IS-linked militants kill at least 33 in eastern Congo raid, forcing Ebola patients to flee
Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants raided the village of Cantine-Aloyath in North Kivu province late on Thursday night, killing at least 33 civilians and setting fire to a health post and several houses, officials said. One confirmed Ebola patient and five suspected cases fled a nearby hospital during the attack, including three high-risk contacts, in a province that accounts for about half of all new infections in Congo's largest-ever Ebola outbreak. Local officials said the death toll was not yet final, as heavy rain hampered army operations and investigations.
The most important world events of the past 24 hours
Asian markets plunge Friday: Nikkei down 6%, South Korea's KOSPI triggers circuit breaker
🐱 Scout banker · Asian markets plunge on Friday
Wall Street's AI-led sell-off spread to Asia on Friday: Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 6.0% lower at 57,434.77, its worst day since April 2025, after falling more than 7% intraday and breaking below the 60,000 level; South Korea's KOSPI plunged as much as 8.8% intraday, falling below 5,000 and triggering a 20-minute circuit-breaker halt, before closing 6.0% lower for a weekly loss of 12%. Taiwan's Taiex ended 4.5% lower after recording its largest-ever intraday point decline, while Samsung fell about 10%, SK Hynix more than 10%, SoftBank over 10% and TSMC 4.7%. Investors fear the Democrats' midterm sweep will bring tighter AI regulation and slower data-center construction, spreading the sell-off from chip stocks across the market.
Background: US stocks plunged on Thursday, with the Nasdaq down 5.5% into correction territory and the S&P 500 posting its worst day since April 2025.
Sources: Dow Jones, Moneycontrol, The Hindu BusinessLine (3 outlets)
Paraguay's Senate began the impeachment trial of President Santiago Peña on Friday. A day earlier Peña had announced his resignation, but a joint session of Congress failed to reach a quorum after lawmakers from his own Colorado Party walked out, so no vote was taken and Peña remains in office; the Senate has summoned him to appear in his own defence on Friday, and removal requires 30 of the 45 senators. The central bank began paying deposit guarantees on Friday to an initial group of Ueno customers, capped at 10 million guaraníes (about $1,565). Prosecutors have opened three criminal investigations into the Ueno crisis, with six bank executives in pretrial detention and 27 people charged.
Background: The collapse of digital bank Ueno froze the savings of about 2.9 million customers, and the lower house voted 78-0 on Thursday to impeach Peña.
Fresh fires in Hormuz: Iran says two more tankers struck mines, downs US drones
🐱 Scout field reporter · More tankers burn near Hormuz
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said on Friday that two more oil tankers struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire, one at the eastern approaches and one inside the strait; Tehran said both vessels had switched off their navigation systems and were attempting to use "unauthorised routes," accusing the US military of supporting their passage. Iran also said it shot down a fifth and sixth US MQM-170 drone over Qeshm Island. The UK Maritime Trade Operations center said at least five vessels have reported incidents in the area since Sunday, close to the record pace set in October. Oil extended its rebound, with Brent crude topping $99 a barrel and approaching $100, and WTI near $92.
Background: Iran's top security official Mohsen Rezaei has rejected Washington's latest response, saying the strait will only reopen once Tehran's seven conditions are met.
Sources: AFP, Reuters, The Hindu BusinessLine (3 outlets)
Trump says he will soon decide whether to resume major strikes on Iran
🐱 Scout US anchor · Trump to decide soon on resuming Iran strikes
President Donald Trump said on Thursday in the Oval Office that he would soon decide whether to resume major military strikes on Iran, keep up economic pressure, or pursue a negotiated settlement, after meeting his top national security advisers to discuss Iran for the first time since the midterm elections. "I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I will have to," Trump said. US Central Command is reportedly finalising preparations for a possible resumption of major combat operations, though it has received no fresh orders, and a third aircraft carrier strike group, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, is due in the region in mid-November. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Oman are mediating a proposal that would lift the US naval blockade, release some frozen Iranian funds, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear inspections.
Background: About six in ten midterm voters said the war on Iran was the wrong decision, and the conflict is widely seen as a factor in the Republican defeat.
Political developments and international relations
Israel's coalition deadlock: Eisenkot wins backing of 67 lawmakers, Herzog to name candidate Sunday
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said it remains unclear who can form the next government, even though 67 lawmakers recommended opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and 46 backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, citing mutual vetoes between and within the blocs; he will announce his choice on Sunday, November 8. In the October 27 election, Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats, Eisenkot's 48 and Arab-led parties 19, with no side reaching a majority in the 120-seat Knesset; the nominee will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension, and the new Knesset is due to be sworn in on November 10.
Background: Herzog accepted the certified election results on Wednesday, with Arab-led parties winning a record 19 seats.
After France's nationwide strike, PM Lecornu calls wage talks for Monday as Yellow Vests plan weekend protests
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced a "social conference" with unions and employers for Monday, November 9, at Matignon to discuss purchasing power and wages, after Thursday's nationwide strike drew an estimated 575,000 to 600,000 demonstrators by the Interior Ministry's count — the highest official turnout in the current protest series — while the CGT union put the figure near 1.6 million, its highest since 2023. Unions are demanding an immediate 10% rise in the minimum wage (CGT) or an extra 100 euros a month (CFDT), and the government has made no commitment to a pay rise; Yellow Vest groups have called for further protests on Friday and Saturday, with a rally planned for Saturday afternoon at Place de la Concorde in Paris.
Background: The first round of France's presidential election is set for April 18, 2027, and Emmanuel Macron cannot run again.
US October jobs report due tonight: payrolls expected up 65,000, unemployment at 4.2%
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the October Employment Situation report on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET (21:30 Beijing time), with economists expecting nonfarm payrolls to rise by about 65,000 — the consensus range runs from 40,000 to 100,000 — after a gain of just 29,000 in September, and unemployment to hold at 4.2%. Leading indicators are mixed: ADP's private payrolls report showed 86,000 jobs added in October, above expectations, but technology layoffs remain elevated. After the report, markets will turn to the November 10 CPI release and the Federal Reserve's December 9 policy meeting.
Background: After Thursday's sharp equity sell-off, markets are waiting on the report for a read on the US economy and the Fed's next move.
Oil rebounds: Brent tops $99 a barrel, approaching $100
Oil prices extended their rebound on Friday after fresh tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude topping $99 a barrel and approaching $100, and WTI crude near $92. Brent had already settled 3.88% higher at $98.29 on Thursday, with WTI up 2.72% to $90.52. Markets fear continued disruption to a waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world's seaborne oil trade, compounded by uncertainty over whether the US will resume major strikes on Iran.
Background: Iran's Revolutionary Guard said on Friday that two more tankers struck mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
Sources: The Hindu BusinessLine, Argus (2 outlets)
European data: France's trade deficit widens, German industrial output recovers (single source, unverified)
France's goods trade deficit widened by 1.3 billion euros to 7.3 billion euros in September, French customs figures showed, as imports led by energy and computers outpaced exports; German industrial production rose 0.7% in September, statistics office Destatis said, led by a rebound in car plants after a weak summer, while August's gain was revised down to 1.0%. (single source, unverified)
Background: Eurozone inflation rose to 4.0% in October, a three-year high, and the Bank of England raised rates to 4% on Thursday.
Tech companies, research breakthroughs and digital policy
OpenAI releases GPT-6 Cyber security model, restricted to invited red teams
OpenAI released GPT-6 Cyber on November 5, a model built for authorised vulnerability research and defensive security testing that scores 48.5% on the ExploitGym benchmark, against 32.1% for GPT-5.6 Cyber. Initial API and Codex access is restricted to approved Daybreak Red teams, and OpenAI rates the model "Critical" for cybersecurity under its Preparedness Framework.
Background: After the US midterm elections, voters' scrutiny of data centers and AI is rising, with tighter AI regulation expected.
Nvidia publishes Vera CPU benchmarks claiming faster AI agents (single source, unverified)
Nvidia published new Vera CPU benchmark results on November 5, claiming the chip improves agent performance and efficiency against selected x86 systems; partner tests report up to 2.2x orchestration speed and faster sandbox startup. The Vera CPU is part of Nvidia's multi-gigawatt Vera Rubin supercomputing partnership with Oracle and is coming to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. (single source, unverified)
Background: Nvidia and Oracle announced on Thursday that they will expand Vera Rubin NVL72 supercomputing clusters to multi-gigawatt scale.
Military developments, security situations and conflicts
Russia hits Ukraine's energy grid again: outages in seven regions, Kyiv worst affected
Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure caused new power outages overnight and on Friday morning in seven regions — Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv — with the capital region worst affected, Deputy Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov said. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 227 drones overnight, 86 of them jet-powered, and intercepted 196; Moscow said it hit an energy storage battery facility in the Kyiv region and a cargo vessel in the Black Sea port of Odesa. The Institute for the Study of War said Russian forces have struck Ukrainian energy facilities 78 times since around November 2, against 11 such strikes in all of 2022.
Background: Kyiv suffered its worst water outage since the full-scale invasion began last week, and supplies have since been gradually restored, though the grid remains fragile.
Sources: Reuters, Institute for the Study of War (2 outlets)
Turkey's parliament voted 279-119 on Thursday to ratify the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, signed in Mecca on August 7, which contains a 16-article collective defence clause committing members to assist one another in the event of an armed attack, with an initial term of 10 years. Defence Minister Yasar Guler said ratification does not mean Turkish troops will deploy to Saudi Arabia and that Ankara does not envisage direct involvement in a conflict with the Houthis. Separately, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone over the Mecca region on Friday morning, along with a cruise missile aimed at western Saudi Arabia, and on Thursday it intercepted a ballistic missile fired toward the Medina region. The Houthis deny targeting the holy cities.
Background: Saudi Arabia and Syria signed a defence agreement on Thursday, and the Houthis have been attacking Saudi airports and energy facilities with missiles and drones since October.
Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera, Trends MENA (3 outlets)
Pope Leo XIV begins 12-day Latin America trip, returning to Peru weeks after cancer surgery
Pope Leo XIV departed Rome on Friday morning for a 12-day trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru (November 6-17), covering about 31,000 km with 14 flights, 36 speeches and around 50 events — the longest and farthest journey of his pontificate and his sixth trip abroad. Just over three weeks ago he underwent lung cancer surgery that removed part of his right lung, and the Vatican says he has fully healed. Peru, where he served as a missionary and bishop for nearly two decades, is the emotional centrepiece of the trip, with around 1.2 million people expected at his final Mass in Lima; he will also meet Argentine President Javier Milei and Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori.
Background: Leo XIV is the first US-born pope, born in Chicago before becoming a Peruvian citizen.
Cristiano Ronaldo retires from Portugal duty, ending 23-year international career
Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, announced on Thursday in a video message on social media that he is retiring from the Portugal national team after 23 years, saying it was time to hand the No. 7 shirt to the next generation. He leaves with 234 caps and 146 goals, both men's international records, having captained Portugal to the Euro 2016 title and Nations League titles in 2019 and 2025, and becoming the first player to score at six World Cups in 2026. The retirement follows a falling-out with national coach Jorge Jesus, after which the Portuguese federation handed him a 30-day suspension and a fine; he will continue his club career with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Background: Ronaldo made his Portugal debut in August 2003 against Kazakhstan; Portugal will name its first squad in 23 years without him on Friday.
China-related news (international media coverage only)
China withholds approval for Nvidia H200 imports; about 600,000 chips stuck in Hong Kong
About 600,000 of Nvidia's H200 artificial intelligence chips are stored in Hong Kong awaiting shipment to mainland China, Reuters reported exclusively on November 5, as Beijing withholds approval for large-scale imports despite demand from Chinese technology firms. A small number of chips have been allowed in over recent months — several major Chinese internet companies have each obtained about 10,000 — but Beijing has yet to approve large-volume imports, reflecting its reluctance to increase reliance on US technology. An eight-card H200 server was offered for more than 6 million yuan (about $900,000) in mainland China by the end of October, about three times its price a year earlier. CNBC separately reported that Chinese AI lab Moonshot AI is discussing renting more than 8,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs from European cloud providers to bypass US export controls, and Nvidia reports fiscal third-quarter results on November 17, with its forecast already assuming no data-center revenue from China.
Background: Export controls and countermeasures on advanced chips keep escalating amid US-China technology competition.
