A State Department cable telling officials to avoid comments on the “fairness or integrity” of most elections continues a U.S. turn away from promoting democratic values abroad.

Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Jair Bolsonaro, the former president, to stay home most hours, defying President Trump’s demands that charges against Mr. Bolsonaro be dropped.

Relentless rain began on Wednesday, causing flooding in several cities and across vast rural stretches in the province of Punjab.

The leaders of France, Germany and Britain are building parallel diplomatic institutions to defend Europe as President Trump retreats from the continent.

Spread across Syria, Lebanon and Israel, the secretive religious minority has long balanced integration and independence. Now, members are at the heart of the region’s shifting power struggles.

In the southern city of Sweida, residents describe the aftermath of a wave of sectarian violence.

The group, Cristosal, has investigated prison deaths and torture under President Nayib Bukele. Its employees were threatened and surveilled, its director said.

The plan has been described as the largest expansion of voting rights in Britain in decades.

For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

Local officials blamed shoddy construction and a lack of preparedness for the scale of the tragedy at the newly opened building.