The most important world events of the past 24 hours
French PM orders partial curfews after weekend riots; Macron rejects interior minister's resignation
🐱 Scout French anchor · French PM orders partial curfews after riots
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Monday he had asked local authorities to impose partial curfews starting Monday evening after a weekend of rioting, ruling out a full curfew on all of Paris. The unrest, which grew out of cost-of-living protests, led to about 2,400 arrests and injured nearly 1,000 police officers; Marseille banned public gatherings from noon to 8 p.m. Monday. President Macron rejected Interior Minister Laurent Nunez's resignation offer, asking him to stay to keep command of law enforcement. (Follow-up)
Background: Up to 800,000 people took to the streets last weekend over living costs and school conditions, erupting into France's worst street violence in decades; Macron blamed "ultra-left" agitators in a televised address Sunday night.
Russia fires 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight; Zelenskyy says allies gave no warning
🐱 Scout field reporter · Russian missiles strike Kyiv overnight
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Russia had fired 16 ballistic missiles at the Kyiv region and launched more than 200 drones overnight, killing a 21-year-old woman and damaging a metro station, while allies gave "no early warning." Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Uzbekistan on Monday, denied Washington had suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine. The exchange followed Ukraine's weekend launch of more than 1,000 drones at Russia, which set St. Petersburg oil facilities ablaze; Moscow claimed 1,015 were intercepted. (Follow-up)
Background: After Trump's October 11 "energy ceasefire" announcement, Zelenskyy accused Russia of striking Ukrainian energy sites 76 times in a week; Ukraine has since resumed strikes on Russian refineries.
Indonesian stocks slide to six-year low as MSCI expulsion threat sparks panic selling
🐱 Scout financier · Indonesian stocks crash to six-year low
Indonesian stocks slid more than 5% on Monday to a six-year low, extending Friday's 11.6% plunge — the sharpest one-day fall since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. The trigger was index provider MSCI's warning that it may downgrade Indonesia from emerging-market to "standalone" status over ownership-transparency concerns; the exchange halved its daily down limit to 7% on Monday. The rupiah weakened to 18,048 per dollar, near the record low of 18,190 hit in June, and the 10-year government bond yield rose to 7.4%; the exchange chief said he would meet MSCI executives on Monday, and President Prabowo Subianto was expected to meet top financial officials in the afternoon.
Background: MSCI first flagged concerns over market manipulation and ownership transparency in January; Indonesian stocks are down about 40% this year, the world's worst-performing major market.
Egypt parliament delays vote on Saudi deployment again; Riyadh extends airport shutdown and strikes Sanaa
🐱 Scout Egyptian anchor · Egypt delays vote on Saudi deployment
Egypt's parliament failed on Sunday to vote on authorizing the military to assist Saudi Arabia, extending debate into Monday and possibly Tuesday, with no result as of press time; under Article 152 of the constitution, sending troops abroad requires National Defence Council consultation and two-thirds parliamentary approval. President Sisi had chaired the defence council pledging "all necessary and possible support" to defend Saudi territory and Islamic holy sites, while stressing "defense only." Meanwhile Saudi Arabia extended the flight suspension at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport after a fresh wave of drone and cruise-missile attacks, and retaliated with airstrikes on two districts of Sanaa, which Houthi sources say killed one person and wounded 12. The U.S. Embassy issued an emergency security alert; the PIF Saudi International golf tournament was postponed indefinitely; the coalition said Riyadh airport has come under 20 attacks since October 1. (Follow-up)
Background: Houthi missile and drone strikes have repeatedly hit Saudi airports and oil facilities since early October as the Yemen ceasefire collapsed; Egypt took a limited role in the Saudi-led coalition in 2015.
Political developments and international relations
Israeli police arrest 8–10 suspects in settler attacks on diplomats and journalist
Israeli police launched "Operation Olive Leaf" early Monday, arresting 8 to 10 settlers suspected in the October 17 attacks on a European diplomatic convoy and a U.S. journalist in the West Bank (Reuters reported 8, CNN at least 10); Israeli radio said all suspects are Israeli citizens and the Shin Bet is involved in the investigation. U.S. Ambassador Huckabee welcomed the arrests. Belgium's foreign minister said he would keep pushing EU sanctions against "the perpetrators and their supporters"; injured Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine suffered spinal fractures and broken ribs and has undergone surgery. (Follow-up)
Background: Masked settlers attacked a European diplomatic convoy in Taybeh on October 17, lightly injuring 78-year-old French mayor Bernard Baudoux; Israel holds a general election on October 27.
Rubio: Russia sanctions waiver is a "60-day pause"; Trump says final decision not yet made
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that President Trump will use up to 60 days to assess the economic impact of waiving sanctions and tariffs under the Graham Act on Russia and the global and U.S. economies, citing energy-price pressure from the Iran war and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Trump said Sunday his final decision was "not yet announced" and defended the move, refusing to "foolishly" drive Moscow away from the negotiating table. Treasury Secretary Bessent accused European nations of "financing the Russian war machine" through Russian energy purchases, saying Europe imports more than 10 times what the U.S. does; Zelenskyy and bipartisan U.S. lawmakers criticized the waiver as weakening pressure on Moscow. (Follow-up)
Background: Trump signed an executive order on October 16 waiving the Graham Act measures, which had been due to take effect October 18 with tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods; Brent crude has since retreated from May highs.
Sources: Reuters, The Hindu BusinessLine (2 outlets)
Alberta votes on leaving Canada; separatist movement expected to outlast defeat
Oil-rich Alberta held a nonbinding referendum on Monday on whether the western province should secede from Canada, with polls closing at 8 p.m. MDT (10 a.m. Tuesday Beijing time). Polls consistently showed about two-thirds of voters opposed to a split, but separatists say the movement will not end with an expected defeat. Prime Minister Mark Carney, who grew up in Alberta, spent the past week campaigning for the "stay" side, calling the vote "a dangerous bluff."
Background: Alberta's separatist sentiment has simmered for years, fueled by anger over Ottawa's climate policies constraining the oil industry and by Trump's repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state.
China's Q3 GDP growth rebounds to 4.5%, beating forecasts as exports carry the load
China's economy grew 4.5% year-on-year in the third quarter, beating the 4.4% forecast in a Reuters poll and rebounding from a more than three-year low of 4.3% in Q2, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. Growth of 4.6% for January–September sits within the government's 4.5%–5.0% annual target. Reuters noted the economy still leans heavily on exports — September's trade surplus widened, keeping China on track to top last year's record $1.2 trillion, a trend likely to intensify trade tensions with major partners.
Background: China's economy has run at two speeds this year, with strong factory output and exports masking weak consumption and a property slump — property investment fell 20.6% in January–September.
Tech companies, research breakthroughs and digital policy
Lithuania says attempted Starlink arson was Russia-linked sabotage
Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre chief Vilmantas Vitkauskas said an attempted arson at a SpaceX Starlink base station outside Vilnius in the early hours of October 18 is being investigated as a Russia-linked sabotage operation aimed at degrading Ukraine's military capabilities. The fire was quickly extinguished, causing only minor property damage with operations uninterrupted. The case is linked to a Starlink antenna arson in Bulgaria on October 10 and a September fire at a Starlink facility in Poland, where four suspects were detained. Moscow denied the allegations as "baseless."
Background: Ukraine relies heavily on Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and has fitted Starlink receivers onto drones for guidance and intercepting Russian drones.
OpenAI backs Singapore's call for AI incident transparency, leaves deadlines to governments (single source, unverified)
OpenAI's chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane said the company supports Singapore's demand that AI firms be fully transparent and notify authorities immediately when incidents occur, but added that any reporting deadline is "for the Singapore government to decide." Singapore's coordinating minister for national security K. Shanmugam made the request to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Amazon and others at Singapore International Cyber Week on October 13. (single source, unverified)
Background: Governments are racing to set national safety standards for frontier AI models; Singapore wants firms to notify it first when incidents occur, taking a lead from Australia's experience.
Military developments, security situations and conflicts
Japan-US Keen Sword 27 exercise begins; US anti-ship missiles deployed to Yonaguni for first time
The biennial Japan-US joint exercise Keen Sword 27 began on October 19 with an opening ceremony on Ishigaki Island and runs for 11 days through October 29, with Japan committing about 45,000 personnel, 40 ships and 260 aircraft, some 11,000 U.S. troops and contingents from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the Philippines — the largest iteration ever. The U.S. Marine Corps is deploying its NMESIS anti-ship missile system, MADIS air-defense system and HIMARS to Yonaguni and Ishigaki — about 110 km from Taiwan — for the first time, while Japan's new Type-25 surface-to-ship missile, with a reported 1,000+ km range, leaves its garrison for the first time. The USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Yokosuka on October 16 to take part.
Background: Keen Sword is the allies' largest biennial field exercise; this year's concentration of new missile systems on the southwestern islands is widely read as a deterrent signal toward the Taiwan Strait.
Sources: Japan Ministry of Defense (official documents), Defence Blog (via NHK/Kyodo reports)
Lavrov visits Tehran as Russia seeks mediation role in Middle East war (single source, unverified)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian on bilateral agreements, the Strait of Hormuz crisis and regional de-escalation. It is his first visit since the Middle East war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February; Moscow says the trip aims to revive the Pakistan-brokered memorandum framework for restarting negotiations. (single source, unverified)
Background: Twelve attacks were reported in Hormuz waters over the past week, and Washington and Tehran remain divided over conditions for reopening the strait and reaching a broader settlement.
Sources: ANI, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry (single report)
A Bankshal court on Sunday remanded seven people linked to the October 17 Chorbagan Durga Puja stampede to 10 days of police custody until October 28. Autopsy reports showed the victims died mainly of crush asphyxia, with at least six cases of ribs crushed and piercing lungs; the Girish Park police station chief Sumit Kumar Ghosh was removed. The toll stands at 19 dead and 25 injured, including a 7-year-old girl; the chief minister will personally hand compensation cheques to families on October 20–21. (Follow-up)
Background: On the rainy night of October 17, crowds surged into a narrow entryway to take shelter; initial findings say organizers had announced over loudspeakers that the stand was "in very bad condition and would collapse," triggering panic.
Sources: NDTV, Indian Express, via syndication (2 outlets)
China-related news (international media coverage only)
Accenture weighs $1.5 billion sale of Greater China business
The Financial Times reported on October 18, citing people familiar with the matter, that consulting giant Accenture is considering selling its Greater China business at a valuation of up to $1.5 billion. Accenture has hired JPMorgan to conduct a strategic review of the business, has received unsolicited acquisition interest over the past year from private equity groups and a small number of strategic buyers, and may retain a significant minority stake. Reuters carried the FT report but said it could not immediately verify it; Accenture and JPMorgan declined to comment.
Background: Western professional-services firms face tighter data-security regulation in China; McKinsey and others have already scaled back their China operations. Accenture's Greater China business covers mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Sources: Financial Times (first reported), Reuters (carried, unable to verify independently)
China proposes export controls on 12 solar manufacturing technologies, public comment until November 15
China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology issued Notice No. 48 of 2026 on October 16, proposing to add 12 solar manufacturing technologies — including polysilicon, thin wafers, TOPCon/BC/HJT and perovskite tandem cells — to the prohibited/restricted export list. The package also covers 23 AI-related and 5 biopharma technologies, 40 in total. Public comment runs until November 15, and temporary pre-export registration requirements have been in effect since October 16. The controls target manufacturing technologies; finished module exports are unaffected. Analysts say the move aims to cement China's dominance in the global solar supply chain.
Background: The Commerce Ministry says solar technologies are increasingly used in sensitive areas such as aerospace and defense, and the controls aim to "prevent technology loss or improper proliferation."
