Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his main challenger Flavio Bolsonaro wrapped up their campaigns on Saturday in the powerhouse state of Sao Paulo, where a fifth of the nation's vote is based, seeking to rally supporters and convince the undecided on the eve of Sunday's nail-biter election.

The head of Tennessee's prison system has resigned in the first major shake-up since the stunning failed execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike, who is in critical condition after surviving two lethal injections. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who previously denied Pike clemency, has halted further executions through the rest of the year while a review is conducted.

The first round of Brazil’s presidential election on Sunday pits two well-known names in the political ring: Lula vs. Bolsonaro. But it’s not former president Jair Bolsonaro facing off against the incumbent head of state – it’s his eldest son, Flavio Bolsonaro. He’s less charismatic than his father but just as ideologically radical as the family patriarch.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the Trump administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own while it considers the legality of the practice. The court’s conservative majority temporarily blocked safeguards requiring deportees to receive notice of where they would be sent and time to raise persecution concerns.

OpenAI will not release its latest artificial intelligence model, Astra 6.1, after internal tests found it fell short of safety standards, the maker of ChatGPT confirmed on Monday. The decision came ahead of a meeting of AI leaders at the White House Tuesday convened by US President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson amid mounting controversy over the risks posed by rogue AI. 

Argentine President Javier Milei on Monday threatened to sue the UK over the Sea Lion oil project near the disputed Falkland Islands. Argentina claims sovereignty over the British-administered territory, where a 1982 war killed 255 British and 649 Argentine troops. Developers Navitas and Rockhopper say they hold valid British-issued exploration licences.

US prosecutors reopened an investigation on Monday into an alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell University after the woman involved accused the school of failing to punish those responsible adequately. In a lawsuit, she said seven Chi Phi fraternity members had drugged her with ketamine and assaulted her.

Costa Rica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Tovar, was dismissed from his post last week by the country’s president Laura Fernández. Tovar was considered one of the “heavyweights” of the country’s dominant political faction, having previously served as Minister of Commerce under President Rodrigo Chávez.

The decision was made by Fernández on September 24, because, according to a statement, her foreign minister failed to inform her of an invitation to a meeting held in New York City aimed at strengthening the so-called Shield of the Americas.

Shield of the Americas is a political-military alliance led by Donald Trump that seeks to secure Washington’s geopolitical leadership in the region, and which right-wing and far-right Latin American governments have joined enthusiastically.

Right-wing President Fernández said that failing to report such an important meeting constituted an act of negligence on Tovar’s part. The Costa Rican president also said that Shield of the Americas is a “fundamental platform in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.”

The president did not travel to the United States to deliver her speech at the UN General Assembly because she was on an official visit to Colombia with her counterpart, the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella.

The Costa Rican presidency reported that the invitation – which was not extended to her – came from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio himself. Several heads of state from Shield of the Americas member states participated, including Javier Milei of Argentina, José Antonio Kast of Chile, Rodrigo Paz of Bolivia, Daniel Noboa of Ecuador, Irfaan Ali of Guyana, Nasry Asfura of Honduras, Santiago Peña of Paraguay, Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic, and Keiko Fujimori of Peru, among others.

In this regard, Fernández publicly apologized to the US ambassador to the Central American country, Melinda Hildebrand: “I reiterate to your country my firm and resolute commitment to continue supporting the Shield of the Americas alliance… I regret my absence… The failure to forward that invitation from your government to me did not go unnoticed, and today the foreign minister of the Republic was dismissed,” which clearly demonstrates the enormous importance San José attaches to an invitation from Washington.

Tovar’s dismissal comes on the heels of a series of dismissals of key ministers in Fernández’s government, a development the opposition has used to highlight a certain instability in the very young administration.

“We are concerned about serious foreign policy mistakes that need to be corrected… Second, we are concerned about the stability of the cabinet: in less than five months, five senior officials – including ministers and deputy ministers – have already been dismissed. That instability is not in her best interest, nor in that of her government or Costa Rica,” said the leader of the National Liberation Party caucus.

For his part, the former foreign minister did not explain the reasons behind his decision not to inform Fernández about the invitation. In a post on X, he said briefly: “I thank Laura Fernández for the opportunity to serve the Costa Rican people from the Casa Amarilla, and I wish her every success as President of the Republic for the good of the country. Finally, I would like to commend the team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the passion and dedication with which they undertake every mission on behalf of the country. To them, I offer my eternal gratitude. I accept this moment with great peace of mind. I will always stand by the just causes of the Costa Rican people and the international community.”

The reasons behind Tovar’s decision remain unknown, although several sectors of the opposition have raised suspicions about an alleged ulterior motive on Fernández’s part for not attending the Shield of the Americas meeting – which, if true, could reveal political and diplomatic contradictions deeper than they might appear at first glance.

The Trump administration's policy of deportating thousands of people to countries with which they have no links is "increasing risks of torture and ill-treatment and enforced disappearance", a panel of independent UN experts warned on Monday. An investigation by an international consortium of journalists including FRANCE 24 reporters determined last week that more than 25,000 third-country nationals had been deported by the end of August.

From Pope Leo XIV's historic first visit to France to US President Donald Trump meeting China's President Xi Jinping to flooded streets in Bangkok, FRANCE 24 looks back at the week's most striking pictures.

A powerful storm unusual for this time of year intensified on Sunday over the northeastern United States, bringing torrential rain and powerful winds that cut off power to tens of thousands of people and killed one person, according to US media.