Sunday, October 25, 2026

Brazilians are choosing between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro on Sunday. The result could reshape the country’s economic policies and relationship with the United States.

• The choice: Lula is seeking a fourth presidential term. His challenger is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, rather than the former president himself.
• Why another vote: Neither candidate won a majority on October 4. Bolsonaro took about 47% of the first-round vote and Lula about 45%; recent polls put the runoff much closer.
• Everyday concerns: High living costs, household debt and gang violence have helped shape the campaign, despite improvements in unemployment and inequality.
• International stakes: Bolsonaro favors closer ties with President Trump. Lula’s government has clashed with Washington over trade and security.
• No winner yet: Voting was still underway when this edition was prepared. Polling estimates and first-round results do not establish the runoff winner.

A U.S. intelligence memo warns that Iranian efforts to target American personnel have intensified. Officials are adjusting embassy staffing as the regional conflict continues.

• What the memo says: The October 23 warning describes lethal plots reaching advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries. This is an intelligence assessment, not confirmation that those attacks occurred.
• Embassy departures: Washington ordered non-emergency employees and family members out of Saudi Arabia. Other posts are adjusting staffing under existing restrictions.
• Wider warnings: The State Department updated travel advisories for more than a dozen countries on Saturday, citing increased threats from Iran-aligned Houthis.
• Families affected: Diplomats and their representatives describe another disruptive relocation, sometimes soon after returning. The State Department says eligible staff and families are receiving lodging, school and daily-expense support.
• What remains unclear: The public memo does not establish that a specific attack is imminent at every affected embassy. Staffing precautions and an embassy’s formal operating status are separate decisions.

Ukraine says its satellite connections have recovered, but a dispute over the earlier restrictions continues. Elon Musk alleges that Ukrainian forces misused civilian Starlink; Ukrainian officials say the system’s technical limits made the alleged use impossible.

• Two different services: Starlink is the civilian network. Starshield is its military-focused counterpart, used for Ukrainian drone operations and communications. Musk says the U.S. government controls Starshield.
• What was disrupted: Limits on connections aboard fast-moving equipment hindered Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian drones. The speed figures concern moving equipment, not internet download rates.
• Musk’s allegation: He says Ukraine used commercial Starlink for offensive strikes in breach of its terms, and that SpaceX closed that route last week.
• Ukraine’s response: Presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov says commercial terminals already had speed limits and did not work over Russia, preventing the medium- and long-range strikes Musk describes.
• Responsibility unresolved: Trump’s officials deny ordering the slowdown, while Musk has pointed to U.S. control of the military service. Restored access does not resolve those competing explanations.

The movement grew from the November 2024 collapse of a railway-station canopy in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. Protesters linked the disaster to alleged corruption; authorities reject accusations of corruption and repression.

Serbians are voting in a parliamentary election that could end more than a decade of political dominance by Aleksandar Vučić. A student-backed movement has turned anti-corruption protests into a serious electoral challenge.

• What voters choose: The ballot contains 18 electoral lists for the 250-seat parliament. Voters select a list, rather than directly electing a prime minister.
• The main contest: Vučić resigned as president to seek the premiership. His governing alliance faces Students Win, a broad movement seeking stronger institutions and accountability.
• Heavy early turnout: Monitors CeSID and Ipsos estimated 27.3% turnout by 11 a.m., compared with 15.1% at that point in 2023. This measures participation, not which side is winning.
• Competing priorities: The governing alliance stresses growth, wages and stability. Its challengers emphasize corruption and transparent public spending.
• Results still ahead: Polls close at 8 p.m. local time. The reviewed reporting had no final result; monitors had raised concerns about voter lists and ballot secrecy.

California election officials are contesting federal demands to set aside ballots linked to suspected noncitizens. Some counties say the lists contain errors and that counting will continue.

• The federal request: Justice Department letters seek identifying records and separation of ballots while eligibility is checked. They give counties 48 hours and warn of possible prosecution for knowingly counting a noncitizen’s vote.
• Why counties object: Los Angeles election officials say the data include people outside the county. They argue that eligibility decisions require verifiable information rather than unconfirmed matches.
• Legal proceedings: Appeals-court arguments were scheduled for Sunday. A separate district-court hearing remains on the calendar for Tuesday; neither a demand nor a response deadline establishes the voters’ eligibility.
• Voting continues: Ballots have already been mailed to more than 23 million registered Californians. Noncitizen voting is illegal, but suspected cases must not be treated as proven violations.

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Constitution does not require bond hearings for the immigration detainees in the case before it. The decision removes an important route to seeking release in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

• What a hearing does: It gives a detained person a chance to argue for release while immigration proceedings continue. It does not itself decide whether that person may remain in the country.
• A divided court: The full Fifth Circuit ruled 10–7 on Friday. It reversed a July panel decision requiring hearings after more than 90 days of detention.
• The majority’s reasoning: The judges concluded that these detainees receive the immigration-court procedures Congress provided, rather than an additional constitutional right to a bond hearing.
• Another question remains: The Supreme Court has agreed to examine whether immigration statutes require hearings. That statutory issue is separate from Friday’s constitutional ruling.
• Opposing reactions: Homeland Security welcomed the decision. Lawyers for the detainees warned that prolonged confinement would harm families and communities.

Hundreds of thousands marched across France on Saturday over living costs and public services. Largely peaceful demonstrations were followed by clashes in Paris, Marseille and other cities.

• Different turnout estimates: The Interior Ministry counted 410,000 participants nationwide; unions estimated about twice that number. These are competing crowd estimates.
• After the marches: Police used tear gas and water cannons in Paris. In Marseille, groups burned bins and threw objects; police reported looted shops.
• Security response: Authorities deployed 70,000 police and gendarmes, while shops, museums and metro stations closed as precautions.
• The larger dispute: A movement that began over school conditions has broadened into anger over economic policy. Authorities blame violent groups; many peaceful participants criticize restrictions on protest.

Saudi Arabia resumed operations at two terminals of Riyadh’s main airport on Sunday, while its military coalition reported intercepting more drones and missiles. Yemen’s Houthi movement threatened further attacks on the airport.

• Limited reopening: Terminal 1 was designated for domestic flights and Terminal 2 for international services operated by national carriers. This was not an announcement that every service had returned.
• New alerts: Civil-defense warnings were issued for Riyadh, Abha and Khamis Mushait, then lifted. The coalition reported intercepting missiles and drones.
• Earlier damage: The airport stopped operating after an October 10 attack, claimed by the Houthis, killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
• Regional stakes: Renewed Saudi-Houthi fighting has broken the relative calm of a 2022 truce and threatens another important shipping route near Yemen.

Audi plans to invest roughly $4 billion in a Georgia factory producing SUVs for the U.S. market. The announcement gives President Trump a manufacturing project to promote before the midterms, while raising concerns among German workers.

• The proposed plant: Audi’s chief executive joined Trump at a rally near Macon on Saturday. The planned factory would produce about 200,000 SUVs a year.
• Approval still pending: Volkswagen’s supervisory board must make a final investment decision. The announcement is a plan, not an operating factory.
• Tariff pressures: Audi imports its U.S. vehicles from Europe or Mexico. The company says U.S. tariffs cost it about €1.2 billion last year.
• Workers’ concerns: German union leaders support improving Audi’s U.S. position but want firm protections for employment at existing plants. Some criticized the executive’s appearance at Trump’s rally.
• Terms undisclosed: The chief executive declined to give full details, including whether the agreement provides tariff relief. Trump presents the project as evidence for his trade policy; critics point to higher prices and delayed investments.

Taiwan is recovering after Typhoon Champi swept past the island on Saturday. Officials reported one death and more than 500 injuries, along with power failures and canceled flights.

• Human toll: The fire department reported 527 injuries. The person killed was swept away by waves near Liuqiu island. Those figures reflect the Saturday update.
• Homes without electricity: More than 167,000 households lost power at one point, according to Taipower; most had been reconnected by the report’s publication.
• Travel interrupted: The transport ministry reported 242 canceled flights, fewer than Friday’s almost 1,000. Parts of northern and central Taiwan kept schools and offices closed for a second day.
• Still a powerful storm: Champi had weakened from super-typhoon strength but still carried gusts around 126 kilometers an hour near its center.
• Forecast, not outcome: Saturday’s forecast took the storm north toward the Chinese coast and later southern Japan. Its projected path should not be read as confirmation of later landfall.