Quebec separatists eyed a return to power in Canada's majority French-speaking province Monday in an election that could test Prime Minister Mark Carney's message of national unity to confront the United States. Carney is popular in Quebec, and the possible success of the separatist Parti Quebecois (PQ) is not seen as a repudiation of his stance toward President Donald Trump, whose trade war and annexation threats have infuriated Canadians. FRANCE 24's Christopher Guly reports from Ottawa.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency on Monday as a measles outbreak spreads through under-immunised rural communities, with 108 cases reported this year. The order expands who can administer MMR vaccines and comes as neighbouring Pennsylvania battles an outbreak that has killed five people.

Conservative Senator Flavio Bolsonaro pulled off a surprise on Sunday in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election by finishing ahead of the incumbent left-wing President Lula, whom he will face in the runoff on October 25. Suspicions of U.S. interference have been hanging over the campaign, even as Donald Trump has never hidden his closeness to the far-right former president Bolsonaro - Flavio’s father - and his animosity toward Lula da Silva. FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell reports.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday called an early election for November 29, aiming to increase his parliamentary support after lawmakers last week rejected proposals to address a housing crisis that has drawn nationwide protests. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Javier Carbonell, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, explains that Sanchez has chosen "the best moment in a sea of troubles" to call snap elections as he is likely to capitalise on the mobilisation of left-wing voters during the housing protests.

Do voters care about attempted coups? Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro is on the cusp of unseating Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the country's October 25 presidential runoff. Bolsonaro's father was jailed over the Brazilian version of the January 6 storming of the US Capitol. Up and down the ballot, other Bolsonaros have been elected in the first round as the far right surges. Is it about incumbent fatigue? Do Brazilians subscribe to Bolsonaro's "God, Homeland, Family" mantra?

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday announced they would develop a new legal tool to enable the EU to respond rapidly to trade wars or measures, such as dumping. While they did not say the proposal was a direct response to the actions of any particular country, it came days before EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen visits China to tackle trade frictions.

Alors que le déficit commercial européen avec la Chine atteint depuis l'an dernier autour d'un milliard d'euros par jour et que Pékin inonde l'Europe de ses produits, la France et l'Allemagne appellent l'UE à adopter une nouvelle arme juridique pour se protéger en cas de guerre commerciale.

Erin Ogunkeye is pleased to welcome Letta Tayler, Senior Counterterrorism Advisor at Human Rights Watch. She warns of the detention of suspected Islamic State members transferred from northeast Syria to Iraq as part of a much wider "global detention crisis". The men and boys now held in Iraq are living in 'dire' conditions, including deaths from illness, allegations of torture, and serious questions surrounding access to effective legal representation. Can accountability be achieved through legal proceedings that respect the rule of law and provide genuine justice to both detainees and victims?

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday slammed Russia's increased strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. In a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Macron said he reviewed "the concrete support" Europe can provide Ukraine to defend itself against the attacks.

Two people have ⁠died and ​another is missing after heavy rains and flooding in Spain's ​Catalonia region, authorities said on Sunday.

Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome Felipe Krause, the head of Oxford University's Brazilian Studies Programme. Brazil's election reflects a political landscape that has become increasingly polarized, explains Krause. And he describes the current mood as one of “tired polarization: People are just exhausted. They feel that the political class is just kind of offering more of the same". The first round reveals a significant consolidation of the Brazilian right in government. Brazil's expanding middle class is increasingly attracted to entrepreneurialism and individualism, constituencies that "Bolsonarismo" has proved particularly effective at reaching.

Britain's disgraced former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, filed a legal action on Monday to quash warrants that led to searches of his residences. The police arrested the 66-year-old on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct over his links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Spanish ​Prime ​Minister ​Pedro Sanchez on Monday called an early ​election ‌for ‌November ​29. Facing the electorate now could be risky, as Sanchez's Socialist Party is trailing in opinion polls. 

Family members of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro won big in Sunday's general election, including the right-wing lawmaker's eldest son Flavio Bolsonaro, who surpassed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the first-round presidential vote. During the campaign, Flavio Bolsonaro promised to secure amnesty for his jailed father. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to travel to Iceland on Monday, two weeks after Washington sealed a security pact with Denmark and Greenland on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Rubio will meet with officials in Reykjavik "to discuss economic and security collaboration", according to a statement by the US State Department. 

Right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro pulled off a surprise first-place finish ahead of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Sunday's election, which heads to a run-off vote on October 25 as neither clinched a majority.

The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that all US B-1 bombers deployed to Britain’s RAF Fairford had returned home following a security incident that prompted nearby evacuations. Police found no explosives after reports of suspicious activity at the base last Sunday. Five London-based British men arrested were subsequently released on bail.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday marked by renewed Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital, including the latest drone attack on a bridge spanning the Dnipro River.

Brazilians began casting their votes on Sunday in a closely watch presidential election pitting incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Nearly 160 million voters will also pick lawmakers, senators and governors in an election that will determine whether Latin America's biggest nation follows a regional swing to the right championed by US President Donald Trump. France24 International affairs commentator Douglas Herbert shares further insights.

The woman who alleged that she was drugged and raped by seven male students at a Cornell University fraternity house has been the target of threats, her lawyer told CNN on Sunday. Cornell's president earlier voiced support for an external review of the Ivy League institution facing widespread outcry over its handling of the case.