nairobi / Kenya, and worldwide. The UN Environment Programme’s new Emissions Gap Report says that even if every country delivers its climate plan, warming would reach 2.6°C this century; current policies point to 2.8°C, UNEP said. Getting back to 1.5°C by 2100 would take emissions cuts of 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040 from 2025 levels. UNEP says the outlook got worse partly because the U.S. left the Paris Agreement, and NPR noted the U.S. was the only major economy whose emissions rose last year, per NPR. “Overshoot is not surrender,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, per UN News.

7. Chihuahua and Mexico City / Mexico. Federal prosecutors charged César Jáuregui Moreno, Chihuahua’s former attorney general, with treason for letting U.S. agents join an April raid on a suspected drug lab without proper authorization, BBC News reported. It came to light after two Americans said to have worked for the CIA died in an April 19 crash along with two Mexican officers. Jáuregui, of the opposition PAN party, denies it; a hearing is set for Saturday, per Al Jazeera. President Claudia Sheinbaum has insisted foreign agents need prior federal clearance to work in Mexico.

8. New Mexico / United States. A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25bn, the largest fine yet against the company, after a trial found it spent years misleading the public about how Facebook user data was handled, a case rooted in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, BBC News reported. Judge Francis Mathew called the violations “willful” and said they spanned more than 11 years. “No corporation is too powerful to be held accountable,” said state Attorney General Raúl Torrez. Meta’s chief lawyer, CJ Mahoney, said the company will appeal.

9. Bogotá and Cartagena / Colombia. Protesters gathered outside the National Museum in Bogotá as President Abelardo de la Espriella pushed a cultural “counterrevolution” against what he calls “atheist social communism,” pulling exhibits on feminist and LGBTQ+ activism and on Colombia’s political violence, Al Jazeera reported. Separately, authorities seized 7.6 tonnes of cocaine bound for the Netherlands at the Caribbean port of Cartagena, the country’s biggest haul in a decade, per Al Jazeera.

10. Wangaratta / Victoria, Australia. Independent MP Helen Haines has lost both legs after Monday’s alleged car attack outside her office; doctors amputated her right leg on Wednesday after trying to save it, her husband Phil said. “The good news in all this is that Helen is alive and she’s stable,” he told reporters, DW reported. MPs from all sides told federal police and ASIO in safety briefings that they fear for their homes and offices, and several say they’ve paid for their own security upgrades; the AFP logged 1,067 reports of threats and harassment against office holders last year, up from 951 the year before, per The Guardian.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula) and Serbia’s snap parliamentary election. October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, and the Fed’s two-day meeting opens in Washington (October 27–28). Full board at the link.

World Brief: October 21, 2026

Russia let American Stephen Hubbard go free while Steve Witkoff sat down with Vladimir Putin; governments across Europe pulled websites offline over two critical flaws in PHP, the code behind a big chunk of the web; and Emmanuel Macron says some foreign leaders’ takes on France’s riots are just plain “stupid.” Ten stories as of Wednesday morning, October 21.

1. St Petersburg / Russia, and Oslo / Norway. Putin announced during talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff that Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher from Michigan, had been freed and taken to Pulkovo Airport, BBC News reported. Hubbard was sentenced in 2024 to almost seven years in a penal colony, accused of serving in a defence unit in Izyum, eastern Ukraine; Washington had classed him as wrongfully detained. President Trump said he was “on his way back home” and “there was no ‘swap’ necessary.” Witkoff told Putin, “you are a humanitarian also sir, and I salute that.” Afterward the Kremlin said Witkoff’s proposals “lacked substance,” but Putin agreed “in principle” to resume three-way talks with Ukraine and the U.S. after November 10, and adviser Yuri Ushakov said a possible first-ever meeting of the leaders of China, Russia and the United States “is being prepared,” per DW. Still in Oslo, Volodymyr Zelenskyy pitched freezing the front line as step one: “Right now we have to freeze, and I think this is (the) real way to end this war.” Putin also said the first diesel shipment under the new U.S. deal leaves Russia in two to three days.

2. Helsinki / Finland, The Hague / Netherlands, London / UK, and Washington. Finland temporarily shut down its government’s public web services and the Dutch cyber-security agency took its own website offline after two critical vulnerabilities were found in PHP, the programming language that runs a large share of the internet, BBC News reported. A fix came out Wednesday afternoon. Researchers at Calif and Wiz found the flaws using OpenAI’s technology; Wiz called them the “most severe vulnerabilities ever discovered” by AI and estimates “roughly 70%” of the internet is affected, a figure the BBC couldn’t verify. The White House said federal agencies are assessing the impact, and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged people to check whether their sites run PHP. Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre says the bug could allow unauthenticated remote code execution and that anyone on any PHP version should update right away. Its earlier alert put it bluntly:

3. Doha / Qatar, and Paris / France. Speaking in Doha, Macron said “manipulation of information” after Saturday’s riots led to “comments that are as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders.” Asked if he meant Donald Trump, he said, “Among others,” The Guardian reported. He said AI-generated images showed “scenes that never actually happened in France.” Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an election next week, had spoken of an “invasion of extremist Islam.” Nearly 150 people have been jailed and more than 800 brought before the courts since the riots, per BBC News. The yellow vest movement has filed plans for a march through Paris on Saturday, and Macron says he’ll meet French intelligence services before then, Al Jazeera reported. Markets are jittery too: France’s benchmark 10-year bond yield passed 5%, its highest since 2002.

4. Abuja / Nigeria, and Nairobi / Kenya. Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in a woman who travelled from Uganda to Abuja; she developed symptoms on October 7 and 44 close contacts have been identified, BBC News reported. Uganda says she only transited there and that it has no confirmed active cases, per The Guardian. Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya said the Bundibugyo outbreak “has already become the most geographically extensive in history,” with a fatality rate near 50%; it has infected more than 9,500 people and killed more than 4,600. Kenya now has nine confirmed cases, all linked to a first patient who came from DR Congo and died, and the U.S. has warned its citizens against travel there, according to BBC News. There’s no approved vaccine or treatment for this strain.

5. Aden and Taiz / Yemen, and Riyadh / Saudi Arabia. A powerful blast was heard in Aden as the Houthis claimed a ballistic missile strike on a Saudi-led coalition camp, with smoke rising near the airport; it’s the third attack on the city in a week, Al Jazeera reported. In besieged Taiz, a city of more than 900,000, Oxfam warns the crisis is becoming “unmanageable” as water, fuel and fresh food run out, and the World Food Programme says wheat flour reserves are nearly exhausted, per The Guardian. Turkey is planning a mandate to send military personnel to Saudi Arabia, a ruling party official said, Reuters reported, joining Britain and France in sending help. Houthi attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha this month killed 19 people, the coalition says, per Al Jazeera.

6. Tehran / Iran. Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei told Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, that “even a particle of enriched uranium will not exit Iran at all,” according to Fars news agency, as reported by Al Jazeera. Tehran wants the U.S. to lift its naval blockade, waive sanctions and release frozen assets, and says it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in return. Trump has demanded “zero uranium enrichment,” while Vice President JD Vance says the focus is a “long-term” and “verifiable commitment” that Iran won’t rebuild its nuclear program. Nearly eight months into the war, a permanent ceasefire still looks a ways off.

7. Nahalin / occupied West Bank. Israeli forces detained Brad Lander, the Democratic congressional nominee and former New York City comptroller, along with about 80 American and Israeli rabbis and activists who were helping Palestinians pick olives near the settlement of Beitar Illit, NPR reported. Two Israeli lawyers told NPR it’s the largest mass detention of activists in the West Bank in at least a decade. The military said the harvest there hadn’t been coordinated in advance and that Lander “was released once the matter was brought to our attention.” Lander said he was let go with a “warning,” apparently because of his public profile, while several dozen others remained in custody, per Al Jazeera. “Harvesting olives is not a crime under any law,” he said.

8. Brasília / Brazil, and Buenos Aires / Argentina. Four days before Sunday’s runoff, both campaigns are asking the Superior Electoral Court to knock the other off the ballot: Flávio Bolsonaro’s lawyers accuse President Lula of “abuse of power” through mass government WhatsApp messages, and Lula’s camp alleges “algorithmic manipulation” by Meta in Bolsonaro’s favor, Al Jazeera reported. A new Quaest poll shows Bolsonaro’s lead narrowing, per Reuters; he took the first round 47% to 45%. Argentina’s Javier Milei piled on, writing that he hoped Lula’s “latest dirty campaign trick doesn’t involve stealing the election,” and Brazil’s foreign ministry called it “a new and unacceptable attempt at external interference,” the Buenos Aires Times reported.

9. Suva / Fiji, and Wellington / New Zealand. Israel has been accepted as a partner of the Pacific Islands Forum, the region’s main political body, after a decision by leaders at their meeting in Palau, RNZ reported. It joins the forum’s Sectoral Partnership Stream, with Israel pointing to water management, desalination, agriculture and climate adaptation. New Zealand’s Labour Party says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has “serious questions to answer”; Luxon said it was ultimately the forum’s call and that the partnership is “lower tier,” per RNZ.

10. Geneva / Switzerland, and the Pacific. The World Meteorological Organization’s new outlook says El Niño could push central Pacific temperatures about 3.8°C above normal between November and January, peaking around December. “We have not seen in our records 3.8,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said, as officials likened it to a “wrecking ball” for floods and droughts, Rappler reported. The WMO flagged flood risk in southern Africa from November and dry conditions in Southeast Asia. Separately, the UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report 2026 says warming is set to pass 1.5°C; getting back down by 2100 would take emissions cuts of 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040 from 2025 levels, while current national pledges point to about 2.6°C this century.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula) and Serbia’s snap parliamentary election. October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, and the Fed’s two-day meeting opens in Washington (October 27–28). Serbia’s vote is newly added to The Watch. Full board at the link.