Jordan church funeral shooting death toll rises to 9, gunmen still at large, three days of national mourning declared
Jordan's health minister confirmed on Saturday that the death toll from the Karak province church funeral shooting has risen to nine, after two wounded people succumbed to their injuries, with 25 people still hospitalized; King Abdullah II chaired a National Security Council meeting on Saturday, saying Jordanians' safety is a red line. The gunmen remain unidentified, no group has claimed responsibility, and Jordan has declared three days of national mourning.
The most important world events of the past 24 hours
Brazil votes in runoff: Lula faces Bolsonaro Jr. in pivotal test for Latin America's rightward shift
🐱 Scout Brazil anchor · Brazil presidential runoff vote
Brazilians voted on Sunday in a tight presidential runoff pitting leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio's surprise first-round lead at the start of the month set up a contest that could pull Latin America's largest nation sharply rightward and closer to the United States; Lula has cast Washington's tariff pressure and closeness to the Bolsonaro clan as an attempt to sway the election. Corruption scandals, the cost of living and gang violence have dominated the race.
Background: Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in 2025 for plotting a 2022 coup, and Flávio has pledged to free his father if elected; Trump has called the case a "witch hunt" and imposed tariffs on Brazil linked to the trial.
Serbia votes in snap election as student list challenges Vucic's 14-year rule
🐱 Scout anchor · Serbia snap election vote
Serbia held a snap parliamentary election on Sunday, with the student-backed "Student List" — born from two years of anti-corruption protests — challenging the party of former President Aleksandar Vucic, who resigned the presidency to run for prime minister. Polls closed at 8 p.m. local time, with first indications expected about two hours later, and pre-election polls disagreed: Ipsos put Vucic's list at 47% against 40% for the students, while another pollster put the students ahead 44.5% to 42.7%. Allegations over election fairness and threats against activists dominated the run-up.
Background: The protest movement began after the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse in November 2024 killed 16 people, which protesters blamed on corruption and lax oversight.
Houthi strikes on Saudi oil sites and airports push Air India suspension to November 7
🐱 Scout field reporter · Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia
The Saudi-led coalition said late Saturday it intercepted and destroyed multiple ballistic missiles and drones fired toward Riyadh, Taif and Yanbu, while Saudi Civil Defence issued aerial-threat alerts for Mecca Province, Jeddah, Taif and Yanbu, later reporting missile debris near Mecca and Medina. The Houthis claimed strikes on King Khalid and King Fahd airports, Aramco facilities in Yanbu and the East-West pipeline, but denied targeting the two holy cities. Air India and Air India Express extended suspensions for Riyadh and Dammam until November 7 and for Jeddah until October 31.
Background: The exchanges have broken the 2022 truce, following a renewed Saudi-backed offensive in Yemen, raising risks to shipping and energy flows.
Sources: Saudi Civil Defence, Houthi statements (via syndication) (2+ outlets)
Israel to close all West Bank crossings on election day as about 2,000 displaced in Hebron
🐱 Scout field reporter · Israel closes West Bank crossings on election day
Israel's military announced early on Sunday that all land crossings with the occupied West Bank will be closed on election day, Tuesday, October 27, and that Palestinian workers will be barred from entering Israeli settlements and industrial zones from Sunday through Monday, with some approved exceptions. The move follows a large-scale operation in Hebron, where Defence Minister Israel Katz said about 2,000 residents had been displaced and would not be allowed to return until the military finished dealing with what he called Hamas issues in the city; Hebron's mayor condemned the operation as politically motivated and disproportionate.
Background: The operation follows an attack on Friday in which two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers near Hebron, after which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered preparations for a full West Bank lockdown.
Political developments and international relations
US Justice Department sues to freeze Alaska Senate certification; Trump claims credit
The US Justice Department sued in federal court in Anchorage on Thursday, asking a judge to block certification of Alaska's Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses and votes for a similarly named challenger, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., could have changed the outcome under ranked-choice counting. The suit alleges the challenger is running to mislead the incumbent's supporters; Trump said on Friday, "I'm the one that said do it," while legal experts questioned the case's basis and Alaska officials said they were reviewing the filing.
Background: The Alaska race between Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola could decide control of the Senate in the November 3 midterms.
Sources: Reuters, The New York Times (via syndication) (2 outlets)
Nigeria's Tinubu launches re-election bid, defends record amid rising living costs
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu kicked off his re-election campaign promising "a better tomorrow," defending his economic record while acknowledging the rising cost of living that is likely to dominate the race. (single source, unverified)
Background: Nigerian voters face heavy pressure from the cost of living, which is expected to be the campaign's central issue.
European luxury groups shed €251bn in value this year as China demand weakens
Europe's six largest listed luxury companies have lost a combined €251bn in market value this year, according to the Financial Times, with LVMH down €131.6bn and Hermès down €93.3bn, as weaker Chinese demand hits sales and investor sentiment. October results missed already lowered expectations: LVMH reported a mid-teens percentage fall in sales to Chinese clients globally in fashion and leather goods, while Kering reported a 15–20% drop in sales to Chinese consumers. Monthly retail sales growth in China has averaged under 0.5% over the past six months.
Background: The sector is mired in a multiyear downturn as China's property slump and weak stock market erode the spending power of wealthy shoppers.
UK chancellor's first Budget to include £1bn for social and affordable housing
Chancellor John Healey will present his first Budget on Wednesday, including more than £1bn for social and affordable housing in England, taking funding for the government's 10-year homes programme past £40bn. Councils will also get preferential government borrowing rates to invest in housebuilding, and England's mayors and regional leaders will gain greater powers and funding, with £285m in transitional funding next year and a £1.5bn borrowing facility from 2028.
Background: The government has promised to restore the public housing stock after years in which families were locked out of secure, affordable homes.
Sources: BBC, The Guardian (via syndication) (2 outlets)
Ukraine's defence ministry confirmed on Saturday that speed restrictions on Starlink and its military-grade Starshield service have been lifted, with monitoring systems recording stable connections above 400 km/h — enough for drone operations and defence against jet-powered Shahed drones. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said restoration began overnight and speeds were sufficient by Saturday morning for critical uses, ending about two weeks in which drones lost connection above roughly 160 km/h. (Follow-up)
Background: The morning edition reported the limits had not yet been fully lifted despite assurances; Trump reportedly phoned Elon Musk this week to ask him to restore service, while Musk said Ukraine had violated Starlink's terms of service.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal, CNN, TechCrunch (3 outlets)
Large-scale study links genes to Big Five personality traits
Researchers report identifying genetic variants associated with the Big Five personality traits in one of the largest studies of its kind, advancing understanding of how DNA contributes to personality differences across populations. (single source, unverified)
Background: The Big Five model — openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism — is the mainstream framework in personality psychology.
Sources: Study sources (via syndication) (single source, unverified)
Military developments, security situations and conflicts
Saudi-led coalition airstrikes kill 16 in Sanaa, Houthis say, including women and a child
The Houthi-run al-Masirah channel said 16 people were killed in airstrikes on Yemen's capital Sanaa on Saturday, including six women and a child, blaming the Saudi-led coalition; the claims have not been independently verified. (single source, unverified)
Background: The strikes followed Houthi claims of attacks on Saudi targets, in exchanges that have broken the 2022 truce.
Israeli forces operate in 40 West Bank areas, arrest about 40 suspects
Israel's military said it operated in 40 areas across the West Bank over Friday and Saturday, arresting about 40 suspects, including people affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad; residents reported soldiers announcing evacuations over loudspeakers late at night, and streets in one Hebron neighbourhood stood deserted apart from military vehicles.
Background: The operation responds to Friday's checkpoint attack near Hebron, which Netanyahu has said will draw an operation on a scale not seen since 1967.
Protests spread across Europe: clashes in Italian cities, 25,000 march in Madrid
Protests across Europe turned violent on Saturday: demonstrators threw bottles and fireworks at police in Rome, stones and smoke bombs in Turin, and clashed with police in Florence, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni deployed 500 soldiers in Milan with drone surveillance. In Brussels, protesters at Albertine Square dispersed after police intervention; in Madrid more than 25,000 people marched demanding pension reform, while masked demonstrators in Barcelona smashed a glass kiosk and set fires. The US Embassy in Italy urged Americans to avoid Milan's Piazza Duomo and major shopping streets.
Background: Protests over living costs and welfare cuts are spreading across the continent, and France also saw mass protests on Saturday with nearly 1,000 arrests.
Sources: New York Post, Euronews (via syndication) (2 outlets)
Typhoon Champi sweeps past Taiwan leaving 1 dead and 527 injured, heads toward China coast
Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, killing one person — a man swept away by waves off Liuqiu island — and injuring 527, Taiwan's fire department said, while Taipower reported more than 288,000 homes briefly without electricity and the transport ministry said 242 flights were cancelled, down from nearly 1,000 on Friday. The storm's centre looped off the Yilan coast around midnight with gusts of about 227 kph, before turning north toward the Chinese coast and eventually southern Japan; northern and central Taiwan, including Taipei, declared a second day of office and school closures.
Background: Champi was at one point a super typhoon and among the strongest Pacific storms this year; Taiwan's strong disaster preparation kept casualties low.
China-related news (international media coverage only)
Pentagon designates Confucius Institutes a national security threat, says 80 offshoots dismantled
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the Defense Department has designated Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes on university campuses as a threat to US national security, adding them to its list of institutions that threaten national security. Hegseth said 80 new "propaganda cells" across 30 universities had popped up under different names and charters with the same mission — to steal intellectual property and infiltrate students' minds — and that the Pentagon had "systematically dismantled every single one" over the past two months. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Background: Congress has previously stripped federal funding from universities hosting Confucius Institutes, and in 2020 the State Department designated the Confucius Institute US Center a foreign mission of China.
Champi approaches Zhejiang coast as China puts more than 41,000 firefighters on emergency duty
As Typhoon Champi turns north toward the Chinese coast, China's emergency management ministry has sent a team to Zhejiang province, warning of strong winds and heavy rain through Sunday, with 400 rescue workers and 600 pieces of equipment readied and more than 41,000 firefighters on emergency duty. In Taizhou, more than 3,800 fishing boats returned to harbour, offshore fish-farm workers were brought ashore and 2,084 island visitors were evacuated, while authorities halted 25 offshore construction projects and suspended 18 passenger ferry routes.
Background: Champi is tracking up the Chinese coast after sweeping past Taiwan, eventually heading toward southern Japan.
