'Lula accustomed to negotiating tough bargains': Campaign promises collide with right-wing Congress

Israeli presidential candidate Gadi Eisenkot's pledge made Sunday to "heal" Israeli society after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's divisive tenure resonated with some voters attending his final campaign rally before polling begins Tuesday. Netanyahu meanwhile received fresh backing for re-election from US President Donald Trump and deemed Eisenkot "soft" on Iran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold five bilateral meetings with foreign leaders on the sidelines of the eighth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), including with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday, according to Interfax . Pezeshkian said before departing Tehran that his visit to Moscow would include discussions aimed at securing energy transit routes and eliminating insecurity in the Middle East, which he said was caused by the war sparked by the joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran almost eight months ago.

Tel Aviv — After three years with their country at war on multiple fronts, Israelis will go to the polls Tuesday in a hotly contested election that will shape their next government. Polls show it is an incredibly tight race , and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fights to hold onto his job, there's no guarantee of a quick, definitive outcome for him or his political opponents. Polls vary widely regarding the expected outcome. Right-leaning pollsters give an advantage to the right-wing and religious bloc led by Netanyahu, while left-leaning pollsters show an advantage for the so-called change bloc opposing the incumbent.

The left-wing incumbent president had lost the first round to right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro.