International News Bulletin — October 29, 2026

Politics

• Israel’s count leaves Netanyahu’s bloc short of a majority – With most ballots counted, Israel’s three main broadcasters projected 53 of 120 Knesset seats for Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and 48 for Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc, RTÉ and Anadolu reported, while Arab-led parties made record gains. Likud said in a statement that “The elections in the State of Israel have been stolen by Arab parties” and that it was passing evidence to the police, the Shin Bet and the Central Elections Committee. More than 500,000 double-envelope ballots remain to be counted, and an election official told Anadolu that final results are expected on Thursday evening.
• Canada and the EU open a Montreal summit on closer ties – Prime Minister Mark Carney hosts European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Montreal from Thursday, and a draft joint declaration seen by Reuters drops the idea of associate EU membership for Canada after objections led by Germany. The draft commits both sides to “ever closer association,” a feasibility study on Canadian liquefied natural gas exports to Europe and a joint subsea cable initiative, according to Reuters via France 24. Von der Leyen still used the associate-member term on arrival, AFP reported via RTÉ, while Carney said “What matters is the difference that it will make to the lives of Canadians.”
• Trump says he approved Vance’s contact with Iran’s security chief – Vice President JD Vance wrote to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, to revive stalled talks, The Wall Street Journal reported, according to AFP via RTÉ. President Donald Trump said on social media that he had approved Vance’s request after Tehran cited a “need for help with medical supplies,” and denied directing him to restart peace talks, Al Jazeera reported. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran remains “in close and ongoing contact” with mediators on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
• Putin courts African leaders at the third Russia-Africa summit – Delegations from 48 countries, including 22 African leaders, gathered in Moscow on Wednesday for the two-day summit, where Vladimir Putin called Russia Africa’s “best partner,” according to Reuters via France 24. Putin said “Russian-African trade turnover exceeded $27 billion last year” and invited African airlines to launch flights to Russia, Anadolu reported. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said at the summit that Ethiopia would receive 12 Russian fighter jets and four S-400 air defence batteries, AFP reported via France 24.
• Iraqi prime minister makes first post-Assad visit to Damascus – Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the People’s Palace in Damascus, the first visit to Syria by an Iraqi prime minister since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Al Jazeera reported. Talks covered exporting Iraqi oil through Baniyas, bilateral trade and agriculture, according to Iraq’s state news agency INA. Zaidi described Iraqis and Syrians as “one people in two countries,” INA reported.

Economy

• Federal Reserve holds rates as two officials push for a hike – The Fed kept its benchmark rate at 3.75 to 4 percent on Wednesday in a 10-2 vote, with Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack favouring a quarter-point increase, Reuters reported via The Globe and Mail. The statement said more information would help the committee “determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the two-percent goal,” according to AFP and Reuters. The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 7,743.98 and the Dow 0.2 percent to 52,475.10, according to AP figures carried by La Nación and AFP.
• Bank of Canada raises rates for the first time since 2023 – The Bank of Canada lifted its policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent on Wednesday, its first increase since July 2023, BNN Bloomberg and CBC reported. Governor Tiff Macklem said the inflation outlook had “deteriorated” as energy prices rose with the war in the Middle East. “There could be a need to raise the policy rate further, but given the uncertainties we will proceed carefully,” Macklem said.
• Samsung posts record profit but shares fall on chip miss – Samsung Electronics reported third-quarter operating profit of 107.4 trillion won ($80.5 billion), up 783 percent from a year earlier, on sales of 195.3 trillion won, AFP and Yonhap reported on Thursday. Samsung shares fell more than 5 percent in Seoul after its semiconductor profit missed expectations, according to AFP citing Bloomberg News, and Yonhap said the KOSPI was down about 3 percent by late morning. The company plans to return up to 110 trillion won to shareholders this year, including 30 trillion won in cash dividends.
• Alphabet shares slide after hours despite 25 percent revenue growth – Alphabet reported third-quarter revenue of $127.6 billion, up 25 percent, and Google Cloud revenue of about $30.7 billion, more than double a year earlier, Fortune and Nikkei Asia reported on Wednesday. Earnings per share fell to $2.12 from $2.87, cut by an $8.7 billion paper loss on equity investments, while quarterly capital spending rose to $51.4 billion from $24 billion, according to Fortune. Shares fell between 9 and 11 percent in extended trading, according to Nikkei Asia, AFP and Fortune.
• European gas briefly reaches 100 euros for first time since 2022 – European wholesale gas prices briefly touched €100 per megawatt-hour on Wednesday for the first time since December 2022, around three times their pre-Iran-war level, Reuters reported via RTÉ, and Anadolu put the day’s gain at 4.35 percent. EU gas storage stands at 75 percent of capacity against 83 percent a year ago, as EU energy ministers prepare to discuss fuel prices before winter. “We are in a very serious situation now,” Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen told reporters.

World News

• Spain declares three days of mourning after train collision kills 68 – A Renfe high-speed train ran into the back of a stationary Iryo train near Urda in Toledo province on Wednesday morning, killing at least 68 people, according to the Castilla-La Mancha regional government cited by Al Jazeera, with Anadolu and RTÉ reporting the same toll. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the control centre let traffic resume after a signalling failure in circumstances he called “inexplicable,” and about 80 people were injured, Al Jazeera reported. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared mourning from October 29 to 31 and said “If there has been negligence, it will be known,” Anadolu reported.
• Up to 50,000 Ethiopians flee border clashes into Kenya – Up to an estimated 50,000 people have crossed into Kenya to escape fighting between Somali and Oromia regional forces around the Ethiopian border town of Moyale, UNHCR’s Kenya representative Fatima Mohammed-Cole said on Wednesday, citing local authorities, AFP reported via France 24 and Arab News. The figure is preliminary and up from 36,000 recorded by UNHCR on Tuesday, and most of the new arrivals are women and children. The unrest began on October 20 after a Somali regional flag was raised in Moyale, which the two regions administer jointly.
• Cyclone Arnab makes landfall on India’s Andhra Pradesh coast – Cyclone Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast early on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 125 to 135 km/h and gusts of up to 150 km/h before weakening to a severe cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department said, according to The Business Standard. At least 89,000 people were evacuated in Andhra Pradesh, according to an official state statement cited by AP, while The Business Standard put evacuations across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha at more than 180,000. Power supply was disrupted and flights to Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada were cancelled, The Business Standard reported.
• UN investigators say outside suppliers are sustaining Sudan’s war – Mission chair Mohamed Chande Othman said on Wednesday that the UN fact-finding mission on Sudan had “reasonable grounds to believe” that external transfers of weapons and military technology sustain the conflict, Anadolu reported from a news conference in New York. The mission named individuals and entities linked to Chad, Somalia’s Puntland, southeast Libya and the United Arab Emirates, and Chad denies letting its territory be used. Mission member Joy Ngozi Ezeilo said “We are for expansion of this arms embargo,” which the Security Council has kept limited to Darfur.

Bulletin automatically generated on October 29, 2026.