The most important world events of the past 24 hours
Houthis claim missile hit on Saudi Arabia's largest refinery; Brent jumps above $115
🐱 Scout field reporter · Houthi strike on Saudi refinery sends oil higher
Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday they had hit Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery with a missile, intensifying strikes against the world's top crude exporter; Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the attack on the 550,000 barrel-per-day facility. Brent crude rose more than $2 on Wednesday to $115.90 a barrel and US WTI gained 2.0% to $101.91, as markets priced in renewed supply risk from the Middle East conflicts. Analysts at ING said prices remain elevated while the market waits for clarity on President Donald Trump's next move toward Iran.
Background: The claim follows a series of escalating Houthi strikes on Saudi targets this month, including the deadly attack on Riyadh airport.
Israel : Count reverses exit polls as Netanyahu bloc leads with 54 seats, still short of a majority
🐱 Scout anchor · Israel vote count reverses exit polls
With about 71% of votes tallied, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc is projected to win 54 seats, ahead of rival Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc on 47, reversing the exit polls that had put Eisenkot ahead; neither side reaches the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, while Arab parties are projected at 19 seats. The shekel weakened around 2% to 3.1185 to the dollar, on track for its worst day in 16 months, and Tel Aviv's benchmark index fell about 3%; definitive results are expected on Thursday. (Follow-up)
Background: The morning edition reported exit polls giving Eisenkot's camp about 52 seats against Netanyahu's 50; the actual count has overturned that picture.
Cyclone Arnab makes landfall in Andhra Pradesh with gusts to 150 km/h; no deaths reported so far
🐱 Scout rescue worker · Cyclone Arnab landfall in India
Very severe cyclonic storm Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Wednesday with sustained winds of 125–135 km/h and gusts reaching 150 km/h, completing landfall by 8:30 a.m. before weakening into a severe cyclonic storm. The India Meteorological Department warned of a storm surge of 1.5 to 2.5 metres inundating low-lying areas; trees were uprooted and power supply disrupted, but no loss of life had been reported, and more than 136,000 people had been moved to safety ahead of the storm.
Background: Arnab formed over the Bay of Bengal on October 24 and strengthened steadily; the morning edition reported mass evacuations already under way along India's east coast.
Sources: The Hindu BusinessLine (citing IMD), Hyderabad Mail (2 outlets)
Trump floats Venezuela as a possible 51st state as first 1 million barrels of free Venezuelan oil reach Texas
🐱 Scout US anchor · Trump floats Venezuela as 51st state
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday at a midterm rally in Texas that the US relationship with Venezuela has become "very, very good," announcing that the first 1 million barrels of free Venezuelan oil secured under an agreement with Caracas had arrived and would be refined in Texas, including in Corpus Christi. He added that Venezuela "maybe someday soon will become a prosperous 51st state," and separately said he will respect the midterm results if the polls are honest.
Background: US–Venezuela oil cooperation has warmed rapidly in recent weeks, and Trump is campaigning on energy and affordability ahead of the November 3 midterms.
Sources: The Hindu BusinessLine (citing Reuters), NPR (via syndication) (2 outlets)
Political developments and international relations
Democrats hold 4-point midterm lead as Trump's approval drops to 39% in Harvard CAPS/Harris poll
The October Harvard CAPS/Harris poll puts Democrats ahead 52% to 48% in the midterm horserace, with 56% of independents leaning Democratic, while President Donald Trump's approval rating fell three points to 39%. His approval is lowest on inflation at 33% and on tariffs and the economy at 34%; 78% of voters say they will definitely or probably vote, and 59% say their vote is decided. Trump said on Tuesday he will respect the results if the elections are honest.
Background: The November 3 midterms will decide control of Congress, with the cost of living the dominant voter concern.
Brazil : Bolsonaro leaves for the US after election loss; Trump says he approves and calls the vote "very strange"
Flavio Bolsonaro left Brazil for the United States after losing Sunday's presidential runoff, with a senior US State Department official saying Washington would grant entry visas to him and his family, after he refused to comply with a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he "would approve" of Bolsonaro's arrival, calling the election "very strange" and saying it had "gotten bad reviews." Bolsonaro has yet to concede to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won 51.8% to 48.2%.
Background: The morning edition reported Bolsonaro had dropped his bid to have the election annulled and instead filed an abuse-of-power complaint.
Germany's Merz invites Japan to back trade alliance; China urges Germany and EU to be "rational"
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Japan on Wednesday to back a proposed alliance of "like-minded partners" to defend rules-based trade and coordinate against tariffs and economic coercion, in remarks to a business summit in Tokyo during a week-long Asia trip. China's foreign ministry responded the same day, saying it hoped Germany and the EU would remain "objective and rational" and work to keep global industrial and supply chains stable.
Background: Merz's initiative echoes Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's calls this year for middle powers to work together against pressure from larger economies.
UK markets tread water ahead of Healey's first budget and the Fed decision; FTSE 100 slips, sterling softens
London's FTSE 100 slipped 0.3% to 10,652.43 on Wednesday as Unilever and GSK led declines on softer results, while sterling eased 0.1% to a more than one-week low of $1.329 ahead of finance minister John Healey's first budget. Markets expect higher taxes on banks, gambling firms and online marketplaces such as Amazon and Temu, alongside relief for households including the scrapping of fixed gas standing charges; the Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold rates steady later in the day.
Background: Britain's fiscal headroom has shrunk to about £15 billion, and Healey has promised to fund growth, defence and AI spending without rattling the bond market.
Chinese aluminium producers push abroad, a wave that could tip the global market into surplus
A Reuters review of company disclosures found Chinese investors have planned or announced at least 15 million metric tons a year of primary aluminium smelting capacity across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, with about 2.85 million tons ramping up or under construction — equal to 3.8% of current global annual capacity. Morgan Stanley forecasts the global market will swing from a 1.1 million-ton deficit this year to an 830,000-ton surplus next year and a 1.8 million-ton surplus in 2028, and has cut its 2027 average price forecast to $2,850 a ton.
Background: Domestic smelting capacity in China has been capped at 45 million tons a year since 2017, pushing growth-hungry producers overseas.
Tech companies, research breakthroughs and digital policy
SK Hynix posts more than seven-fold jump in Q3 operating profit to 83.3 trillion won and unveils $75 billion shareholder returns
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix reported a more than seven-fold rise in quarterly operating profit to a record 83.3 trillion won for July–September, up from 11.4 trillion won a year earlier and beating market forecasts, as AI infrastructure demand drove memory chip prices higher; revenue rose 328% to 104.6 trillion won. The Nvidia supplier also announced shareholder returns totalling about 100 trillion won ($75.4 billion) this year, including 30 trillion won in cash dividends and 60 trillion won in buybacks and cancellations. Memory stocks rallied on the news, with Micron up 4% in premarket trading.
Background: Microsoft and Alphabet report after Wednesday's US close, in the next big test of whether AI spending is generating returns.
AI chip stocks rise as AMD confirms Helios systems running at Meta and Nvidia puts $3 billion into Meta offering
Shares of AI chip companies rose on Wednesday, October 28, as AMD climbed after confirming its Helios rack-scale systems are running at Meta and announcing a $1 billion investment in Meta's planned share offering, building on an earlier agreement for up to 6 gigawatts of GPUs. Nvidia announced a $3 billion investment in the same Meta offering, while Intel gained after expanding its partnership with Oracle to bring more Xeon computing power to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. (single source, unverified)
Background: Anthropic's public IPO filing and SK Hynix's bumper results have renewed investor interest in AI infrastructure.
Military developments, security situations and conflicts
AUKUS on track for Australian submarines in early 2030s, Marles says
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday the country remains on track to acquire its first nuclear-powered submarine from the United States, with Virginia-class boats due from around 2030 under the AUKUS partnership with the US and Britain. Marles met US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in the Philippines, describing the alliance as "as important today as it's ever been."
Background: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in August the defence pact remained "full steam ahead," despite long-running questions over timelines and cost.
Russia–Ukraine : No breaches in first 30 hours of Oleshky ceasefire, Kyiv says
There have been no breaches of the US-brokered local ceasefire around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in its first 30 hours, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Wednesday, a finding confirmed by his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, who said the two remain in regular contact. The Kherson regional administration also reported no incoming strikes in the region over the preceding 24 hours. The truce runs until November 1 to allow aid deliveries and evacuations for about 2,000 trapped residents, even as Russian strikes continued elsewhere in Ukraine. (Follow-up)
Background: The morning edition reported the ceasefire had taken effect on Tuesday morning, with the humanitarian operation itself expected to start on October 29.
Sources: Reuters (via syndication), Anadolu (2 outlets)
Trump says he is ending restrictions on climate-warming methane from oil drilling
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his administration is "terminating" a Biden-era rule aimed at cutting planet-warming methane emissions from oil and gas drilling, saying the change would save companies and consumers billions of dollars and unlock 210 million barrels of oil — about 10 days of US petroleum consumption. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin previewed the changes last month, saying the agency would eliminate its "Super Emitter Program" and set less restrictive standards for small wells.
Background: Methane accounts for about a third of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, and oil and gas operations are its largest industrial source; Trump faces criticism over high fuel prices amid the war in Iran.
Northern Irish court dismisses challenge to banning of contentious parade
A Belfast court dismissed a legal challenge on Wednesday to Northern Ireland minister Chris Bryant's decision to block a contentious Protestant parade that had been given permission to pass through a Catholic area for the first time in 28 years. Judge David Scoffield said Bryant acted lawfully and had considered other options after police, who had stood between the Orange Order and residents of Garvaghy Road for 13 days, sought an end to the standoff.
Background: The standoff began on September 27 after the Parades Commission reversed a ban in place since 1998, the year the Good Friday Agreement largely ended the Troubles.
China-related news (international media coverage only)
China's old-age dependency ratio overtakes children for the first time
China is now supporting more people aged 65 and above than children, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing National Bureau of Statistics data: the old-age dependency ratio reached 23.1% in 2025, compared with 22% for children. There are now more than 223 million people aged 65 and above, against around 213 million children aged 14 and under, and China's population fell for a fourth straight year in 2025 as the birth rate dropped to a record low.
Background: The ratio has risen steadily from 15% in 2016 to more than 20% in 2021, driven by the 1980–2015 one-child policy and rapid urbanisation; authorities have rolled out subsidies and childcare support to encourage childbearing.
Sources: Reuters (citing National Bureau of Statistics data)
Mbappe : Apology follows sponsor exodus as Reuters analysis traces the cost of crossing China's red lines
Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe's rapid fall from favour in China followed a familiar pattern, Reuters analysed on Wednesday: within 24 hours of a podcast clip surfacing in which he referred to Mao as "some guy — I think he's a Chinese dictator," sponsors including Mengniu Dairy, Shanghai Milkground and Eastroc ended cooperation, CCTV removed Mbappe-related advertising, and social platforms restricted his accounts. Mbappe apologised on Tuesday, describing his remarks as "ill-judged." (Follow-up)
Background: The morning edition reported the sponsor terminations, with Reuters then unable to verify the original video; the episode echoes past backlashes from Dolce & Gabbana in 2018 to the Xinjiang cotton boycotts.
China's proposed AI export curbs draw a line around its AI crown jewels
China's proposed artificial intelligence export curbs, released on October 16, would add 23 AI-related technologies to a restricted list — including advanced models, agents that carry out tasks with limited human direction, and technology used to design chips and run vast computing facilities — while broadly allowing overseas users to access Chinese AI through websites and cloud platforms. The structure favours keeping valuable technology at home while selling access abroad, and the proposals are expected to be adopted by the end of the year, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Background: The distinction matters for developers relying on computing facilities abroad, where they can access powerful chips constrained by US export restrictions on China.
