Journal Of Occurrences

World News

Daily Occurrences both Foreign and Domestic
You are here: Home / Archives for World News

World News

Bukele Says Remains Handed Over in Haiti Are ‘Not Our Men’ as Search for Four Salvadoran Soldiers Goes On: October 25, 2026

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele says human remains delivered at a Haitian airport do not belong to the four Salvadoran soldiers who went missing after an ambush in Haiti, BBC News reported.

Bukele said a non-governmental organisation handed over four sets of remains, saying they were the missing men. But he said one set belonged to a child, one to a man considerably taller than the Salvadoran air technicians, and one to a person wearing a different army’s uniform. Identity documents found among the remains included a Gang Suppression Force card and a Chadian national ID, he said.

His comments poured skepticism on an earlier New York Times report, citing people close to the Salvadoran mission, that badly burned bodies found on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince on Saturday were thought to be the missing men, BBC News reported.

The soldiers were ambushed in Croix-des-Bouquets while serving with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force. El Salvador has deployed about 450 soldiers to Haiti, according to Le Nouvelliste, and Bukele has said the men were there to “carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war.”

The United Nations says more than 5,700 people were killed or injured in Haiti’s gang violence between January 1 and September 11 this year.

Sources: BBC News, Nayib Bukele on X

—

B.C. Conservatives Win Majority as Lorne Doerkson Ends NDP Rule and David Eby Resigns: October 25, 2026

VICTORIA, British Columbia — The B.C. Conservatives have won a majority government in British Columbia, making Lorne Doerkson the province’s next premier and ending NDP rule, CBC News projected on Saturday night.

As of 11 p.m. PT, the Conservatives were elected or leading in 64 of the legislature’s 93 ridings. It is the first majority won under a Conservative banner in B.C. since 1928.

“We voted for a better British Columbia,” Doerkson told supporters, adding that “the map maybe stopped at Hope, but tonight the whole map counts.” He promised: “We will cut red tape like it’s never been cut before,” as quoted by CBC News.

Outgoing premier David Eby announced he was stepping down as NDP leader, saying the loss “breaks my heart, and I accept full responsibility.”

The snap vote came two years early. Doerkson took over the party after former leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned five weeks ago amid a caucus revolt. Turnout was about 45.5 per cent, a record low compared with 53.86 per cent in 2020.

The Conservative platform pledged a tax cut and freeze, a doubling of natural gas production by 2032, repeal of the province’s DRIPA Indigenous-rights law, an end to the SOGI 123 school resource, a 10-lane bridge to replace the George Massey Tunnel, SkyTrain to Newton and a new Surrey hospital.

CBC projected that six former NDP cabinet ministers lost their seats, including Jagrup Brar, Jessie Sunner, Rick Glumac, Jodie Wickens, Anne Kang and Terry Yung, while 15 held on.

Sources: CBC News, CBC News (cabinet seats)

—

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.

Two Former FBI Officials Charged With Lying to Congress About the Hunter Biden Laptop Investigations: October 24, 2026

WASHINGTON — Two former senior FBI officials have been charged with lying to Congress during 2023 testimony about the bureau’s investigations involving Hunter Biden’s laptop, CBS News and The Associated Press reported, in a case brought by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office in Washington.

Nikki Floris, 46, a former intelligence analyst in charge at the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Bradley Benavides, 56, a former deputy assistant director in the Counterintelligence Division, appeared in federal court in Washington on Friday and were each charged in a criminal complaint with one count of making false statements to Congress, CBS News reported.

The complaint alleges Floris lied to the House Judiciary Committee on July 19, 2023, and Benavides in September 2023, about “their awareness of involvement in the FBI’s investigations into Hunter Biden.” In his interview, Benavides told investigators he had learned some details about the laptop investigation from Wikipedia while preparing, the complaint said.

Prosecutors say the statements were meant to conceal the Foreign Influence Task Force’s engagement with the Hunter Biden investigations. The complaint centres on a task force operation known as “Round River,” which it said collected “derogatory informant reporting on, among other things, Hunter Biden, to flag the reporting as Russian disinformation.” It also says the two gave defensive briefings to Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson in August 2020.

A criminal complaint is an allegation, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, The Associated Press, CBS News

—

Nigeria Says Its Ebola Case Is Genetically Linked to Kenya’s First Patient as Investigators Probe Entebbe Airport Transit: October 24, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria — Genetic sequencing shows Nigeria’s only confirmed Ebola case is closely related to the virus found in Kenya’s first patient, Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said, according to the Federal Ministry of Information and Premium Times.

Pate said the two viral sequences differ by a single mutation, based on analysis by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and a team at Redeemer’s University led by Christian Happi. “There is no evidence of travel of that index case in Kenya that links it to Nigeria, but the viruses are appearing to be related,” he said, as quoted by Premium Times.

Health officials said Thursday the Nigerian patient — the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat in Abuja — and Kenya’s first patient may have crossed paths at Uganda’s Entebbe airport, where both transited on Oct. 3, The Associated Press reported via NPR. Switzerland’s foreign ministry has said she did not visit Congo. Forty-four of her close contacts are in quarantine, Africa CDC said.

Kenya, battling its first-ever outbreak, this week recorded a second death: a 65-year-old close relative of the first victim, a man who had travelled from Congo. Seven other patients remain in isolation, and the ministry says all cases belong to one cluster with no evidence of community spread, BBC News reported.

The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo species, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, began in Congo, where the World Health Organization counted 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths as of Oct. 20.

Sources: Federal Ministry of Information (Nigeria), Premium Times, NPR / The Associated Press, BBC News, World Health Organization

—

Serbia Heads to Snap Election as Student Movement Born of Novi Sad Disaster Challenges Vučić: October 24, 2026

BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbians vote Sunday in a snap parliamentary election that analysts say is the most competitive since Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) came to power in 2012, BBC News and DW reported.

The main challenger is the Student List, a slate of 250 candidates chosen by student assemblies at university faculties after nearly two years of anti-corruption protests sparked by the November 2024 collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. The list is headed by Novi Sad University cardiologist Ilija Srdanović, though the movement has no formal leader.

A reported 150,000 supporters packed Belgrade’s Slavija Square for the Student List’s final rally on Thursday, the BBC said. “These are the first elections since Vucic came to power in 2012 that are competitive and whose outcome is uncertain,” political scientist Dušan Spasojević told DW, adding that polls suggest the students could win more than 40% of the vote.

Vučić stepped down as president when he called the election last month in order to run for prime minister. At his own closing rally he cast the students as foreign-backed. “They tried to destroy our country on foreign orders, and that is why this is the hardest battle,” he said, as quoted by DW.

The independent monitor CRTA recorded 116 incidents of physical violence or verbal threats by the final week of the campaign. Observers of the 2023 election cited an “overwhelming ruling party advantage” due to media bias and misuse of public resources, the BBC noted.

Sources: BBC News, DW

—

U.S. Intelligence Chief Warns Iranian Plots Against Americans Have Reached ‘Advanced Stages’ as Tehran Eyes Gulf Undersea Cables: October 24, 2026

WASHINGTON — Iran has “substantially increased efforts to target US personnel” in the Middle East and elsewhere, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned in a memo seen by BBC News.

The unclassified memo, sent Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said: “The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.” Clayton said he was working to downgrade as much intelligence as possible so it could be shared with State Department staff, the BBC reported.

The warning follows this week’s ordered departure of non-emergency U.S. embassy staff from Saudi Arabia amid escalating attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. At least 21 people have been killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports since the start of October, according to Saudi authorities, including 13 in a single missile strike on Riyadh’s airport on Oct. 10.

Separately, Reuters, via CNA, reported that Iran has drawn up detailed plans to hit undersea internet cables in the Gulf if it is attacked again. “If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines … from undersea cables to military bases,” Reuters reported. A senior Revolutionary Guards official, Yadollah Javani, has publicly named seven cables running through the Strait of Hormuz.

Alan Mauldin of research firm TeleGeography told Reuters that less than 1% of global bandwidth passes through Hormuz, though damage could disrupt connectivity for Gulf states. The U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran that began in February led to the effective closure of the strait, and a preliminary June deal to reopen it collapsed within weeks, the BBC noted.

Sources: BBC News, CNA / Reuters

—

Rubio Urges Cubans to Seek a ‘Discrete Partnership With the CIA,’ Drawing Mockery From Havana: October 24, 2026

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday publicly invited Cubans who want political change to work with the CIA, in a post on X that Cuba’s government ridiculed, Al Jazeera reported, citing AFP and Reuters.

“To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba – now is the time,” Rubio wrote from his official account. Citing “the disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few,” he urged Cubans to “seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA.”

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío mocked the appeal. “Now the United States is resorting to public recruitment for the CIA… There must be a great deal of desperation or misery within the agency for it to be forced to sell its services like a tube of toothpaste,” he wrote on X.

The post comes as Washington ramps up pressure on Havana. A U.S.-imposed oil blockade this year has deepened fuel shortages and blackouts on the island, and UN rights experts have called it a violation of international law. President Donald Trump and other officials have for months hinted at possible military action against Cuba, which Fernández de Cossío last month called an “atrocious international crime.”

The CIA separately posted a Spanish-language video on X with instructions for people who believe they have information of interest to the agency, Al Jazeera said.

Sources: Al Jazeera / AFP / Reuters, Marco Rubio on X

—

Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro Trade Barbs Over Living Costs and Crime in Final Debate Before Sunday’s Run-Off: October 24, 2026

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro faced off in their final televised debate on Friday night, two days before Sunday’s presidential run-off, Al Jazeera reported, citing AFP and AP.

The debate, broadcast on TV Globo from Rio de Janeiro, focused largely on the economy, infrastructure and regional development. Lula attacked his rival’s plan to take a “chainsaw” to public spending in the style of Argentina’s Javier Milei. “I’ll have the same job here because you’re leaving the country bankrupt,” Bolsonaro answered.

Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, accused Lula of letting organised crime expand and failing to address the cost of living. “Why are things so expensive?” he asked. Lula replied that his opponent “doesn’t know what hunger is” and “doesn’t know Brazil.”

The tone was calmer than their first run-off debate but still turned personal. Bolsonaro called Lula “Nine Fingers,” a nickname referring to the finger the president lost in a factory accident as a metalworker, then apologised when the 80-year-old demanded it. Lula called Bolsonaro a vigilante, alluding to allegations of ties to Rio militia groups, which Bolsonaro said he would classify as “narcoterrorists.”

Bolsonaro led the Oct. 4 first round with 47% to Lula’s 45%. A Datafolha survey published Thursday showed the two tied at 50% each, erasing a four-point Bolsonaro lead in polls two weeks earlier. Both candidates planned street events in Rio and São Paulo on Saturday before the vote on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Sources: Al Jazeera

—