Four years ago, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's reputation and political future were in tatters. After an unlikely rise from poverty to union leader to Brazil's presidency, the man universally known as Lula had landed in prison.

On Sunday – in yet another twist – Brazilian voters chose him by the narrowest of margins to once again lead the world's fourth-largest democracy. He will also be putting his legacy on the line.

Israeli voters appear to be hopelessly deadlocked as the country heads to elections once again on Tuesday, with opinion polls saying the race is too close to forecast.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who governed for 12 years before he was ousted last year, is asking voters to give him another chance, even as he stands trial on corruption charges. The current prime minister, Yair Lapid, has billed himself as a voice of decency and unity. He hopes his brief term as head of a caretaker government has shown voters that someone besides Netanyahu can lead the country.

Before bowing out, President Michel Aoun delivered a final broadside against caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

"This morning, I sent a letter to parliament and signed a decree that considers the government resigned," he told supporters before leaving the palace in the hills above Beirut.

President Michel Aoun vacated the presidential palace on Sunday, amid acclaim from his supporters, a day before his mandate expires without a designated successor, which threatens a new power vacuum in the crisis-torn country.

Former premier Benjamin Netanyahu's record run as Israel's leader would not have been possible without the unwavering support of ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. But are they getting ready to part ways?

Israel, which holds parliamentary elections on November 1, has been in conflict with the Palestinians and some neighboring Arab states since it was founded in 1948.

Established as a homeland for the Jewish people in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, it has since emerged as the Middle East's military powerhouse.

Israel goes to the polls Tuesday for the fifth time in under four years, with veteran right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to make a comeback as premier.

The vote comes at a time talks to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict have long since stalled and as violence has flared again in the occupied West Bank. 

Israel is holding its fifth national election in under four years, and once again the race is shaping up as a referendum on former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fitness to rule.

Netanyahu has been campaigning while standing trial on corruption charges. As Israel's opposition leader, he has portrayed himself as the victim of a political witch hunt and promised to reform a legal system he sees as profoundly biased against him. His main opponent, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, is marketing himself as a voice of decency and national unity.

Already reeling from three years of economic meltdown, Lebanon faces the prospect of its multi-faceted crisis deepening further when President Michel Aoun's mandate expires in a week from now.

The deadline looms as the country is headed by a caretaker administration, since key parties have been unable to agree on a proper government to replace one whose mandate expired in May.

When Michel Aoun became president in 2016, putting an end to a two-year power vacuum due to political wrangling, he vowed to be the "strong" president Lebanon so desperately needed.

But as his mandate draws to a close next week, the country is reeling from an unprecedented economic crisis, with Beirut having been ravaged in 2019 by one of the world's biggest non-nuclear explosions.