Odita Sunday 
TUESDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2026
WORLD • IRAN & UNITED STATES
Trump Stands at a Crossroads: Strike Iran Again, or Strike a Deal
On Monday, President Trump told the world he is still deciding between two roads: a deal with Tehran, or one more push with Israel to “finish them off.” A day earlier he had promised there would be no strike on Sunday, and he has said he has “two very different sets” of intelligence on Iran. Behind the headlines are ordinary people feeling the squeeze. The Associated Press reports that Iranians are rushing to buy goods, afraid that all-out war could return within weeks, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Iran’s economy could shrink by more than a quarter between March this year and March 2027.
Washington is also sounding an alarm about its own people. An unclassified memo from the Director of National Intelligence, sent on Friday, says Iran has “substantially increased” efforts to target Americans, with plots at an “advanced stage”. The State Department has told non-emergency staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia after Houthi attacks. In the Gulf, a ship was reported on fire about 63 nautical miles from Al-Faw, Iraq; nobody has said what happened to the crew.
Trump says the war was needed to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon and that oil prices will come down once it ends. Midterm elections in the United States are on 3 November, and families there are watching fuel prices closely.
WORLD • MIDDLE EAST
Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani Envoys Knock on Tehran’s Door
Three of the Muslim world’s biggest capitals sent officials to meet Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on Monday, the first high-level visit of its kind since the three countries signed a mutual defence pact in Mecca in August. Saudi Arabia said the aim was to open channels and “prevent the return of military escalation”. Pezeshkian urged Islamic nations to act as a “single force”. After months of war and blockade, the visit is a small sign that neighbours are trying to talk before the guns speak again.
WORLD • BRAZIL
Lula Wins a Fourth Term in a Tight Race Against Bolsonaro’s Son
Brazilians went to the polls on Sunday for a run-off, and when the night was over President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had won again. It was described as the contest against Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, as a tight and heated race, and NPR calls it a stunning victory for a fourth term. We have not seen final vote totals or a concession, so the margin is not yet clear.
NIGERIA • POLITICS
Obi Demands the Release of an NDC Campaigner Taken From His Home at 1 a.m.
A knock on the door at about one o’clock on Sunday morning is how Sunday began for Rilwan Olawale. Olawale, a campaign mobiliser for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, was taken from his Lagos home by men who said they were from the Department of State Services, Funso Doherty, the party’s Lagos governorship candidate, said on X. His family and lawyers were still trying to see him on Monday, and there was no official statement on where he is or why he was picked up.
Peter Obi, the NDC’s presidential candidate, said the case is part of a wider pattern of harassment of his supporters. “Stop destroying the democracy that made you,” he wrote to President Tinubu, adding that his campaign is peaceful and that supporters’ restraint should not be mistaken for weakness. The APC campaign council, through Dele Alake, has meanwhile urged Obi to quit the 2027 race.
NIGERIA • POLITICS
Atiku to Take His Campaign to All 36 States; Tinubu Will Visit 12
Atiku Abubakar’s campaign promises to go to every one of Nigeria’s 36 states, his spokesman Phrank Shaibu said on ARISE News. The plan goes beyond state-capital rallies to town halls, local government areas and village visits, and Shaibu rejected the idea that the campaign would lean on the North. No timetable has been released. By comparison, the report notes, President Tinubu plans to attend rallies personally in only 12 states, saying he must balance campaigning with governing.
NIGERIA • POLITICS
NDC Names Its Campaign Team: Obi Co-chairs, Kwankwaso Joins as Co-vice Chair
The Nigeria Democratic Congress has unveiled its 2027 campaign leadership. Seriake Dickson chairs the campaign caucus, with Peter Obi as co-chair and Rabiu Kwankwaso as co-vice chair. Babachir Lawal leads the advisory council, and Ibrahim Abdulkarim is Director-General.
The campaign is already trading sharp words. Presidential aide Olusegun Dada said the APC would “retire” Atiku and Obi politically in January. On social media, the activist Aisha Yesufu warned opposition politicians to be ready for every scenario after raising fears that the vote could be shifted by a week. The presidential election is currently set for 16 January 2027.
NIGERIA • HEALTH & FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Fifty-three People Watched Over After Nigeria’s Ebola Case, and Paid to Stay Home
Behind Nigeria’s one confirmed Ebola case, a 42-year-old woman who recently returned from Uganda, stand dozens of people who have had to put their lives on hold. The NCDC says it has identified 53 primary contacts and two suspected cases; a suspected case in Rivers State tested negative. After contacts spoke up about money worries while being watched, the agency approved N100,000 a week for each of them. NCDC Director-General Dr Jide Idris described the situation as “two suspected cases and 53 primary contact links”. Diaspora dispatch is still waiting for NCDC statement on the issue.
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