The most important world events of the past 24 hours
US midterms: Democrats sweep both chambers as Trump says "it wasn't about me"
🐱 Scout US anchor · Democrats sweep both chambers in US midterms
Vote counting in the US midterm elections delivered control of both the House and the Senate to the Democrats, who flipped seven Republican-held Senate seats in Texas, Iowa, Kansas, South Carolina, Maine, Ohio and North Carolina, and defeated three-term Texas Governor Greg Abbott. President Donald Trump refused to accept blame in a phone interview with Fox News, saying "I wasn't on the ballot, and if I was, we would have won in a landslide," while also saying the Democrats "did a good job" and that he can work with them.
Background: The morning edition reported a largely smooth voting day, with early voting above 57 million ballots, a midterm record.
Sources: CNN, Fox News, Associated Press (3 outlets)
North Korea fires more missiles and rejects talks with the US
🐱 Scout Korea anchor · North Korea fires missiles and rejects US talks
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired several missiles from the Sondok area of South Hamgyong Province toward the East Sea on Wednesday morning, its fourth show of force in a week, with Seoul and Washington still analysing the missiles' type and range. Hours earlier, Kim Yo Jong denied North Korean hackers were behind the theft of more than $6 billion from the Binance exchange and said Pyongyang had "no need to sit face to face" with the US until Washington drops its "hostile policy."
Background: The FBI had attributed the Binance theft, disclosed on October 30, to the North Korea-linked hacking group TraderTraitor, and Trump had floated meeting Kim Jong Un later in 2026.
Sources: South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (via reports), Korea JoongAng Daily (2 outlets)
Russia strikes power stations in Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions as peace talks near
🐱 Scout field reporter · Russia strikes Ukrainian energy facilities
Russia's defence ministry said its forces hit two power stations in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions on Wednesday and struck a cargo vessel near Odesa, while Ukraine's emergency service reported strikes in Poltava, Dnipro, Kirovohrad and Rivne as well. The attacks followed Tuesday's missile and drone bombardment that knocked out power across swathes of Ukraine, a week before US-brokered three-way peace talks are set to resume.
Background: A Kremlin aide said last month that Moscow's attitude to the talks would depend in part on whether Ukraine launched a large-scale attack on Russia's National Unity Day, observed on November 4.
France braces for Thursday general strike as rail plan due Wednesday evening
🐱 Scout France anchor · France braces for Thursday general strike
France's five major union confederations have called a national strike for Thursday, November 5, over wages, purchasing power, public services and the 2027 budget; SNCF expects slightly disrupted TGV service and disrupted Intercités, TER and Paris-area trains, with its detailed plan due at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Paris metro, tram and bus service is expected to run normally, but RER lines will be disrupted, Lyon metro lines B, C and D and both funiculars will shut completely, and unions have flagged further blockades on November 6 and 7.
Background: The morning edition reported student organisations rejecting the government's education concessions and previewing the Thursday strike; Wednesday's transport forecasts are the day's new development.
Political developments and international relations
US-Iran talks stall as Iranian delegation ordered out of the US, Hormuz stays shut
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran's delegation, led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to leave the US after weekend talks made no progress, while Tehran said the Monday-night departure had already been scheduled; Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Washington's response to Iran's seven conditions was "not convincing" and that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen only if all seven are addressed. Qatari mediators said both sides are still reviewing proposals, with feedback expected within 36 hours, while Trump said he was in no hurry to decide on renewed strikes but did not rule them out after the midterms.
Background: The morning edition covered the limited US strikes on Qeshm Island and the dispute over Iranian drone claims; the expulsion of the delegation and the stalled talks are Wednesday's new turn.
After both chambers were called for the Democrats, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Fox News "bears responsibility" for the losses by "constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition," and vowed to become a "political pundit" grading candidates' wins and losses. Fox News' own coverage quoted Senate Republican leader John Thune saying Republicans would not stand by while the Democrats' "far-left, socialist wing" unwound their achievements, while Trump told the network the Iran war was only "a piece" of the defeat, blaming tariffs and the candidates themselves.
Background: Trump spent the final two months of the campaign urging supporters to "pretend I'm on the ballot" and had previewed becoming "Mr. Veto" if Congress flipped.
South Africa votes in local elections in key test for the ANC
South Africans voted on Wednesday in local government elections, with 29.2 million registered voters at 23,696 voting stations open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., after more than 1.4 million special votes were cast on Monday and Tuesday. The vote is a key test for the governing African National Congress, which fell below 50 percent in the 2021 municipal elections and lost its parliamentary majority in 2024, with pre-election polling suggesting its support could fall below 40 percent; Johannesburg and Durban are the key contests, with final results expected on Sunday.
Background: South Africa is also facing Washington's plan to end its AGOA trade eligibility from January 2027, making the local vote a measure of grassroots support.
Global markets wobble as blue wave hits AI stocks, dollar slides then steadies
News of the Democratic sweep first knocked global stocks, with Nasdaq futures down more than 2 percent before cutting losses to about 0.8 percent, Japan's Nikkei falling 3 percent to a more than five-month low led by SoftBank, and chipmakers Samsung, SK Hynix and TSMC sliding sharply on fears of regulatory scrutiny of the data-centre buildout. The dollar index fell 0.37 percent to 101.34, the euro rose to $1.1249, the 10-year Treasury yield eased 6 basis points to 4.906 percent, and Brent crude swung near a four-week low as investors weighed peace-talk hopes against ongoing attacks.
Background: US stocks had rebounded on Tuesday before the results, with the S&P 500 up 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq up 0.8 percent, while oil had plunged more than 7 percent on Monday on hopes for Iran talks.
Australia's central bank lifts cash rate to 4.85 percent, an 18-year high
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.85 percent in a 6-3 vote, effective November 4, the highest since November 2008 and the fifth increase of 2026. The bank said inflation remains too high and more persistent than expected, now seen staying above 3 percent until late 2027 and returning to the midpoint of its 2-3 percent target only around mid-2028; Governor Michele Bullock warned households may feel they are living through a recession, and the big four banks will lift variable mortgage rates from November 13.
Background: Annual inflation reached 4.3 percent in September, well above the target range, and the bank had already raised rates in September to 4.60 percent.
Sources: Reserve Bank of Australia (via reports), Financial Standard (2 outlets)
Tech companies, research breakthroughs and digital policy
Google announces $15 billion Malaysia investment for data centres and cloud region
Google announced on Wednesday that it will invest $15 billion in Malaysia over 2027 and 2028, building energy-efficient data centre campuses, adding more than 1 gigawatt of clean energy capacity to the national grid, and helping upskill about 800,000 Malaysians by 2031. Its first data centre campus in Malaysia, at Elmina Business Park in Selangor, is now operational, with further campuses planned in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan to support an upcoming Google Cloud region in the country.
Background: Malaysia's internet penetration is 99 percent, and Google says the investment meets local demand for computing capacity for homegrown AI applications.
Canva restructure affects 1,271 staff, about 22 percent of its workforce
Australian design platform Canva announced a restructure on Wednesday affecting 1,271 people, about 22 percent of its workforce, through job cuts, role changes or relocations to central hubs such as Sydney; co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins called it the company's hardest moment, saying growth has slowed for the first time in a decade. The plan merges the product, growth and platform groups into a single product organisation and cuts management layers, with departing staff receiving at least six months' pay and 12 months of health cover.
Background: Canva had already trimmed its growth outlook this year as AI tools reshape the design industry and raise the cost of adding AI features.
The Saudi-led coalition said its forces intercepted three drones on Tuesday, one over the Mecca region and two more over the Eastern Province and heading south, while Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed drone and ballistic missile attacks on Abha International Airport and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, in the southwestern Asir region. Neither account has been independently verified, the coalition reported no casualties or damage, and the Houthis repeated that they do not target religious sites.
Background: The morning edition reported the coalition's Mecca-region interception and the Houthi denial; the three-drone total and the Houthi claims on Asir targets are Wednesday's new exchange.
Cyclone Murasu toll: at least 2 dead, over 52,000 hectares of crops damaged, Modi calls state chief
Cyclone Murasu has weakened into a depression over coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Telangana, but Wednesday's damage count put the toll at at least 2 dead, more than 52,000 hectares of crops damaged, 312 houses and 2,750 electricity poles damaged, and 12,230 people still in shelters, with preliminary losses of about 344 crore rupees, 94 percent of it agricultural. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday about the damage from cyclones Arnab and Murasu within a single week, while the state has sent the Centre an interim damage report of 4,526 crore rupees and awaits a funding decision.
Background: The morning edition reported Murasu's landfall near Ongole with no deaths or injuries reported at the time; the casualty and damage figures are Wednesday's new development.
Sources: India Meteorological Department, Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (via reports) (2 outlets)
Bomb threats hit flights across Europe in a day, all turn out to be hoaxes
At least seven to ten flights across Europe received bomb threats on Tuesday, forcing a LOT flight from London to divert from Warsaw's Chopin Airport to Modlin, a runway closure at Chopin for a SAS flight from Copenhagen, Italian Eurofighter jets escorting a Ryanair flight from Dublin into Rome, and searches on Ryanair flights to Murcia, Sofia and Rome. All aircraft landed safely, no explosives were found, and investigators have not established whether the threats were connected or who sent them.
Background: A Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia was also diverted to Budapest on Monday after a mid-air bomb threat, escorted by a Hungarian fighter jet.
China-related news (international media coverage only)
Chipmaker YMTC puts IPO on hold as regulators tighten approvals in slumping market
Chinese flash-memory chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) has put its Shanghai STAR market IPO on hold, according to a company memo and people familiar with the matter, stalling a planned 33-billion-yuan ($4.9 billion) offering whose strategic placement had been due to start in late October and early November. Reuters reported that China's securities regulator has informally told investment banks to slow IPO approvals for AI and chip companies; the CSI300 fell 8.5 percent in October, its worst month in more than a decade, while the STAR50 index of chip and AI firms is down 40 percent from its July peak.
Background: The morning edition reported that the regulator had told banks to pause IPOs and large shareholder sales; the YMTC case is a new example of the same tightening.
China's services growth slows to three-month low as confidence weakens
The RatingDog China General Services PMI fell to 50.8 in October from 51.6 in September, its weakest reading since July but still above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction, with new export business rising for a sixth straight month. Input prices rose at the quickest pace in five months on higher material, fuel and wage costs, while business confidence slipped to its lowest since July as firms cited fierce competition and rising costs.
Background: The central bank announced on Tuesday that it will raise the foreign-exchange deposit reserve ratio to 6 percent from November 15 to cool a 13-session winning streak in the yuan.
