President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will stand for re-election in Brazil on Sunday. At 80, the former steelworker hopes to capitalise on his popularity and economic successes to win a fourth term in office but is neck-and-neck in the polls with far-right rival Flavio Bolsonaro.

He was still relatively unknown in Brazil just a few months ago. The 45-year-old senator is now neck and neck with incumbent President Lula in the polls for the upcoming presidential election. Flavio Bolsonaro's victory would add Brazil to the long list of Latin American countries that have shifted to the right or far right in recent months.

How allegations of a gang rape at an American Ivy League university have set social media alight, sparking widespread fury over the way colleges and universities handle sexual assault cases. Also the French parliament is currently debating a major new bill aimed at tackling violence against women and children. But does it go far enough? Annette Young asks Dr Andreea Gruev-Vintila, a social psychologist who assisted with the drafting of the legislation. Plus the king of Morocco names Marrakesh mayor, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, as the country's first female prime minister. 

The alleged gang rape at America's Cornell University has shocked many people around the world and raised questions about institutional failure and toxic masculinity. The story was first broken by student journalists and national media soon followed, thrusting it in the spotlight. While there has been excellent reporting, the story has also exposed failures in how some pieces framed officials' statements alongside Jane Doe's allegations. We take a closer look in Scoop.

Over the past five years, applications for residence permits submitted by Brazilians in Paraguay have more than doubled. Many of them are Bolsonaro supporters who are afraid October's presidential election will be won by incumbent leader Lula – whom they accuse of plunging the Latin American giant into an unprecedented economic crisis. FRANCE 24's Fanny Lothaire, Valeria Saccone and Mélanie Blondeau report, with Jan Onoszko.

With just two days to go before the first round of Brazil's presidential election, artificial intelligence is taking centre stage, whether it's a deepfake avatar of former president Jair Bolsonaro to support his son's candidacy, or an AI-generated working-class female voter criticising President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. According to the Brazilian intelligence agency, disinformation will be one of the main challenges of this election. Our correspondents report.

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, October 2: We look at reactions in the French papers after high school blockades turned violent across France. We also look ahead to Brazil's two-round presidential election, which begins this weekend. The electoral campaign culminated with the cancellation of a presidential debate after both President Lula and his rival Flavio Bolsonaro pulled out. Finally, this year's Comedy Wildlife Awards finalists do not disappoint.

The mudslinging between Brazil’s incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his election rival, Flavio Bolsonaro, has heated up ahead of what is expected to be an extremely close vote this weekend. From stating loose rumours as facts, to taking comments completely out of their context, they are both doing everything they can to win a few more votes.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the US continues to be "a very significant partner", despite owing $3 billion to peacekeeping. With the UN forced to cut about 25 percent of its capacity, Lacroix defended missions that cost just 0.2 percent of global military spending: "Peacekeeping is a good deal really."

Christa Pike, who has been on death row in Tennessee for more than 30 years for torturing and murdering a classmate, was on Wednesday set to be executed, but the lethal injections meant to kill her failed. Pike was then transported to a medical facility, where her attorney says she remains in a "critical condition".

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that his department had cut 20 percent of US admirals, generals and officers who did not fit his vision. "Simple translation of that: no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors – just tough, ready, committed troops," he said.

El Salvador will hold presidential elections on February 28, 2027, the electoral tribunal said Wednesday, opening the way for President Nayib Bukele to seek a third term after constitutional changes removed presidential term limits. Bukele has drawn praise for sharply reducing gang violence but faced criticism over rights abuses during his crackdown.

The Federal Reserve's watchdog on Wednesday found no grounds for a criminal referral over a roughly $1 billion cost overrun on renovations to the central bank's Washington buildings, while faulting project oversight. The findings prompted President Donald Trump to renew his call for former Fed chief Jerome Powell to resign.

A federal judge on Wednesday approved a settlement clearing Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery after 12 US states challenged the deal on antitrust grounds. The agreement includes safeguards for CNN’s editorial independence and requires the merged studio to release at least 30 films a year for its first two years.

US President Donald Trump has launched "America", an AI chatbot designed as a digital portal for US government information. But its responses appear to be changing. The chatbot initially challenged several of Trump's claims, including on the 2020 election and inflation, providing evidence and links. More recently, it has refused to answer some of the same questions. Other responses still contradict Trump, while some echo his views. Vedika Bahl tests the chatbot and its varying answers in Truth or Fake.

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for Tennessee to execute Christa Pike, 50, the state's first woman put to death in 200 years. The ruling came hours after a federal appeals court temporarily halted the lethal injection to consider claims that Pike's childhood sexual abuse was not adequately weighed at sentencing.

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, September 30: The Cornell University gang rape investigation reopens. But first: students and prisoners protest in Iran "in a rare show of dissent". Journalist Evan Gershkovich speaks about his 16 months in a Russian prison. Bonus: what can we do to be less lonely? Finally, Fat Bear Week has chosen its winner.

The White House calls them public service announcements, like those used in past administrations. But almost everyone else doesn't agree, with three taxpayer-funded advertisements that glorify US President Donald Trump drawing criticism from across the partisan divide. Legal experts say the ads violate federal laws on government propaganda, as FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell explains in this edition of Truth or Fake. 

François Picard is pleased to welcome Ian Bremmer, the American political scientist, author, and founder and president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media. According to Bremmer, we may now be entering the autumn of the "Donroe Doctrine" and the MAGA era: an "America First" isolationist approach in which President Donald Trump envisions a return to "greatness" in Gilded Age fashion. But is this the America voters had envisioned?

Trade ministers of the Group of 20 are meeting in Milwaukee for two days of talks on Wednesday, but US President Donald Trump’s tariffs are expected to hang heavy over the talks. "Don't expect any breakthroughs," an analyst watching the event said.