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The death toll in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza climbs to 74,555, including 1,559 killed since 'ceasefire' last year.
The death toll in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza climbs to 74,555, including 1,559 killed since 'ceasefire' last year.
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<p>Leftwing incumbent becomes first candidate to reverse first-round defeat, but far-right son of former president rejects result. Plus, interviews with two legendary songwriters</p><p>Good morning. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has staged a dramatic election fightback, defeating his far-right opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/26/lula-wins-brazil-election">claim a historic fourth term as Brazil’s president</a>. Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat and asked for the results to be annulled.</p><p>Following in the footsteps of his father, the former president Jair Bolsonaro, who four years ago also refused to acknowledge his defeat to Lula – before attempting a coup and being convicted for it – Flávio Bolsonaro cited a supreme court justice’s decision to extend voting hours as the alleged reason for wanting to cancel the result.</p><p><strong>What does this result mean for Brazil now?</strong> My colleagues Libby Brooks in London and Tom Phillips and São Paulo <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/26/brazil-presidential-elections-luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva-flavio-bolsonaro">spoke overnight</a>. Phillips said: “The Bolsonaro response is exactly as I feared, but I don’t think it will mean very much. All these world leaders are now recognising Lula’s win, and I don’t think Bolsonaro has a hope of overturning this result. [For Lula] this is the crescendo of an incredible, if sometimes controversial, 50-year political career. The first elected working-class leader of Brazil, who has helped millions of people escape poverty.”</p><p><strong>You can find the full results of the election <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2026/oct/25/brazil-election-2026-live-second-round-results">here</a>, and our ongoing live coverage <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/oct/25/brazil-election-runoff-live-updates-flavio-bolsonaro-lula">here</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>What has Hebron’s mayor said?</strong> Yousef al-Jabari accused the Israeli state of “collective punishment”, saying: “They have dragged people from their houses, and they have prevented the media from getting into the district … Netanyahu and his gang are using Palestinian land to displace Palestinian people, closing the city, closing the mosque, in order to achieve their political goals.”</p><p><strong>How has a 21-year-old photographer described being the target of an Israeli attack? </strong>Zeinab Faraj <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/oct/26/zeinab-faraj-journalist-surviving-israel-drone-attack">found herself buried under rubble</a> beside a dying colleague while reporting in Lebanon. “My heart stopped” as she heard a drone descending towards them, she said. “I’ve never heard anything like it in my life … It was terrifying.” The Israeli military later justified their attack, saying they had identified saboteurs violating the ceasefire. Human rights groups called it a war crime.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/26/first-thing-brazil-re-elects-lula-comeback-bolsonaro">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey travel to Tehran as bellicose rhetoric heightens</p><p>High-level diplomatic delegations from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have travelled to Tehran in an attempt to prevent renewed fighting between Iran and the US and Israel <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/23/european-middle-eastern-ministers-summit-iran-us-israel">as rhetoric sharpens on both sides</a>.</p><p>Security officials and diplomats at Monday’s meeting were expected to discuss how Iran could persuade the Houthis in Yemen to end their crippling missile and drone <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/22/us-diplomats-told-to-leave-saudi-arabia-amid-houthi-attacks">attacks on infrastructure in Saudi Arabia</a>. With fighting raging across Yemen, the Houthis claimed to have closed Riyadh airport and inflicted heavy damage on the Saudi economy.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/26/saudi-pakistani-turkish-delegation-iran-avert-flare-up-conflict-us">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Australia’s public debt may be well below that of France but there are lessons to be taken from its economic woes</p><ul><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily political email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>The explosion of discontent that led to major protests and violence in France and across Europe is a “warning signal” that Australia could follow the same path without an “honest conversation” about the budget, economists say.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/24/hundreds-of-thousands-march-across-france-in-protests-over-schools-and-policing">Hundreds of thousands marched</a> in cities across France on Saturday to protest underfunded schools, as complaints of insufficient teacher numbers and dilapidated infrastructure mingled with broader discontent about cost-of-living pressures.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/28/politics-really-newsletter-guardian-australia-free-best-daily-auspol-email-subscribe?CMP=copyembed">Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here</a></strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/27/the-chaos-in-france-is-a-warning-signal-for-australias-public-spending-and-rising-costs">Continue reading...</a>
<p><strong>Exclusive</strong>: EPA flags oil spill risk from proposed gasfield and threat to pygmy blue whales</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/10/sign-up-for-the-clear-air-australia-environment-newsletter-with-adam-morton?CMP=cvau_sfl">Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here</a></p></li></ul><p>Woodside Energy’s plan to drill for gas off Western Australia’s north-west coast could significantly damage “exceptional” coral reefs and it may be impossible to reduce the risk of an oil spill to an acceptable level, according to advice from the state’s independent environmental watchdog.</p><p>A draft letter from WA’s Environmental Protection Authority written in 2023, seen by the Guardian, sharply criticised Woodside’s proposal to develop the Browse gasfield, saying its plans to protect endangered turtles and blue whales near Scott Reef would be ineffective.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/27/endangered-turtles-and-exceptional-coral-at-risk-from-woodsides-gas-drilling-in-wa-watchdog-says">Continue reading...</a>