International News Bulletin — October 24, 2026

Politics

• Trump says the US may launch “another little Epic Fury” against Iran – Donald Trump told a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday that “we may do another little Epic Fury,” using the name of the US-Israeli operation against Iran, France 24 and Dawn reported. Earlier that day the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, told Israeli army radio that a strike could come this weekend, saying “Could there be a strike this weekend? Absolutely,” according to Dawn, which added that he described Trump as open to a deal. In Istanbul, foreign ministers of the UK, France, Germany and Italy met their Turkish, Saudi, Pakistani and Egyptian counterparts, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said further escalation “would create nothing but losers”, Al Jazeera reported.
• Netanyahu orders Hebron sealed after two Israeli soldiers are killed – Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers near a checkpoint outside Hebron on Friday, and the two attackers were also killed, France 24 and UN News reported. Benjamin Netanyahu announced a lockdown of the city and a large-scale West Bank operation, saying “We will act to destroy this place, to change it completely,” according to France 24, while the UN human rights office said the Ibrahimi Mosque was shut, preventing Friday prayers. The UN said it was “extremely alarmed” by intensifying violence in the occupied West Bank, and Israel votes in a general election on Tuesday, Dawn and Anadolu reported.
• Brazil’s run-off between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro remains too close to call – Brazilians vote on Sunday in a run-off between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who led the October 4 first round with about 47 percent to Lula’s 45 percent, Al Jazeera and the Buenos Aires Times reported. The latest AtlasIntel poll for Bloomberg gave Bolsonaro 49.8 percent and Lula 47.6 percent, and a Quaest survey released on October 21 put them at 45 and 44 percent, both outlets said. The Buenos Aires Times said most surveys place the gap within the margin of error.
• Argentine judge closes the $LIBRA fraud case against Javier Milei – Federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi on Friday dismissed the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina over the $LIBRA meme coin he promoted on X in February 2025, ruling that “the reported events do not constitute a criminal offence”, Al Jazeera and the Buenos Aires Times reported. The Buenos Aires Times, citing AFP and Noticias Argentinas, said nine other defendants were also cleared, including US businessman Hayden Davis, at the request of prosecutor Eduardo Taiano. The presidential office called the ruling “absolute proof of his innocence”, according to Al Jazeera.
• White House says Melania Trump brokered a truce in occupied Oleshky – The White House said on Friday that First Lady Melania Trump had secured a localised ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow humanitarian access and the evacuation of residents who wish to leave for Russia or Ukraine, Al Jazeera and Dawn reported. Dawn, citing Reuters, said the White House put the start at October 29, while Al Jazeera quoted a senior Ukrainian official giving October 27 and said the Kremlin was still coordinating the timing. About 2,000 people remain in a city of some 24,000 before the war, both outlets said.

Economy

• Dow falls 1.2 percent as telecom shares slide on Friday – The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652.82 points, or 1.23 percent, to 52,215.16 on Friday, the S&P 500 lost 0.52 percent to 7,623.68 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.21 percent to 25,955.34, according to Yahoo Finance, La Nación and Anadolu. Anadolu said AT&T fell 7.96 percent and T-Mobile 7.71 percent on a reported SpaceX plan for a US wireless network, ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting on October 27 and 28. Over the week the S&P 500 lost 0.5 percent while the Dow gained 0.4 percent, La Nación reported.
• Euro zone business growth slows to a four-month low – S&P Global’s flash composite PMI for the euro zone fell to 51.9 in October from 53.1 in September, below the 52.7 expected in a Reuters poll, RTÉ and Trading Economics reported. The services index dropped to 51.7 from 53.0, and RTÉ said French activity contracted. Chris Williamson of S&P Global Market Intelligence said “Key to the broader slowdown is the further escalation of inflationary pressures seen during the month,” according to RTÉ.
• Bank of Russia holds its key rate at 14 percent – The Bank of Russia kept its key rate unchanged at 14.00 percent on Friday, according to its decision statement. The bank said annual inflation stood at 6.8 percent as of October 19 and expects it to reach 7.1 to 7.6 percent by the end of 2026 before returning to 4.0 percent in 2027. It said proinflationary risks outweigh disinflationary ones over the medium term.
• Taiwan’s September jobless rate falls to 3.36 percent – Taiwan’s unemployment rate fell to 3.36 percent in September from 3.41 percent in August, the lowest for the month in 26 years, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said, according to Focus Taiwan. The number of unemployed fell by 6,000 from August to 405,000. The seasonally adjusted rate edged up 0.01 point to 3.33 percent.

World News

• Gunmen kill seven at a funeral in a Jordanian church – Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Hamoud, in Jordan’s Karak governorate, on Friday, killing seven people and wounding 34, Public Security Director Abdullah al-Maaytah said, according to Al Jazeera, Dawn and France 24. The attackers fled and a manhunt is under way, and no group has claimed responsibility, France 24 reported. King Abdullah II said on X that the attack “will be met with the harshest retaliation”, Dawn reported.
• Typhoon Champi kills one and injures hundreds in Taiwan – Typhoon Champi swept past northeastern Taiwan on Friday, killing one person and injuring 527 as of Saturday morning, the Central Emergency Operations Center said, according to Focus Taiwan, after Al Jazeera reported at least 350 injured on Friday. Taiwan Power said 77,498 households lost power at some point, and the Central Weather Administration recorded a gust of over 221 km/h at Sandiao Cape late on Friday, Focus Taiwan reported. The land warning was expected to be lifted on Saturday evening as the storm moves north and weakens.
• Congo begins a trial of Ebola vaccines against the Bundibugyo strain – The WHO announced on Friday that the first participants had been vaccinated in Bunia, Ituri province, in the Tumaini trial, which tests candidate vaccines against the Bundibugyo strain behind Congo’s outbreak, Al Jazeera and Anadolu reported. “This trial will help us understand whether any of the vaccine candidates designed for Bundibugyo virus work,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. Congo has recorded more than 9,700 cases and more than 4,600 deaths, and Kenya announced a second death on Friday, a 65-year-old woman, among nine confirmed cases, both outlets said.
• Eleven missing after a building collapse in Nairobi’s Eastleigh – A multistorey building under construction collapsed in Nairobi’s Eastleigh district at about 1 pm on Friday, and Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said 11 people were missing, Al Jazeera and The Eastleigh Voice reported. Murkomen said rescuers “have made contact with some of the survivors who are still trapped inside”, according to Al Jazeera. Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the ground-floor shops operated without an occupation certificate, and police launched a search for the owner, Al Jazeera reported.
• Gunman kills one in a racist attack west of Paris, Élysée says – A gunman killed one person and wounded five, including a 12-year-old girl, in Trappes and neighbouring La Verrière on Friday morning, and a 39-year-old suspect was arrested in Coignières, France 24 and RTÉ reported. Anti-terrorism prosecutors opened an investigation for “murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise” and are examining whether victims were targeted for their race, ethnicity or religion. Emmanuel Macron said in Trappes that the attack “marks a turning point for the Republic and our country”, France 24 reported.

Bulletin automatically generated on October 24, 2026.