The Brief

A Flydubai co-pilot identified by multiple outlets as Hamam al-Hammami attacked the captain with a crash axe aboard a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, in what the UAE's prosecutor general called a "terrorist act." Passengers overpowered the attacker after the captain, Smit Machchhar, opened the cockpit door to let others in.

An AP report cited by PBS NewsHour says the co-pilot had previously been flagged over extremism concerns, raising questions about how thoroughly Flydubai vets employees and how he ended up on a flight filled with Israeli passengers. Machchhar, recovering in hospital, described the ordeal in an emotional call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the UAE has canceled all flights to Israel in the aftermath.

Russia struck the Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge in Kyiv on Saturday, the second major bridge in Ukraine's capital hit in as many days, the BBC reported.

At least five people were killed as Kyiv and Moscow traded strikes, Al Jazeera reported, in an escalation that has now targeted two key bridges in the Ukrainian capital.

Student protests over underfunding and overcrowding in French schools have turned violent, with riot police clashing with demonstrators and students setting fires — including one that engulfed a high school in Metz — and more than 200 people reported wounded. About 735 schools have faced disruption, and hundreds have closed.

The movement began roughly two weeks ago and has since spread across the country, posing a growing challenge for the French government.

French authorities have arrested roughly 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, as the protests continue to spread to cities nationwide, NPR reported. High school students say their classrooms are overcrowded, teachers are missing and buildings need repairs.

President Trump said the U.S. war with Iran will end "very quickly," suggesting it could conclude "right after the election, if not sooner," as roughly 9,000 additional U.S. troops head to the Middle East, CBS News reported.

Senior administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, met at Camp David on Friday to discuss a path forward, CBS News reported. Trump said he believes Iran is "ready to fold up" but renewed his threat to resume U.S. attacks after the midterms, and the Pentagon is also sending an additional aircraft carrier to the region, according to PBS NewsHour.

British prosecutors said two Iranian men scouted the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester as part of an alleged plot to detonate a chlorine bomb, PBS NewsHour and CBS News reported. The synagogue was the site of a deadly car-and-knife attack by Jihad Al-Shamie on Yom Kippur on Oct. 2, 2025.

Separately, a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national arrested in London over a suspected plot against the U.S.-run RAF Fairford air base — used by American bombers in strikes on Iran — was released on bail as detectives continue investigating, the BBC and PBS NewsHour reported. He is the sixth person arrested and released on bail in that case.

Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro closed their campaigns Friday ahead of Sunday's high-stakes presidential rematch, four years after Lula narrowly defeated Flávio's father, Jair Bolsonaro. The latest polls show Lula's lead narrowing, with neither candidate likely to win outright on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported.

Crime has topped voters' concerns ahead of the election, with calls for tougher measures reflecting a broader rightward shift across Latin America. Sovereignty and ties with Washington have also become a flashpoint, with Brazil accusing the U.S. of election interference, the BBC reported.