This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens.
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By Tom Williams
Stay in The Loop
That's all for The Loop this Halloween morning — thanks for being with us!
We'll be back tomorrow, but in the meantime, you can stay up to date on the ABC News website and by subscribing to our mobile alerts.
If you're just joining us, here's what you need to know:
- Brazil's former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been declared the winner of the country's latest presidential election, after narrowly beating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro
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A communications platform used by Australian military personnel and defence officials has been hit by a ransomware attack
- Red Bull's Max Verstappen has won the Mexico Grand Prix in Mexico City, setting a new Formula 1 record for the most wins in a single season
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces have repelled a "fierce offensive" by Russian troops in the eastern Donetsk region
Until next time …
By Tom Williams
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared the winner of Brazil's election
Brazil's electoral authority says Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the leftist Worker's Party has defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro to become the country's next president.
With 98.8% of the votes tallied, da Silva had 50.8% and Bolsonaro 49.2%, and the election authority said da Silva's victory was a mathematical certainty.
Da Silva — the country's former president from 2003-2010 — has promised to restore the country's more prosperous past, yet faces faces headwinds in a polarised society.
It is a stunning return to power for da Silva, 77, whose 2018 imprisonment over a corruption scandal sidelined him from that year's election, paving the way for then-candidate Bolsonaro's win and four years of far-right politics.
By Tom Williams
Australia's Department of Defence caught up in ransomware attack
A communications platform used by military personnel and defence department public servants has been hit by a ransomware attack.
Here's defence correspondent Andrew Greene:
Hackers have targeted the ForceNet service which is run by an external ICT provider, but Defence has been told no data of current or former personnel appears to have been compromised.
In a message to all staff the Defence Secretary and Defence Chief say the matter is being taken "very seriously".
By Tom Williams
Photos from Seoul, as South Koreans mourn those killed in crowd crush
South Koreans have mourned and searched for relatives lost in the "hell-like" chaos that killed more than 150 people, mostly young adults, when a huge Halloween party crowd surged into a narrow alley in a nightlife district in Seoul over the weekend.
It remains unclear what led the crowd to surge into the downhill alley in the Itaewon area on Saturday night, and authorities are promising a thorough investigation.
Here are some of the latest photos from Seoul:
By Tom Williams
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva projected to win Brazil's presidential election
Brazil's former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has won Brazil's presidential election, according to pollster Datafolha, denying far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro a second term.
The polling firm called the election with 95% of the votes counted in Latin America's largest country.
The official count stood at 50.7% of votes for Lula against 49.3% for Bolsonaro.
Brazil's electoral authority is yet to declare a winner.
A significant number of votes still remained to be counted in the Bolsonaro stronghold state of Sao Paulo, but his leftist rival was inching ahead in a runoff marred by accusations from Lula's Workers Party that police suppressed votes in some regions.
The election has been seen as a referendum on two starkly different — and vehemently opposed — visions for Brazil's future.
Bolsonaro vowed to consolidate a sharp rightward turn in Brazilian politics after a presidency that witnessed one of the world's deadliest outbreaks of COVID-19 and widespread deforestation in the Amazon basin.
Lula promised more social and environmental responsibility, recalling the rising prosperity of his 2003-2010 presidency before corruption scandals tarnished his Workers Party.
By Tom Williams
Robodebt royal commission begins public hearings today
A royal commission into the bungled federal robodebt scheme is due to begin public hearings in Brisbane today.
The automated debt recovery program — which rolled out between 2015 and 2019 — wrongly accused many people on social security benefits of owing the government money.
Last year the Federal Court approved a $1.8 billion dollar settlement between victims and the federal government.
The commission will look into the establishment and implementation of the scheme, the harm caused to individuals, the financial cost to the government and what measures are needed to stop it happening again.
It will deliver its final report in April.
You can read more about robodebt as the royal commission gets underway below.
By Tom Williams
Elon Musk deletes tweet about Pelosi attack conspiracy theory
Twitter's new owner, billionaire Elon Musk, has tweeted (and later deleted) a link to an unfounded rumor about the attack on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, just days after finalising his acquisition of the social media platform.
Musk's tweet linked to an article by a fringe website, the Santa Monica Observer.
The article recycled a baseless claim that the personal life of Paul Pelosi, the speaker's husband, somehow played a role in an intruder's attack last week in the couple's San Francisco home, even though there is no evidence to support that claim.
Musk's tweet was in reply to a tweet by Hillary Clinton, in which she criticised Republicans for generally spreading "hate and deranged conspiracy theories" and said: "It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result."
In response to Clinton's tweet, Musk provided a link to the article and added: "There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye."
The Los Angeles Times, the dominant news organisation in the Southern California area where the Observer is located, has previously said the Observer was "notorious for fake news".
By Tom Williams
Max Verstappen wins Mexico GP, breaks record for most wins in an F1 season
Red Bull's Max Verstappen has won the Mexico Grand Prix in Mexico City, setting a new Formula 1 record for the most wins in a single season.
The Dutch 25-year-old led from pole position at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to take the chequered flag ahead of Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez third in front of his home crowd.
The win means Verstappen has claimed 14 wins in 2022.
It was also a ninth win in a row and 16th from 20 races for Red Bull, who wrapped up the constructors' title in Texas last weekend with three rounds to spare.
Verstappen retained his drivers' title in Japan in October.
By Tom Williams
Ukraine's president says forces have repelled a 'fierce offensive' in Donetsk
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces have repelled a "fierce offensive" by Russian troops in the eastern Donetsk region.
Zelenskyy said a military unit from Chop in western Ukraine fought back against the Russians, but did not say where the clash had occurred.
"Today they stopped the fierce offensive actions of the enemy," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.
"The Russian attack was repelled."
The president also said Ukraine's "exchange fund" had been replenished, meaning Russian servicemen had been taken prisoner.
Zelenskyy also addressed Russia's decision to suspend its participation in a UN-brokered deal that had allowed grain shipments from Ukraine.
"Russia is the only one to blame for the fact that food will now become more expensive for people across a vast expanse from West Africa to East Asia," he said.
"Russia is the reason why people, in particular, in Ethiopia, Yemen or Somalia, are left with a catastrophic food shortage."
By Tom Williams
Caroline Kennedy condemns attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband as 'an awful thing'
Speaking with ABC News Breakfast for her first Australian media interview as the new US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy — daughter of former US president John F. Kennedy — says the violent attack against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband is "an awful thing".
The man who hit Ms Pelosi's husband in the head with a hammer after forcing his way into the couple's San Francisco home faces charges of attempted murder as well as other felonies.
"Nancy Pelosi has been a friend of our family for my whole life, really," Ms Kennedy said.
"And her husband is really just a wonderful person. So I was really shocked and saddened and I send my thoughts and prayers to the family."
Asked about polarisation and threats of political violence in the US, Kennedy said she "couldn't be prouder" of her country, and condemned "any kind of violence".
"But I think that the vast majority of Americans condemn it, and I think our democracy is strong, and most people in America are maybe not what you see in the media," she said.
By Bridget Judd
Man accused of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband allegedly carried zip ties
The man accused of attacking US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband carried zip ties with him when he broke into the couple's San Francisco home, according to a person briefed on the investigation.
The person was not authorised to publicly discuss the Pelosi case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The attack on Democratic leader's 82-year-old husband, Paul Pelosi was an unsettling reminder of the nation’s toxic political climate.
With threats to public officials at an all-time high, members of Congress were being urged to reach out for additional security resources, including increased police patrols of their neighbourhoods.
US Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a weekend memo to politicians that the attack “is a somber reminder of the threats elected officials and families face in 2022".
AP
By Tom Williams
Halfway through the Mexico GP, here are the race leaders
By Bridget Judd
Overcrowded stadium crush kills 11 people in Congolese capital
Eleven people have been killed, including two police officers, in a crush at an overcrowded concert in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, authorities have confirmed.
Kinshasa's Stadium of Martyrs was packed beyond its capacity of 80,000 and some of the crowd ended up forcing their way into the VIP and reserved sections, Reuters reports.
Police have recorded "11 deaths, including 10 as a result of suffocation and the crush, and seven hospitalisations", Minister Daniel Aselo Okito said in a statement.
Security forces earlier fired tear gas to try to disperse violent crowds in the streets outside the stadium where many had gathered ahead of the concert.
Reuters
By Tom Williams
One thing to know from overnight: A pedestrian bridge has collapsed in India
At least 68 people have been killed after a pedestrian bridge over a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat collapsed, plunging hundreds of people into the water below.
Authorities said more than 400 people were in and around the suspension bridge over the Machhu River in the town of Morbi at the time of the collapse on Sunday evening.
The bridge had been closed for renovation for almost six months and it reopened just four days ago.
The structure collapsed because it could not handle the weight of the large crowd, officials said.
By Tom Williams
US election officials facing 'very complex threat environment' ahead of midterms
Election officials in the United States have been told to safe-proof their voting systems and be vigilant about political violence ahead of the midterms amid a "very complex threat environment", a top US cybersecurity official said in the wake of an attack on the husband of US House Speaker and Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
Jen Easterly, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has told CBS that the agency is concerned about a range of threats, including cyber, insider, physical and disinformation, despite it seeing no "specific or credible" threats at the moment.
CISA is distributing information about disinformation campaigns and tactics that seek to undermine confidence in US elections, she said.
"We are putting out information … to make sure that state and local election officials have the information that they need to protect their voting systems and their election infrastructure."
The warning is among a range of messages being distributed by federal agencies and law enforcement, including the New York Police Department, with the midterm election just nine days away.
By Tom Williams
News while you snoozed
- An investigation by the ABC's Four Corners has revealed that the US is planning to build facilities at Tindal air base, south of Darwin, as it prepares to deploy up to six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to northern Australia. It's a provocative move experts say is aimed squarely at China
- Voters in Brazil are returning to the polls in a polarising presidential election which pits conservative incumbent Jair Bolsonaro against his political nemesis, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Amid reports of voter suppression in some areas, the poll is set to determine whether the country will have a leftist return to the top job. Da Silva topped the first-round elections earlier this month with 48% of the vote, but Bolsonaro was a strong second at 43%
By Tom Williams
Here's the news Australia is searching for online
- Mexico Grand Prix. The F1 event is currently underway, after Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed pole position by beating George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to top spot. Home favourite Sergio Perez started from fourth in the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
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D. H. Peligro. The punk icon and longtime drummer of Dead Kennedys has died. He was 63. In a statement the band said police stated "that he died from trauma to the head caused by an accidental fall". The group have thanked fans for their "thoughts and words of comfort"
By Tom Williams
One more thing: Here's Google's Halloween video game
Because it's Halloween and they just can't help themselves, Google have shared a new verison of an old doodle, which is actually a full-blown video game.
The doodle-game (that's what we're calling it now okay) is a multiplayer interactive sequel to 2018's Great Ghoul Duel.
"Players around the world join a team of four to compete and collect the most wandering spirit flames before the moon is gone," Google says.
You can try the game out by clicking the doodle on the Google homepage.
By Tom Williams
Let's set you up for the day
Hi there. I'm Tom Williams and it's Monday, October 31 — the spookiest day of the year.
From B-52s (the bombers, not the band) to a deadly bridge collapse and Brazil's polarising presidential election — here's what you need to know this Halloween morning.
