With Republicans well placed to win at least partial control of Congress and Trump hinting at a 2024 White House comeback bid at his own rally late Monday, Democrats braced for the worst.

Before narrowly winning Brazil's run-off election vote on Oct. 30, Lula began reaching out to Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) about forming a united front of tropical forest countries, according to a top aide of the leftist leader. 

Victory it was not. Death came in the form of an end to his presidency, which he grudgingly accepted Tuesday -- two days after the election was declared for his opponent.

The victory marks a stunning turnaround for charismatic but tarnished leftist icon Lula, who left office in 2010 as the most popular president in Brazilian history, fell into disgrace when he was imprisoned for 18 months on controversial, since-quashed corruption charges, and now returns for an unprecedented third term at age 77.

The US$13.9 billion worth of purchase by the Indonesian Defense Ministry of the F-15 Eagle heavyweight fighters from the United States remains in negotiations, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has said.

But his one-time boss, former president Barack Obama, is also campaigning hard to rescue a faltering Democratic Party.

The 75-year-old writer, who had received several death threats after the publication of his "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed several times in the neck and abdomen before he was due to give a talk in the state of New York.

A US judge in Texas ruled on Friday that people killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are legally considered "crime victims," a designation that will determine what remedies should be imposed.

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto met with United States Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin on Thursday to discuss opportunities for the countries to coordinate in pursuit of a “free and open” Indo-Pacific and to bolster bilateral ties.

Deals with Jakarta and ASEAN are a manifestation of Ottawa’s new Indo-Pacific strategy, experts noted.

Indonesia voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on Wednesday condemning Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian territories, in a departure from its previously noncommittal stance on the war.

Two people were wounded: a police officer who was treated and released and a person in hospital in critical condition, a police spokesman said.

The 79-year-old Democrat was asked if he'd be announcing a run for a second term after November's midterm elections -- and if Trump would be a factor in his decision.

"My deep condolences to Novita’s family and friends in Indonesia who are suffering due to the tragedy in the United States. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and we have faith that justice will prevail," Kim said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Novita Brazil, 25, was working on her computer in her bedroom at Bald Mountain Drive at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday when the house came under intense fire, local news outlet mysanantonio.com reported.

"About 60 hectares were affected, including some moai," according to a Twitter post by Carolina Perez, Chile's cultural heritage undersecretary.

"I am announcing a pardon of all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana," Biden said.

Lula, the veteran leftist seeking a presidential comeback, had 48.4 percent of the vote to 43.2 percent for the far-right president with more than 99 percent of polling station results in, according to the Superior Electoral Tribunal.

It was the first Chinese network Meta has disrupted that focused on US politics ahead of crucial midterm elections in November, global threat intelligence lead Ben Nimmo said during a press briefing.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi used her speech on the last day of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday to warn the world against getting dragged into another global war, offer up a “new paradigm of collaboration” to avert it and call for imminent UN reforms.

With just days to go until the first-round vote on Oct. 2, Lula is ahead in the polls against President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right populist who has sought to discredit Brazil's electronic voting system. Critics fear Bolsonaro may follow the example of former US President Donald Trump and refuse to accept an electoral defeat.

Boeing agreed to the penalty to settle charges it "negligently violated the antifraud provisions" of US securities laws, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement, saying the company and its leader "put profits over people."

Malpass appeared at an event hosted by the New York Times at Climate Week in New York City on Tuesday and was asked whether he believes that the "manmade burning of fossil fuels is rapidly and dangerously warming the planet." Malpass tried at first to dodge the question but later said: "I don't even know. I'm not a scientist."

Indonesia has raised the alarm on a potential fertilizer shortage that could jeopardize the food security of billions of people worldwide, as tougher Russia sanctions are sought even amid fears of disastrous harvests next year.

The first in-person United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off in New York on Tuesday with an air of pessimism over the state of multilateralism at the institution, despite hopes that the end of virtual meetings would reinvigorate global diplomacy.

"The pandemic is over," Biden said during an interview conducted with CBS' "60 Minutes" program on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show, an event which drew thousands of visitors.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s absence at the United Nations General Assembly speculated to be caused by economic and political instability, will result in diplomatic losses, experts have said.

"Everyone wants me to run. I am leading in the polls," Trump said in an excerpt of an interview with NDTV to be broadcast in full later on Thursday.

The stabbings across 13 crime scenes were among the deadliest mass killings in modern Canadian history and certain to reverberate throughout the country, which is unaccustomed to bouts of mass violence more commonly seen in the United States. 

While nearly 80 percent of Chileans voted to draft a new constitution in 2020, nearly 62 percent of voters rejected the new text with 99.74 percent of ballot boxes counted.