Headlines: 1-11 October 2026

Sunday, 4 October 2026

Brazil goes to polls in decisive election for future of Latin America: Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro face off in battle between leftwing incumbent and far-right son of jailed ex-president (LINK) — 4 October 2026

Spain protests flare after housing bill rejected: Will it cause snap poll? Tens of thousands of people have rallied across Spain (LINK) — 4 October 2026

U.S. Marine, 20, arrested for alleged murder of a 39-year-old woman in Okinawa, Japan, hotel (ground news LINK) — 4 October 2026

Saturday, 3 October 2026

Dual U.K.-Iranian national,25, released on bail after arrest over security incident near U.S.-run air base in England (LINK) — 3 October 2026

Fox News: France's violent student protests raise warning for America: 'A cautionary tale': More than 5,000 protesters have been arrested and over 400 schools closed as unrest spreads across French cities (LINK) — 3 October 2026

Florida's dengue outbreak reportedly largest US has seen in decades: 252 reported cases (LINK) — 3 October 2026

AOL: National Economic Advisor Says Trump 'won't inflate our way out of debt.' Trump says, Yes we will (LINK) — 3 October 2026

'God Made Trump' is just one of the president's taxpayer-funded ads set to hit airwaves for midterm blitz (LINK) — 3 October 2026

— The White House has defended the ad campaign as 'educational' and 'unapologetically patriotic'.

U.S. former congressman, GOP Rep. David Rivera, 61, gets 10 years for secret Venezuela lobbying and laundering millions of dollars connected to the work (LINK) — 2 October 2026

— The Republican represented South Florida in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2013. Prosecutors said Rivera worked on behalf of Venezuela's government in 2017 without registering as a foreign agent, as required under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Rivera pleaded not guilty. His lawyers argued he was working to help Venezuela's opposition remove then-President Nicola´s Maduro from power, rather than advancing the interests of Maduro's government.

Thursday, 1 October 2026

Trump demands Europe release emergency diesel reserves or risk being cut off from US supplies (LINK) — 1 October 2026

Greta Thunberg says Morocco sabotaged her Western Sahara debate in Zurich: all 300 tickets had been reserved, but only 40 people attended. 23-year-old (LINK) — 1 October 2026

— swissinfo: 23-year-old holds Morocco responsible for sabotage, as the country has been in conflict for decades with the Sahrawi people, the indigenous people of Western Sahara. The documentary film My Home of Wind and Sand, which centres on Najla Mohamed Lamin — a Sahrawi woman born in a refugee camp in Algeria and who still lives there — was screened on Tuesday evening at the Zurich Film Festival to a packed house for its world premiere.

Heather Cox Richardson: Trump's defiance of Constitution: reportedly taking $52 million in military assistance lawmakers appropriated for European and Middle Eastern countries hurt by Russia's war on Ukraine and diverting it to right-wing governments in Panama, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia (LINK) — 1 October 2026

Dual UK-Iranian national arrested over security incident at RAF air base in England (LINK) — 1 October 2026

— The 25-year-old man was arrested in central London on Thursday and police have searched two properties in the capital, Counter Terrorism Policing said in a statement. Five men, all British nationals in their 20s and from London, were arrested in the early hours of Sunday on suspicion of explosives and terror offenses close to the RAF Fairford base. The suspects have since been released on bail.

Guardian: Forget 'superintelligence': error-prone AI nearly sparked World War Three this month: almost brought the US into war with China (LINK) — 1 October 2026

— CNN report published on 18 September, which hasn't been verified by other major outlets, says due to government reliance on error-prone systems that are marketed by their manufacturers as being close to superintelligent. An intelligence report that claimed a chinese ship was transporting components of nuclear weapons. Military personnel made plans to intercept the Chinese vessel, complete with aircraft and soldiers ready to board the ship. A military skirmish of this kind between China and the US could quickly escalate and spiral into world war three. It was only moments before executing on the plan that American officials further investigated the intelligence report and found that it had been generated with the use of a chatbot and contained erroneous information about the vessel's contents.

U.S.: Christa Pike in critical condition after failed execution in Tennessee, her lawyers say: at least seven needles were used to administer the lethal injection doses into her arm over the course of an hour, said one of her lawyers (LINK) — 1 October 2026

NY's governor appoints special prosecutor on alleged gang rape of a woman at Cornell University fraternity house in 2024: (LINK) — 1 October 2026

— BBC: Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office did not bring charges at the time because he had only seen a statement from Doe implying the incident was consensual and that she had not been drugged. This week, his office announced it would be reopening the case — less than two weeks after Doe filed her civil lawsuit. New York Governor Kathy Hochul's announcement removes Van Houten from overseeing the case.

Washington's big crypto bill is stuck. The SEC is pushing ahead anyway: proposed rules making it easier for investment advisers and regulated funds to hold crypto. Would allow self-custody in some cases and state trust companies to serve as custodians (LINK) — 1 October 2026