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Flash floods inundate several areas of Thailand's Phuket island after heavy rain

Flash floods on Monday inundated several areas of the island of Phuket in Thailand, one of the country's major tourist destinations, following heavy rainfall overnight, officials said.

All three districts of the southern island province, including its capital, Phuket City, were impacted by the flooding. Water levels started to recede by late morning, but some lower-lying areas remained flooded and small vehicles were advised to avoid those areas, according to the provincial deputy governor, Romdon Hayiawae.

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Venezuela's opposition leader Machado returns after months in exile

Opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado reappeared in Venezuela Sunday for the first time since December, returning from exile at a time when doubts about the country's democratic future — and the role of the U.S. — are growing.

It was her first appearance since the U.S. military deposed the country's then-President Nicolás Maduro in January, replacing him with an interim president who has exceeded the time she was authorized to serve, with no election scheduled.

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Netanyahu might be finished but his policies toward the Palestinians will largely endure

Israel's elections Tuesday could mark the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decades-long political career.

But his legacy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank — of massive settlement expansion, the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians and the empowerment of armed settler extremists — will likely endure, even if his opponents seek to rein it in.

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Jordanian security forces arrest 3 men over last week's deadly church attack

Jordanian security forces arrested three men on Monday for an attack on a Greek Orthodox Church that killed nine people and wounded more than two dozen last week. The arrest involved a shootout and all three men were wounded, officials said.

The Public Security Directorate said no member of the Jordanian forces was wounded in the dawn shootout in Karak, south of Jordan's capital, Amman.

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Brazil's Lula clinches victory over Bolsonaro to win fourth term

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, was reelected Sunday in a result that provides relief to critics of widening U.S. influence in Latin America.

With 100% of the vote counted, Brazil's electoral court announced that the soon to be 81-year-old Lula had a lead of nearly 4.4 million votes over opponent Flávio Bolsonaro, giving him 51.8% of the total vote. Bolsonaro quickly refused to concede defeat and asked for the election results to be annulled after an evening of chaos at some polling places that followed a last-minute decision to extend voting by two hours.

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Iran holds security talks with Saudi, Pakistan, Turkey

High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey were in Tehran on Monday for meetings with Iranian authorities to try to avert renewed fighting between Iran and Israel and the United States, two regional officials said.

The talks come as many in Iran are girding themselves for the possible return to a return to all-out war, as Israeli and American leaders have been sharpening their threats ahead of pending elections in both countries, while Iranian leaders have remained defiant.

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Iranians fear possible return to all-out war as US and Israeli elections approach

Many Iranians are bracing for a return to all-out war as Israeli and U.S. leaders sharpen their threats ahead of elections in both countries in the coming days, and as Iran's leaders remain defiant despite mounting pressure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a close vote Tuesday, says Iran's leadership must be eliminated. U.S. President Donald Trump vows to "finish the job" in Iran eight months after the war began, as a third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops make their way to the region. Some fear attacks just after the U.S. midterms on Nov. 3.

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Lebanese artist turns shrapnel from Israeli munitions into art

In southern Lebanon, visual artist Lina Jouni turns shrapnel from Israeli military munitions into sculptures, keychains and decorative objects.

Since 2024, she has collected fragments from the rubble of destroyed homes in Roumin.

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Trump weighs more strikes or a deal with Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump has bristled when asked how far he was from a possible attack on Iran. He recently said on social media he would not hit Iran again before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

“Do you really think I’m going to tell you if I’m going to do it?" Trump responded. “And there’s a possibility I will. There’s also a possibility we’ll have a nice, big, beautiful agreement.”

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US reduces staffing in Lebanon, 3 Arab countries over Iran fears

The U.S. State Department is reducing staffing at four U.S. embassies in the Middle East after receiving intelligence that Iran has stepped up efforts to target American personnel in the region and elsewhere.

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