Lead Story
Israel's election leaves Netanyahu and Eisenkot blocs deadlocked with no clear winner
Israelis turned out in record numbers for Tuesday's Knesset election, but exit polls released as voting closed showed neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot reaching the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat parliament. Estimates varied by broadcaster: Channel 12 put Netanyahu's bloc of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties at 52 seats against 49 for Eisenkot's bloc, while Channels 11 and 13 had the two blocs tied at 51 seats apiece. Eisenkot, whose Yashar party was projected to win 21 seats to Likud's 27, declared victory and said the preliminary count gave him the first right to try to form a government, though Netanyahu's bloc narrowed the gap as counting continued overnight. The official results are not due until November 4, and both sides are expected to spend the intervening week courting smaller parties needed to build a coalition.
Read more →Lead Story
Israel's election leaves Netanyahu and Eisenkot blocs deadlocked with no clear winner
Israelis turned out in record numbers for Tuesday's Knesset election, but exit polls released as voting closed showed neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot reaching the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat parliament. Estimates varied by broadcaster: Channel 12 put Netanyahu's bloc of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties at 52 seats against 49 for Eisenkot's bloc, while Channels 11 and 13 had the two blocs tied at 51 seats apiece. Eisenkot, whose Yashar party was projected to win 21 seats to Likud's 27, declared victory and said the preliminary count gave him the first right to try to form a government, though Netanyahu's bloc narrowed the gap as counting continued overnight. The official results are not due until November 4, and both sides are expected to spend the intervening week courting smaller parties needed to build a coalition.
Lula wins a fourth term as Brazil's president, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro in tense runoff
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Sunday's presidential runoff with roughly 51.8% of valid votes to Flávio Bolsonaro's 48.2%, according to Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, a reversal of the first round in which Bolsonaro had led by about two points. The result gives Lula a non-consecutive fourth term, set to begin January 5, 2027, though he will govern alongside a Congress where Bolsonaro's Liberal Party holds its largest bench in decades. Flávio Bolsonaro has not formally conceded, with his campaign pointing to a Supreme Court justice's decision to extend voting by two hours as possible grounds for a legal challenge, and US President Donald Trump described the vote as rigged without presenting evidence. World leaders, including several in the region, have already congratulated Lula on the win.
Read more →Lula wins a fourth term as Brazil's president, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro in tense runoff
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Sunday's presidential runoff with roughly 51.8% of valid votes to Flávio Bolsonaro's 48.2%, according to Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, a reversal of the first round in which Bolsonaro had led by about two points. The result gives Lula a non-consecutive fourth term, set to begin January 5, 2027, though he will govern alongside a Congress where Bolsonaro's Liberal Party holds its largest bench in decades. Flávio Bolsonaro has not formally conceded, with his campaign pointing to a Supreme Court justice's decision to extend voting by two hours as possible grounds for a legal challenge, and US President Donald Trump described the vote as rigged without presenting evidence. World leaders, including several in the region, have already congratulated Lula on the win.
Cyclone Arnab barrels into the Andhra Pradesh coast as India orders mass evacuations
India's Meteorological Department forecast Cyclone Arnab to strengthen into a very severe cyclonic storm with sustained winds of 115-125 kmph before making landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam on the afternoon of October 28. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu ordered authorities to maintain round-the-clock vigilance and begin evacuating low-lying and coastal areas, while neighboring Odisha, still bracing from the storm's outer bands, kept a red alert in place for heavy rainfall and high winds. The system has already brought days of heavy rain to the Bay of Bengal coast, and officials in both states said they were targeting zero casualties through early evacuations and the pre-positioning of relief teams.
Read more →Cyclone Arnab barrels into the Andhra Pradesh coast as India orders mass evacuations
India's Meteorological Department forecast Cyclone Arnab to strengthen into a very severe cyclonic storm with sustained winds of 115-125 kmph before making landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam on the afternoon of October 28. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu ordered authorities to maintain round-the-clock vigilance and begin evacuating low-lying and coastal areas, while neighboring Odisha, still bracing from the storm's outer bands, kept a red alert in place for heavy rainfall and high winds. The system has already brought days of heavy rain to the Bay of Bengal coast, and officials in both states said they were targeting zero casualties through early evacuations and the pre-positioning of relief teams.
Congo's Ebola outbreak, already the country's worst on record, nears 10,000 confirmed cases
The Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo had reached 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths as of October 20, according to figures tracked by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, making it the deadliest Ebola epidemic in the country's history. The outbreak, which began in May 2026, has now spread across eight provinces, with Ituri still accounting for the bulk of new cases. It has also crossed borders: Kenya has confirmed nine cases and one death, and Nigeria reported its first case on October 20 in a traveler who had passed through Uganda after leaving the DRC. Neighboring Uganda, which had its own linked outbreak, declared that chain of transmission over in late July.
Read more →Congo's Ebola outbreak, already the country's worst on record, nears 10,000 confirmed cases
The Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo had reached 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths as of October 20, according to figures tracked by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, making it the deadliest Ebola epidemic in the country's history. The outbreak, which began in May 2026, has now spread across eight provinces, with Ituri still accounting for the bulk of new cases. It has also crossed borders: Kenya has confirmed nine cases and one death, and Nigeria reported its first case on October 20 in a traveler who had passed through Uganda after leaving the DRC. Neighboring Uganda, which had its own linked outbreak, declared that chain of transmission over in late July.
Gunmen kill dozens in attack on Nigerian village, with death toll disputed
Gunmen attacked Binnari village in Nigeria's northeastern Taraba state on October 23, in what Amnesty International says killed at least 40 people, though the Taraba state government has put the toll at 25 and some community accounts cited by local media say it was as high as 50. Police described the attackers as armed bandits, while Amnesty called them gunmen; no group has claimed responsibility, and authorities have not named any suspects. Residents told reporters the community had been targeted by similar raids on at least three previous occasions, part of a broader pattern of deadly attacks on villages across Nigeria's Middle Belt this year.
Read more →Gunmen kill dozens in attack on Nigerian village, with death toll disputed
Gunmen attacked Binnari village in Nigeria's northeastern Taraba state on October 23, in what Amnesty International says killed at least 40 people, though the Taraba state government has put the toll at 25 and some community accounts cited by local media say it was as high as 50. Police described the attackers as armed bandits, while Amnesty called them gunmen; no group has claimed responsibility, and authorities have not named any suspects. Residents told reporters the community had been targeted by similar raids on at least three previous occasions, part of a broader pattern of deadly attacks on villages across Nigeria's Middle Belt this year.