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
Paraguay Senate votes 44–0 to remove Peña; vice president sworn in, arrest ordered
🐱 Scout anchor · Paraguay president removed by impeachment
Paraguay's Senate voted 44–0 on Friday (one of 45 senators absent) to remove President Santiago Peña from office, making him the second Paraguayan president ever removed by impeachment. Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president soon after, and a court ordered Peña's arrest at prosecutors' request. Peña had announced his resignation on Thursday, but a joint session of Congress failed to reach quorum after ruling-party lawmakers walked out, so the Senate pressed ahead with the trial and rejected his request for a 72-hour delay to prepare his defense.
Background: The collapse of digital bank Ueno left about 2.9 million customers unable to access their money; the lower house voted 78–0 to impeach on Thursday.
At least 33 killed as militants raid village in eastern Congo, Ebola patients forced to flee
🐱 Scout field reporter · Congo raid forces Ebola patients to flee
Militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group recognised by Islamic State as an affiliate, raided the village of Cantine in North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, late on Thursday night, killing at least 33 civilians and burning more than 50 houses. Attackers set fire to a health post, forcing 180 patients to flee the local hospital, including one confirmed Ebola patient and five suspected cases, three of them high-risk contacts — breaking the contact-tracing chain. North Kivu accounts for about half of new Ebola infections nationwide; the outbreak has passed 10,000 cases and 5,300 deaths.
US stocks rebound Friday: Nasdaq up 1.09% as strong jobs data lifts December hike bets
🐱 Scout banker · US stocks rebound Friday
US stocks partially recovered from Thursday's AI-led rout on Friday: the Nasdaq rose 1.09% to 24,579, the S&P 500 gained 0.31% to 7,376.86, while the Dow slipped 0.46% to 51,285.73. All three indexes still ended the week lower, with the Nasdaq down 3.31% for the week. After October payrolls came in far above expectations, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to near 4.86% and markets raised the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike in December to about 78%. Chip stocks led the rebound, with Nvidia up 2.78% and Micron up 5.12%.
Background: US stocks plunged on Thursday, with the Nasdaq falling 5.5% into correction territory and the S&P 500 posting its worst single-day drop since April 2025.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday in the Oval Office that he will soon decide whether to resume large-scale military strikes on Iran, continue economic pressure, or seek a negotiated settlement, after his first post-midterm meeting with top national security advisers on Iran. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Oman are mediating a two-day proposal: on day one the US would lift its naval blockade and release some frozen Iranian funds while Iran invites International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to the bombed nuclear sites; on day two the Strait of Hormuz would reopen and nuclear talks would resume. US Central Command is reportedly finalising preparations to resume major combat operations but has received no new directive; the third carrier strike group, USS Theodore Roosevelt, docked in Singapore on Friday and is expected to reach the region by mid-November.
Background: About six in ten voters in the midterms said the war on Iran was a mistake, and it is widely seen as a reason for Republican losses.
Political developments and international relations
Israel coalition talks: Eisenkot restates bid to govern Friday; Herzog to name candidate Sunday
Opposition leader and former military chief Gadi Eisenkot on Friday restated his intention to form Israel's next government, saying there is a duty to quickly establish stable, responsible leadership and avoid another election. President Isaac Herzog, after two days of consultations, said that although 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot and 46 backed Netanyahu, it remains unclear who can build a stable government given mutual vetoes within and between blocs; he will announce his choice on Sunday, November 8. A key hurdle for Eisenkot is that Ra'am, an Arab party backing him, has not explicitly recognised Hamas as a terrorist organisation, while Eisenkot has made that recognition a condition for joining his government.
Background: In the October 27 election, Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats, Eisenkot's 48 and Arab parties 19 — none a majority; the new Knesset is sworn in on November 10.
Sources: DPA, Times of Israel, Reuters (3 outlets)
France braces for fourth protest Saturday: union march approved, Yellow Vest rally banned but going ahead
France faces a fourth round of cost-of-living protests on Saturday: the inter-union march has been approved by the Paris police prefecture, setting off at 2 p.m. from Place de la République along Boulevard Voltaire to Place de la Nation, while the Yellow Vest gathering at Place de la Concorde has been banned — though organisers insist they will go ahead anyway, calling it "civil disobedience", and have filed a complaint against the police chief for obstructing the right to demonstrate. President Emmanuel Macron blamed far-left groups for stoking violence, the justice minister said at least 2,700 people have been detained since last weekend's riots, and the Louvre, Orsay and Picasso museums will close on Saturday, with 14 Paris metro stations shut.
Background: After Thursday's nationwide strike, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced a labour "social conference" for Monday, November 9, to discuss purchasing power and wages.
US October payrolls jump by 165,000, far above forecasts; unemployment falls to 4.1%
US employers added 165,000 nonfarm jobs in October, far above the roughly 65,000 economists had expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2%. Payrolls for August and September were revised up by a combined 84,000, with September raised to 60,000 from 29,000. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% on the month and 3.1% from a year earlier. The strong report pushed Treasury yields higher and lifted market odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike at its December 9 meeting to about 78%; the next focus is October CPI data due November 10.
Background: After Thursday's stock selloff, markets waited on the report to judge the US economy and the Fed's policy path.
Sources: Reuters, US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2 outlets)
US consumer sentiment rises to 51 in November, inflation expectations ease
The University of Michigan's preliminary November consumer sentiment index rose to 51.0, up from 48.0 in October and above market expectations, while year-ahead inflation expectations eased to 4.3%. Released on the same day as the strong jobs report, the reading suggests US consumer mood has steadied after its autumn slump, though it remains near historic lows.
Background: October payrolls rose by 165,000, far above forecasts, raising market bets on a December Fed rate hike.
Sources: University of Michigan (via market briefings)
Tech companies, research breakthroughs and digital policy
TSMC weighs move into advanced memory chips at Nvidia's request, eyeing 3D DRAM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is considering expanding into advanced memory chip production, The Information reported on Friday, charting plans to make 3D DRAM at the request of Nvidia, its biggest customer, in a move that would capture a larger share of the AI hardware market. TSMC could opt to build new factories for advanced memory chips, though it was not clear when production would begin. A severe, AI-driven shortage of memory chips has pushed up prices and sent chip designers scrambling for additional supply; if TSMC pushes ahead, it would compete with Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron.
Background: Surging AI infrastructure demand has left memory chips in short supply, driving prices higher.
Google bets $17B on first self-built Wyoming data center as Microsoft cancels $3B UK lease
Google announced on Friday a $17 billion investment in its first self-built data center in Laramie County, Wyoming, paired with a 702 MW fuel-cell development with carbon capture, and committed to covering 100% of the facility's electricity costs. On the same day, Microsoft withdrew from a $3 billion UK lease with Nscale and dropped a Texas expansion option. The two moves on one day told opposite stories about AI infrastructure: Google doubling down on self-built capacity while Microsoft pulls back from leased capacity, as doubts grow over the debt-heavy model behind AI buildouts.
Background: The week's AI stock rout was driven by doubts over the payback period for AI capital spending, with tech stocks shedding about $2.5 trillion in a day.
Military developments, security situations and conflicts
Russian strikes hit Ukraine's power grid in seven regions; Zelenskiy and Kyiv mayor trade blame
Russian strikes 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 Kyiv area worst hit; Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 227 drones overnight, 196 of them intercepted. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko traded accusations on Friday over who failed to prepare the capital: more than 3 million residents face long emergency power and water cuts as temperatures near freezing, and bridges across the Dnipro River have come under attack for the first time in the war. US-mediated Russia-Ukraine talks are scheduled for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi.
Background: The Institute for the Study of War says Russia has launched 78 strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities since November 2, against 11 in all of 2022.
Sources: Reuters, Institute for the Study of War (2 outlets)
USS Theodore Roosevelt reaches Singapore; third carrier group due in Middle East by mid-November
The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group arrived at Changi Naval Base in Singapore on Friday for its final stop before heading to the Middle East, where it is expected to enter Central Command's area of responsibility by mid-November and join the USS George Washington and USS George H.W. Bush already in the Arabian Sea, giving the US three carrier strike groups in the region. The Wall Street Journal reported the US also quietly struck a newly built anti-aircraft facility on Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday, which Trump called a "minor attack". Internal Pentagon figures obtained by Reuters put US spending on the Iran war past $47 billion.
Background: Trump says he will soon decide whether to resume large-scale military strikes on Iran, and Central Command is finalising preparations.
Pope Leo XIV arrives in Uruguay, calls for universal access to health care
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Friday afternoon to begin a 12-day trip to Latin America (November 6–17), visiting Uruguay, Argentina and Peru — his sixth trip abroad as pope and his longest and farthest. Three weeks after lung cancer surgery that removed part of his right lung, he told reporters aboard his 13-hour flight from Rome that he was "convinced that this trip had to go forward". At Montevideo's Plaza Independencia he invoked Uruguay's national hero José Gervasio Artigas to call for universal access to health care and protection of the most vulnerable, and met President Yamandú Orsi.
Background: Leo XIV is the first US-born pope, born in Chicago and later a Peruvian citizen; Peru is where he served as a missionary and bishop for nearly 20 years.
Magnitude 6.1 quake strikes off Japan's Kanto coast; no tsunami alert, no casualties reported
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the Kanto region at 7:39 p.m. local time on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, with the epicentre about 144 km southeast of Hasaki in the sea off Chiba Prefecture at a depth of about 10 km; shaking was felt in Tokyo and in Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures, with a maximum seismic intensity of 3 on Japan's scale. The agency issued no tsunami alert, saying only slight sea-level changes were possible, and AFP reported no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Background: Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are not uncommon.
Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency, AFP (2 outlets)
China-related news (international media coverage only)
Nvidia H200: Chinese firms order over 2 million chips for 2026 as Nvidia turns to TSMC to ramp up
Chinese technology companies have placed orders for more than 2 million Nvidia H200 AI chips for 2026, while Nvidia holds only about 700,000 in stock, Reuters reported, citing sources. Nvidia has approached Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to ramp up production, with new manufacturing expected to start in the second quarter of 2026 and chips priced at around $27,000 each. ByteDance plans to spend about 100 billion yuan on Nvidia chips in 2026, up from roughly 85 billion yuan in 2025. Meanwhile, about 600,000 H200 chips remain held in Hong Kong, awaiting Beijing's approval for large-scale imports.
China's top flash memory maker YMTC targets 70% domestic equipment for new factory
China's largest flash memory chipmaker, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), plans to source as much as 70% of the equipment for a planned fourth factory from domestic suppliers, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter — a step up from just over half at its third factory. The plant in Wuhan is expected to begin construction next year and make the company's most advanced NAND chips, with more than 300 layers of memory cells stacked vertically, mainly for data centres and AI. YMTC's NAND market share in China rose to 38.5% in the second quarter from 28% in 2025, overtaking Samsung as the top NAND maker in the country.
Background: US export controls constrain YMTC's access to some American chipmaking technology, and the company is accelerating supply-chain localisation.
