Journal Of Occurrences

World News

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

World News

El Niño Drought Hits Up to 8 Million in Papua New Guinea as Groups Warn of ‘National Crisis’: October 31, 2026

PORT MORESBY — Extreme drought driven by a historic El Niño is affecting as many as 8 million people in Papua New Guinea, causing food and water shortages, electricity blackouts and the early closure of schools and health clinics.

A coalition of churches, trade unions and business groups says the Pacific nation is in a “national crisis,” with “no coordinated plan to protect vulnerable communities,” the Guardian reported.

Some parts of the country have received less than a quarter of their usual rainfall since August. Rivers and creeks have dried up and family food gardens have withered. In rural highland areas, families are rationing food to one meal a day, according to CARE International.

The PNG National Weather Service declared the onset of El Niño in June. Forecasters suggest the event could be the strongest on record.

Sources: The Guardian, CARE International

—

Flávio Bolsonaro Says ‘Persecution’ Drove Him From Brazil, Vows to Run Again Before 2030: October 31, 2026

BRASÍLIA — Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost Sunday’s presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, says he fled to the United States because he was a victim of “persecution,” and vowed to run for president again “before” the next scheduled election in 2030.

“The persecution began even sooner than I imagined,” the senator said in an Instagram livestream. He secretly left Brazil on Tuesday after police told him his passports were being revoked in a money-laundering investigation, travelling through Argentina and Ecuador before landing in Florida on a private jet, ABC News reported.

He suggested, without giving details, that there had been irregularities in the runoff, and predicted the economy would “go bust” under Lula, who won 51.8 per cent of the vote.

Argentina’s President Javier Milei is believed to have helped the escape, and Washington and Buenos Aires face pressure to explain their roles. A US official said the Trump administration does not plan to back Bolsonaro’s claim to be Brazil’s rightful leader.

Sources: ABC News (Australia), Al Jazeera

—

Four Tankers Hit Mines in Strait of Hormuz as Iran’s Supreme Leader Orders ‘Unrestricted’ Response to Any Attack: October 31, 2026

TEHRAN — Four oil tankers, including a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude, hit mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said, claiming the vessels had used unauthorised routes and ignored radio warnings.

Oman said it rescued 25 crew from a Panama-flagged tanker that caught fire off Musandam, though it was unclear whether that was one of the ships described by Iran. Britain’s maritime trade agency also reported a vessel struck by an “unknown projectile,” with its crew safe, ABC News reported.

On Saturday, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered commanders to prepare “an immediate and effective response, without geographical restriction” if Iran is attacked again, amid reports the US and Israel are weighing new strikes.

Qatari diplomats held talks in Tehran on Friday, with more expected Saturday, after Iran reportedly received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance.

Sources: ABC News (Australia), Al Jazeera

—

Russia Vetoes US Plan on Western Sahara, Leaving UN Mission’s Future in Doubt: October 31, 2026

NEW YORK — The UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara faces an uncertain future after rival US and Russian resolutions failed at the Security Council on Friday, with the mandate due to expire on Saturday.

Russia vetoed the US draft despite support from 11 of the council’s 15 members. A Russian alternative then failed to win the nine votes needed, Al Jazeera reported.

The US text would have extended the mission, known as MINURSO, for a year while dropping “referendum” from its name and making Morocco’s autonomy plan the only basis for talks. Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said it favoured one side.

Morocco’s royal palace welcomed the outcome and said UN personnel and equipment should leave the territory. The Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence, welcomed the veto. MINURSO was set up in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a referendum that has never been held.

Sources: Al Jazeera, United Nations

—

Congo Ebola Death Toll Passes 5,000 as Africa CDC Warns ‘No One Is Safe’: October 31, 2026

KINSHASA — The death toll in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has passed 5,000, according to the latest report from the country’s public health institute, as confirmed cases topped 10,000 this week.

“No one is safe today,” Dr Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview, warning of “massive” spread into more countries and even other continents without more international support, CBC News reported.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine, is Congo’s largest ever and the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, behind only the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic, which infected more than 28,000 people.

Cases have also appeared in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria. Kaseya said that if the outbreak continues at its current pace, “in one year we’ll have more than what West Africa had in two years and a half.”

Sources: CBC News, Africa CDC

—

Riot Police Surround Poland’s Constitutional Court as President Nawrocki Forces His Way Inside: October 31, 2026

WARSAW — Riot police faced off with protesters outside Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal overnight after the court’s contested president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, were suspended, the latest escalation in a decade-long fight over the court’s legitimacy.

President Karol Nawrocki, a Law and Justice-backed ally of Donald Trump, turned his plane around on the way to Senegal and returned to Warsaw. Shortly before 1am on Saturday he pushed through the police cordon and entered the building, the Guardian reported. In a statement read outside, he said “a constitutional body was seized by force.”

Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek is seeking to strip the two judges of immunity so they can be charged. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “Restoring the rule of law is our duty.” The court declared that those involved were “committing the crime of a coup d’etat.”

Police said three people were detained after protesters breached the tribunal’s fence and threw objects at officers. Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński called the move an “assault” on the court.

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian, Al Jazeera

—

US Approves $2.1 Billion Sale of 500 Patriot Missiles to Ukraine; Zelensky Warns Delivery Could Take Years: October 31, 2026

KYIV — The US State Department has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1bn, a deal funded entirely by allies, with no US money involved.

The purchase is being paid for through a programme backed by Canada, Germany and Norway and through the EU’s Ukraine support loan, with Lockheed Martin as principal contractor, the BBC reported.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “a strong decision by the U.S. State Department” but warned that deliveries may begin “only in a few years,” urging Washington to find a solution for now. “Right now, the Russians are attacking our energy infrastructure every single day,” he said.

Overnight Russian strikes left about 200,000 households in the Dnipro region and 80,000 in the Kyiv region without power. The sale comes amid a global shortage of interceptors driven by the US–Iran war.

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian

—

Canada Aims to Become EU’s First ‘Associate Member’ by June Under New Alliance: October 31, 2026

MONTREAL — Canada and the European Union launched an “Alliance for the Future” at the close of a two-day summit in Montreal, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying he hopes to finalise a deal making Canada the bloc’s first “associate member” by June.

Canadian cabinet ministers and European commissioners will meet in March, ahead of concluding negotiations at European Council meetings in June. The leaders agreed initiatives on digital trade, critical minerals and artificial intelligence, and Canada agreed to contribute to a €90bn EU support loan for Ukraine.

“Our societies have been shaken by new storms,” Carney said, citing the “erosion of democratic norms” and “the weaponization of trade.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “These headwinds won’t stop blowing. This change is permanent.”

US President Donald Trump’s trade war has accelerated efforts on both sides to reduce dependence on Washington, and Trump has threatened tariffs on Europe if he considers the arrangement unfriendly. Carney insisted the alliance was “about reinforcing sovereignty,” not retaliation, ABC News reported.

Sources: ABC News (Australia), The Guardian

—

US Cancels G20 ‘Family Photo’ in Atlanta as Allies Refuse to Stand With Lavrov: October 31, 2026

ATLANTA — The United States scrapped the traditional “family photo” at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta after European nations, the United Kingdom and Australia made clear they would not appear alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

About a third of the countries at the talks hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio had signalled they would boycott or walk out of the photo, the Guardian reported. “In no case will there be a family photo with European partners and Mr Lavrov together,” Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said beforehand.

A US official said that “rather than allow a ceremonial photo opportunity to become a diplomatic distraction,” Washington decided to forgo it.

Inside the meeting, Britain’s foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, addressed Lavrov directly: “We all know who the aggressor in this war is.” Australia’s Penny Wong condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as brutal and unjustified. Ukraine was not invited.

Rubio opened the talks with an appeal for unity, saying the world faced “a series of interconnected economic and geopolitical crises.”

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian

—

Federal Prosecutors Confirm Criminal Probe Into Alaska ‘Two Dan Sullivans’ Senate Ballot Scheme: October 31, 2026

ANCHORAGE — The top federal prosecutor in Alaska confirmed on Friday that criminal and civil investigations are under way into an alleged Democratic effort to confuse voters by putting a second Dan Sullivan on the US Senate ballot.

“There is both a civil investigation and a criminal investigation that are ongoing,” US Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters, citing New York Times reporting that Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign and national Democratic aides recruited a retired schoolteacher, Daniel J Sullivan, to run against the Republican incumbent of the same name.

In court filings, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to order state election officials to “preserve and segregate” all ballots ranking Daniel J Sullivan, and sought an injunction that would block Alaska from certifying the result if Senator Sullivan loses to Peltola because of the second candidate’s presence on the ballot, the Guardian reported.

Peltola denied any knowledge of the alleged scheme. “I just want to clear the air,” she said. “I am not interested in tricking voters.”

Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered a state inquiry. No charges had been filed as of Friday evening, and Heyman declined to say what potential crimes were being examined.

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian

—