Alaska governor orders criminal probe into Peltola Senate campaign

This is the evening edition of the One News Page Global Briefing, for Thursday, the twenty-ninth of October, twenty twenty-six. Here is what matters now.

Republican Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered a criminal investigation into the U S Senate campaign of Democrat Mary Peltola. The move follows a New York Times report alleging that people aligned with her campaign recruited a candidate named Dan Sullivan to appear on the ballot alongside Republican incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan. The accusation centres on an alleged effort to confuse voters by placing a same-name candidate on the ballot. Peltola has denied the allegation. Former President Donald Trump called for her to drop out of the race and be prosecuted, saying she should not be allowed to run. Governor Dunleavy said anyone or any organisation found to have broken the law must be held accountable. No charges or findings have been announced and the investigation remains at an early stage.

Meanwhile, in Spain, A high‑speed train collision south of Madrid killed sixty-eight people and injured more than one hundred, with authorities warning the toll could rise. The crash on the Madrid‑Andalucía line was Spain's second fatal rail disaster this year and one of Europe's deadliest this century. Transport Minister described an “error” and “inexplicable circumstances,” noting one train was told to continue despite a red signal. The train struck another from behind, derailing at least two carriages. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged a full investigation. Spain began three days of mourning on Thursday, with emergency crews working overnight and the Civil Guard setting up clinics to collect D N A samples to identify victims.

In Brazil, Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost the presidential run-off to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has fled to the United States with his family after refusing to concede. He travelled via Argentina and Ecuador before arriving in Florida, even though Brazil's Supreme Court had ordered him to surrender his passport amid money-laundering investigations. The U S State Department said Bolsonaro and his family would be granted visas. On arrival he declared himself "president-elect" and the "leader of Brazil", rhetoric that Lula condemned as shameful. The escape has deepened divisions among Brazilians and fuelled debate over whether the move has damaged the Bolsonaro family's political brand.

In Europe, the European Central Bank announced that President Christine Lagarde will resign on seven February twenty twenty-seven, nine months before the end of her eight-year term. European Council President António Costa said the process to find a successor is already under way. Lagarde's early departure ends months of speculation about her future and comes as the eurozone grapples with weak growth and inflation. Her name has also been floated as a possible candidate to lead the World Economic Forum.

In the Middle East, Israel's first election since the October twenty twenty-three Hamas-led attacks and the Gaza war has produced no clear winner. Partial results show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc narrowly ahead of the opposition but short of a majority, with record turnout reported nationwide. Neither the pro- nor anti-Netanyahu camps appeared likely to secure a governing majority, pointing to weeks or months of coalition negotiations. Arab parties had a strong showing, with exit polls suggesting they could win around eighteen seats.

In the United States, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its final meeting before the midterm elections. Chair Kevin Warsh said politics played no role in the decision. Two of the twelve board members voted against the pause, favouring a quarter-point increase. Inflation remains above three percent, and recent oil and gas price spikes linked to the Iran war have added pressure. The decision comes ahead of a possible Bank of England rate increase.

Elsewhere in the United States, Dolores Huerta, the labour and civil rights icon who co-founded the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez, died on Wednesday at her home in Bakersfield, California, at the age of ninety-six. Her family said she died from cancer surrounded by close relatives. Huerta coined the rallying cry "Sí, se puede" and spent decades campaigning for farm workers, racial justice, women's rights and L G B T Q equality. Tributes poured in from lawmakers, activists and union leaders across the United States. In early twenty twenty-six, Huerta told The New York Times that Chavez had raped her decades earlier.

In East Asia, North Korea fired about ten to twelve short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast into the Sea of Japan on Thursday, South Korea's defence ministry said. The launch is the latest in a recent series of weapons tests. The salvo comes amid heightened inter-Korean tensions over a landmine blast that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul accuses Pyongyang of causing the explosion; North Korea denies it.

In Ukraine, a Russian drone attack on a railway station in the Dnipro region killed at least thirteen people, with some official accounts putting the toll at fourteen, and wounded at least ten others, including an eleven-year-old boy, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said. The strike underscores that fighting continues in many areas even as Moscow and Kyiv prepare to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks next month and a rare local cease-fire holds around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky.

Also in Washington, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, the head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Hegseth accused him of leaking classified information related to the Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars to the news media. The Pentagon described the dismissal as part of a broader effort to punish senior officers who speak to reporters.

That was the evening edition of the One News Page Global Briefing. Read the complete briefing and explore its supporting coverage at one news page dot com.