🇫🇷 France formally repeals the “Code Noir” 341 years after it was introduced

The 1685 decree regulated the lives and religion of enslaved people in French colonies and classified them as movable property

It lost legal effect when France abolished slavery in 1848 but had never been formally repealed

Iran will not reopen Strait of Hormuz or resume negotiations until seven new conditions presented through intermediaries are met ⤵️

Supreme National Security Council says Iran prefers 'de-escalation' but 'the longer the US prolonged the war, the stronger Iran would become, although this was not what Tehran wanted'

💢 Iran also warns it will use new capabilities to target US assets in region, including cables and artificial intelligence facilities, if war resumes

📌 Japanese author Ryu Murakami, best known for his Akutagawa Prize-winning debut novel Almost Transparent Blue, died at his home in Japan

📚 He went on to write acclaimed works including Coin Locker Babies, 69, and From the Fatherland, with Love

🗳️ Flavio Bolsonaro holds narrow lead in polls ahead of Brazil's presidential runoff

📈 Polls put Bolsonaro's support at around 50%, with Lula close behind and race within margin of error

🇧🇷 Brazilians heading to polls Sunday after neither candidate secured outright majority in first round of voting

🇧🇬 Bulgaria holds first round of presidential election, with 6.5 million registered voters eligible to cast ballots and 27 candidates competing amid regional security concerns and rising energy prices

🗳 President Iliana Yotova leads with 44.5% support, followed by former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov at 26.1%, according to a poll

📊 If no candidate secures more than 50% of votes, with required voter turnout, a runoff will be held on Nov. 1

🗣️ British Prime Minister Andy Burnham says revising UK's post-Brexit relationship with EU could help bridge divisions

📌 Burnham hopes UK rejoins bloc in his lifetime but insists decision rests with British public, rules out rejoining before next general election and dismisses early election speculation

🇩🇪 More than 140,000 students and young people register for simultaneous protests in 23 German cities on Saturday

🪧 Demonstrators oppose education and social spending cuts, rising living costs and planned military conscription

📍 Cologne leads with over 12,000 registrations, followed by Frankfurt with nearly 11,000, Hamburg and Berlin with over 8,000 each, Munich with nearly 7,000

UN human rights chief Volker Turk says sanctions against UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese 'not acceptable'

▪️ 'You can agree or disagree with someone, but you should never ever sanction them,' Turk tells Anadolu

▪️ He says independent experts appointed by UN Human Rights Council should not face sanctions

🇨🇳 Chinese court sentences former securities regulator Wang Huimin to death with 2-year reprieve over $65.4M bribery case

⚖️ Court says Wang accepted bribes between 1998 and 2025, with sentence set to be commuted to life imprisonment if he commits no further crimes during reprieve

🇺🇸 US commander in the Middle East Adm. Brad Cooper briefed Trump at the White House on military options for Iran, US media reports

📌 The rare in-person visit came as Washington weighs resuming major combat operations

📌 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine also attended the meeting

☄️ Ancient Martian meteorite found in Mali offers new clues about Mars’ early crust and water history

🔍 NASA-funded researchers say 4.1-billion-year-old rock preserves evidence of ancient water activity, calling it a potential ‘Rosetta Stone for Mars’

🇵🇱 Polish President Karol Nawrocki returns to Warsaw from Senegal and meets Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapinski amid Constitutional Tribunal crisis

Kapinski warns disputes over constitutional institutions cannot justify actions that undermine their authority

🗣️ 'The constitution and law set the limits of state power,' Kapinski says

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urges G20 members to strengthen economic cooperation at meeting in Atlanta

🤝 Rubio urges countries to work together to build a stronger global economic future and address shared challenges despite differences in national interests

🗣️ 'We must all work together to address them,' Rubio tells diplomats

🏀 Golden State Valkyries defeat Atlanta Dream 68-63 to claim first WNBA championship in just their second season

🏆 French international Gabby Williams scores 30 points in decisive Game 7, securing 4-3 Finals victory for Golden State

US Democratic lawmakers criticize Rep. Haley Stevens for endorsing Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan

➖ Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer calls endorsement 'a despicable betrayal' and says Senate Democrats remain united behind party nominee

🗣️ Swiss President Guy Parmelin urges US to honor arms contracts amid delays in Patriot air defense system deliveries


📌 Switzerland faces 5-7 year delay despite paying over $1.2B in advance, prompting consideration of alternative suppliers

⚖️ International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane condemns US sanctions against the court, calling them an attempt to obstruct justice

📢 Akane calls on UN member states to defend judicial independence and uphold the Rome Statute

🇺🇸 US President Donald Trump says he is ‘not looking to kill lots of people’ in Iran following the midterm elections, while warning that Washington would take decisive action if necessary

➡️ Trump describes the recent strike on Iranian anti-aircraft facility as a 'minor attack' rather than resumption of war

📍 Britain's Drax power station could become the country's largest data center under a $27 billion agreement to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure

➡️ First phase is expected to become operational in early 2028, delivering up to 100 megawatts of computing capacity as developers target eventual capacity exceeding 1 gigawatt

🇺🇸 US Midterm Election Results

🕑 As of 0243 GMT

🏛️ House – 435 seats contested
🟥 Republicans: 50
🟦 Democrats: 92

🏛️ Senate – 35 seats contested
🟥 Republicans: 5
🟦 Democrats: 11

🏛️ Governors – 36 races
🟥 Republicans: 2
🟦 Democrats: 9

Results based on AP projections

🇺🇸 US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries seeks support to become next House speaker following party’s midterm election victories

📢 Jeffries pledges to lower living costs, strengthen oversight of Trump administration, and push to end war in Iran