The most important world events of the past 24 hours
Binance hit by $6.3 billion theft, the largest crypto heist on record, with investigators pointing to North Korean hackers
🐱 Scout financier · $6.3 billion Binance theft
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed late on Thursday that approximately $6.3 billion was impacted after an attacker moved about $6.36 billion out of Binance wallets across ten blockchains, most of it within about 20 minutes — the largest cryptocurrency theft on record, more than four times the $1.5 billion Bybit hack of February 2025. Binance said its initial investigation traced the breach to a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, which gave the attacker access to a service container used to submit unauthorized withdrawals; the exchange has paused withdrawals, pledged to cover all losses, and frozen about $3 billion of assets with partners. Blockchain intelligence firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis both attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, North Korea's elite hacking unit, citing strong parallels with the Bybit heist; Binance said it has found no evidence of a private-key leak and is working with law enforcement to confirm the culprits.
Background: Founder Changpeng Zhao said user funds were safe, deposits are operating normally, and withdrawals are expected to resume within 48 hours.
Saudi Arabia : Coalition says it intercepted a Houthi drone over the Mecca region; Houthis deny any attack
🐱 Scout field reporter · Saudi interception over Mecca region
The Saudi-led coalition said on Friday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone over the Mecca region, and coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said a Houthi cruise missile targeting western Saudi Arabia had also been intercepted early on Friday. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree denied the account, saying the group carried out no operation toward Saudi territory on Friday and that its strikes target only Saudi oil facilities and military bases, not the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Saudi civil defense separately said debris from two ballistic missiles intercepted over Riyadh on Thursday slightly injured one citizen and damaged a house and a vehicle.
Background: The exchange follows Thursday evening's interception of two ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh, and marks the first interception claim involving the Mecca region in this round of the conflict.
Spain's independent accident investigation authority said in a preliminary report on Friday that the Renfe train that smashed into a stationary train was travelling at between 160 and 200 kph at impact, with the exact speed pending extraction of the train's black box; the report said a sequence of malfunctions, instructions and actions led to the collision, in the absence of the necessary mitigating barriers. The Civil Guard said it has received reports of 64 people missing, while the official death toll remains 69; authorities have carried out 49 autopsies and identified only five people, with DNA testing for families still under way. Transport Minister Oscar Puente is to appear before Congress on November 3; the government points to human error, while unions cite staffing shortages and rising workloads.
Background: The morning edition reported the toll rising to 69 and a leaked recording of control-centre instructions; the speed estimate and missing-persons figure are the investigation's substantive new findings.
Oleshky : Aid convoy enters town as Russian and Ukrainian commissioners jointly say residents may choose where to go
🐱 Scout rescue worker · Oleshky aid convoy arrives
Russia and Ukraine said on Friday that, under a six-day US-brokered local ceasefire, an aid convoy has entered the Russian-held southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky carrying food, medicine, hygiene supplies and fuel, with 25 buses offering at least 750 seats and 50 medical personnel on hand; evacuations run until 2 p.m. local time, after which aid will be distributed to those who stay. Russian commissioner Yana Lantratova and Ukrainian commissioner Dmytro Lubinets appeared side by side in the town, saying residents may choose to travel to Ukraine or to Russia; two people, including a sapper, were killed during demining ahead of the mission. The Kremlin stressed that the local truce should not be extrapolated into a broader peace process.
Background: The morning edition reported demining complete and the mission ready to start; Friday's actual arrival of the convoy and the start of evacuations are the mission's key next step.
Political developments and international relations
Trump administration : Pre-election legal offensive widens as California gets subpoenas and Alaska suit advances
Reuters reported on Friday that the Trump administration is intensifying legal action against US states days before the midterms: the Justice Department issued grand-jury subpoenas to Los Angeles County seeking records on how it detects unlawful voting by non-citizens, after a federal judge rejected a bid to block California from counting mail-in ballots from 20,000 voters; the department said it has charged 156 immigrants with voting or registering unlawfully in a pre-midterm push. In Alaska, Thursday's amended lawsuit seeks to block certification in the event of a narrow Republican loss and issued more than 40 subpoenas. More than 44 million Americans had already voted as of Thursday evening, close to the 2022 midterm early-vote total; Trump rallies in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday while Kamala Harris rallies Democrats in Atlanta.
Background: The morning edition covered the Alaska amended complaint; the California subpoenas and the 156 prosecutions are the legal campaign's new front.
Venezuela: Machado, in first press conference since returning, calls for 2027 elections and thanks Trump
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday, in her first press conference since returning home, that the United States has suggested presidential elections take place next year, and that a sequence of steps laid out by Secretary of State Marco Rubio makes clear a 2027 vote; she pledged to ensure all eligible Venezuelans can cast ballots and called election day "the date of liberation." She thanked Trump and Rubio for their roles in the January operation that removed Nicolas Maduro, but avoided questions about Trump's past remarks questioning her support and suggesting Venezuela could become the 51st US state. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez has promised elections once the electoral authority is overhauled but has given no date, and Washington has not publicly confirmed a timetable.
Background: Maduro was arrested in a US raid in January and now faces US drug-trafficking and torture charges, which he denies; Machado returned on Sunday after about ten months in exile.
Japan pushes to take Myanmar off anti-money-laundering blacklist as FATF meets in Paris
Reuters reported on Friday that Japan is pushing the Financial Action Task Force to remove Myanmar from its blacklist, which would ease enhanced screening of financial transactions with the country; a senior Japanese government official and another person familiar with the matter said at least one other major Asian country is pushing for the same change. Myanmar was added to the blacklist in 2022 amid civil war and scrutiny over scam centres and illicit finance following the 2021 coup; Iran and North Korea are the only other countries on the list. The FATF's third and final plenary of the year concludes in Paris on Friday, with any changes announced afterwards. The United States held direct talks with Myanmar's military-backed government in Naypyidaw last month, its highest-level contact since the coup. (single source, unverified)
Background: The push is the latest sign that some major countries are looking to bring Myanmar's military-backed government in from the cold.
Iran : Details of Vance letter emerge: US vice president offered to lead talks, nuclear issue on the table
According to the Washington Post and the New York Times, Vice President JD Vance wrote last week via Qatari mediators to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, offering to lead a US delegation personally and asking Iran to send representatives authorized to negotiate nuclear issues, with talks possibly in Istanbul or Doha as early as next week. Iran says it has received the letter but has not replied, insisting the US must first meet its seven conditions, including a ceasefire, unfreezing assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending the naval blockade; President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday ordered executive bodies to stay ready for war. Trump denied directing Vance to revive peace talks, insisting the letter concerned medical supplies.
Background: The morning edition covered the letter and Trump's medical-supplies framing; the venue, the nuclear precondition and Iran's unchanged seven conditions are the follow-up developments.
Sources: Reuters, Washington Post (via syndication) (2 outlets)
German state inflation eases in October, pointing to a lower national reading
Preliminary October data from several key German states showed inflation easing: Bavaria fell to 2.8% from 3.2% in September, North Rhine-Westphalia to 2.7% from 3.3%, Lower Saxony to 2.9% from 3.3%, and Baden-Wuerttemberg down 0.3 points to 2.6%, while Saxony held at 2.8%. Economists polled by Reuters expect Germany's harmonized national rate at 3.1% in October, down from 3.3%, with national figures due later on Friday; the German government expects inflation of 2.7% this year and 3.0% in 2027 after the Iran war pushed up energy prices.
Background: The European Central Bank held rates on Thursday despite euro-area inflation reaching 3.8% in September, and German data will shape bets on a December hike.
Kenya's inflation rises to 7.3%, highest in more than three years
Kenya's statistics office said on Friday that inflation rose to 7.3% year on year in October, up from 6.8% in September and the highest since July 2023, driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages up 10.2%, transport up 17.1%, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels up 3.7%. The reading sits near the top of the government's medium-term target range of 2.5% to 7.5%.
Background: Food and transport prices are the main drivers of the increase, with energy-price pressure from the Iran war in the background.
Tech companies, research breakthroughs and digital policy
Meta, TikTok and X lose UK challenge to online-safety data demands
London's High Court on Friday rejected a legal challenge by Meta, TikTok and X against Britain's regulator Ofcom over the amount of information it is demanding under the UK's Online Safety Act, upholding information notices issued in February that seek detailed content-moderation metrics, including how many posts were removed or had visibility restricted and how many users were exposed to harmful content. The companies argued the notices create unprecedented regulatory burdens; the case is among the first under the 2023 Act, which aims to protect children from harmful and illegal content and carries fines of up to 10% of global turnover for the most serious breaches.
Background: Ofcom has been gradually implementing the regime, with requirements backed by the threat of major fines.
Military developments, security situations and conflicts
US–Iran war : AP says US warned Middle East states to prepare for possible post-election strikes on Iran
The Associated Press reported on Thursday that US officials have warned several Middle Eastern countries to prepare for possible new strikes against Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, as well as a potential Iranian response, with an operation possibly lasting several days; President Donald Trump has not made a final decision. Iran says it is braced for a possible renewed conflict while continuing diplomatic contacts through Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and Qatar; a new draft deal presented by Qatari mediators on Sunday was dismissed by a senior Iranian official as unacceptable. Tehran insists its seven conditions must be met before it will discuss the nuclear issue or reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Background: The US–Iran war, now on day 246, continues alongside the Vance letter diplomacy, with military pressure and negotiation running in parallel.
Sources: Associated Press (via Le Monde), Reuters (2 outlets)
Sir Patrick Stewart dies aged 86; London's West End theatres to dim their lights in tribute
Sir Patrick Stewart died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday aged 86, his representatives announced on Thursday, after what they called a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, conditions that had not previously been disclosed publicly. Stewart, knighted in 2010 for services to drama, was known worldwide as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films; Ian McKellen called him the most respected and beloved actor of his generation, while Hugh Jackman, William Shatner and Marvel Studios paid tribute. London's West End theatres will dim their lights for two minutes at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, and his final screen appearance, in Avengers: Doomsday, is due in December.
Background: Born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, in 1940, Stewart built a stage career of more than six decades from the Royal Shakespeare Company outward.
Sources: Reuters (via syndication), BBC (2 outlets)
China-related news (international media coverage only)
China–Switzerland trade deal : Xi and Parmelin sign upgraded accord in Beijing, 99.8% of Swiss exports to go duty-free
Reuters reported on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Swiss President Guy Parmelin signed an upgraded free trade agreement in Beijing, under which 99.8% of Swiss exports will gain duty-free access to China once transition periods of five to ten years run out, with 77.5% duty-free on the day the deal enters into force; Switzerland estimates extra annual tariff savings of about CHF 244 million, mainly for watches, machinery and pharmaceuticals. The accord adds a legally binding chapter on trade and sustainable development — a first for a Chinese free trade agreement — plus labour and research-cooperation agreements, but still needs Swiss parliamentary approval, which will take at least a year and could face an optional referendum; no entry-into-force date has been set.
Background: The morning edition reported the signing was due on Friday; Friday's signature is the substantive completion of that step.
Sources: Reuters, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (2 outlets)
China's factory activity seen flat in October, Reuters poll puts PMI at 50
A Reuters poll of 23 economists put China's October official manufacturing purchasing managers' index at 50, down slightly from 50.1 in September and sitting on the line between expansion and contraction, as advanced manufacturers race ahead while legacy producers remain under pressure. The official PMI is due on Saturday, and the private RatingDog PMI compiled by S&P Global is due on November 2, forecast to dip to 51.6 from 52.1. Analysts expect China can reach its full-year growth target of 4.5%–5.0% without additional stimulus after third-quarter GDP growth of 4.5%.
Background: Retail sales continued to lag industrial output in September, keeping domestic demand expansion at the centre of policy.
