At the first televised debate among Taipei mayoral candidates, Democratic Progressive Party candidate Shen Boyang said that within 100 days of taking office he would accomplish three things: restore trees to the city, address child abuse, and improve school lunches. Shen also contrasted his approach with Jiang Wan'an's call to "create the future" for Taipei, saying his version of the city's future is "you tell me, I do it."
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a rare localized humanitarian ceasefire after more than four years of war. Residents of Oleshky, a southern Ukrainian town occupied by Russian forces, have begun evacuating to Ukrainian-controlled areas. Some exhausted residents said they had survived by eating grass.
According to MS NOW, U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a new round of strikes on Iran as early as the day after the midterm elections, hoping this would end the fighting.
A whistleblower on X exposed a Facebook group in Thailand devoted to secret filming and sexual harassment, which has 230,000 members. The group reportedly shared covert private images of female celebrities, students and ordinary people taken without consent, as well as AI-generated nude images.
China Coast Guard spokesperson Jiang Lue said the Hushi fleet began regular law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan on the 31st (Saturday). Jiang said that since October the fleet has stepped up control of relevant waters to ensure normal navigation and operations, and to protect the legal rights, lives and property of Chinese citizens, including those in Taiwan. The coast guard said it will continue to strengthen enforcement patrols in its jurisdictional waters and firmly safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.
At the first televised debate among Taipei mayoral candidates, Democratic Progressive Party candidate Shen Boyang said that within 100 days of taking office he would accomplish three things: restore trees to the city, address child abuse, and improve school lunches. Shen also contrasted his approach with Jiang Wan'an's call to "create the future" for Taipei, saying his version of the city's future is "you tell me, I do it."
Taipei police searched a gay bar in early October, sparking controversy. Entertainer Cai Kangyong publicly expressed his political stance in support of the LGBTQ community. The 24th Taiwan Pride parade took place yesterday, with supporters turning out in large numbers and crowds estimated at over 170,000. Organizers said that people at home and abroad have seen the suppression of Taiwan's LGBTQ spaces by state power, and that many people spoke out this year.
US Secretary of State Rubio held a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on October 30 on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, reviewing progress in their trilateral partnership. The three agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea.
Taiwan's Pride march began yesterday in front of the Taipei City Government plaza. Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said that two decades ago, a bill on equal rights was sent to the Legislative Yuan but was returned without explanation. Through step-by-step efforts, progress was ultimately achieved, she said, but much more work remains, and people must keep moving forward together. Shen Boyang said the environment should be friendly 365 days a year, while Chiang Wan-an made a brief appearance of about 10 minutes.
The second son of Taichung councilor Jiang Heshu of the Taiwan People's Party is suspected of running a casino and was released on bail after being caught. After learning of the case, Jiang Heshu apologized to the public in a livestream and said he and his son had not been in contact for a long time. The son had previously served as executive director of Jiang's service office.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France today to protest rising living costs and police violence. Coinciding with Halloween, some protesters dressed as clowns and witches. Police in Paris and other cities fired tear gas, and clashes broke out with demonstrators, according to AFP.
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a rare localized humanitarian ceasefire after more than four years of war. Residents of Oleshky, a southern Ukrainian town occupied by Russian forces, have begun evacuating to Ukrainian-controlled areas. Some exhausted residents said they had survived by eating grass.
According to MS NOW, U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a new round of strikes on Iran as early as the day after the midterm elections, hoping this would end the fighting.
Foreign ministers of the four Quad nations issued a joint statement today expressing serious concern over economic coercion, including export restrictions, and practices that lead to overcapacity.
China Coast Guard spokesperson Jiang Lue said the Hushi fleet began regular law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan on the 31st (Saturday). Jiang said that since October the fleet has stepped up control of relevant waters to ensure normal navigation and operations, and to protect the legal rights, lives and property of Chinese citizens, including those in Taiwan. The coast guard said it will continue to strengthen enforcement patrols in its jurisdictional waters and firmly safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.
Quarterly earnings from Intel and Amazon deepened investor doubts about heavy spending on artificial intelligence and whether AI trading has been overhyped, triggering a selloff in tech stocks. Last Friday the Nasdaq fell 2.9% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 7.2%, both their largest single-day declines since June. Intel shares plunged more than 28%, and Asian markets including Taiwan, Japan and South Korea were expected to face pressure at Monday's open.
US chip stocks fell sharply on October 30, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropping 7.2%. Investor confidence in AI financing and returns weakened after Intel's weak outlook and reports that Anthropic may be unable to obtain an investment-grade credit rating. This week, markets will watch earnings reports from AMD, Qualcomm and Apple, the US midterm elections and the employment report.
International gold prices have dropped to their lowest level in a year, while silver, platinum and palladium have fallen deep into technically oversold territory. The decline reflects a sharp sell-off in U.S. technology stocks, with investors possibly selling gold to raise liquidity, weighing on the precious metals market.
Large investments by AI companies are facing tighter funding scrutiny. Anthropic may not immediately receive an investment-grade rating after its public listing. OpenAI has lowered its valuation and fundraising target. S&P has revised Meta's rating outlook to negative.
Amazon has established a supplier financing arrangement worth up to $80 billion, under which suppliers can obtain funds using the hardware they sell to Amazon as collateral. The move comes as the company invests hundreds of billions of dollars in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and seeks to maintain financial flexibility.
In an October 30 column, Financial Times columnist and editorial board member Gillian Tett wrote that the Trump administration is pushing to bring chip manufacturing back to the United States, but its policies are contradictory.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a progressive think tank, says Tesla and 113 other U.S. companies paid no federal income tax last year. Experts note that these companies are not the largest threat to the federal budget deficit.
Japan's prolonged yen weakness and the government's planned tax increase on wealthy business owners are prompting many Japanese companies to speed up asset sales. Global investors, including private equity firms, are aggressively bidding for these assets, while demand for M&A deals in Japan is rising alongside supply. Divestitures range from large companies selling non-core units to small and medium-sized firms seeking successors. The number of deals has reached a record high.
Mercedes-Benz Group reported its third-quarter 2026 financial results. Quarterly revenue fell 4.5% year on year to €30.7 billion, from €32.1 billion a year earlier. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to €1.773 billion from €0.75 billion, and net profit grew 27.6% to €1.518 billion. The company lowered its full-year profit outlook, citing the Chinese market as a source of operating pressure.
About 50 senior executives from Samsung Group affiliates, including electronics, financial and biotech companies, met OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on October 31 to deepen their earlier cooperation on memory chips and AI infrastructure. Samsung is accelerating AI adoption across its businesses, and the two sides discussed how AI could reshape industries, corporate decision-making and business opportunities over the next decade.
NASA's Perseverance rover, which has operated on Mars for more than 1,645 sols, has for the first time tested how Martian dust adheres to spacesuit material. Ultrafine particles could pose a health concern for future crewed missions.
A whistleblower on X exposed a Facebook group in Thailand devoted to secret filming and sexual harassment, which has 230,000 members. The group reportedly shared covert private images of female celebrities, students and ordinary people taken without consent, as well as AI-generated nude images.
Thai BL actor Boom (Tharatorn Jantharaworakarn) has denied all allegations after online speculation linked him to secretly filming a female artist from the same talent agency. The claims surfaced amid an ongoing sexual harassment scandal in Thailand's entertainment industry. In a statement, he denied all accusations and said he would take legal action.
Data from the Congolese Ministry of Health show Ebola has killed 5,026 people out of 10,351 infected in Congo, a lethality rate of nearly 50%.
Government data shows that more than 10,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo have contracted the rare Ebola virus. The outbreak has killed more than 5,000 people, making it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country's history.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed the defamation suit filed by President Trump against The Wall Street Journal with prejudice. The judge ruled that Trump did not prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice, as required by law.
Iranian negotiators held talks with Qatari mediators in Doha on Saturday to discuss ways to end the conflict in the Gulf, according to a source briefed on the negotiations. The meeting comes amid concern that the United States could carry out strikes after the midterm elections.
Binance covers about 90% of the losses from a $6.3 billion hack. Two analytics firms say they have intelligence pointing to a North Korean state-backed group as the likely culprit.
The Democratic Republic of Congo's Ministry of Health reported on Saturday that deaths from the country's Ebola outbreak have topped 5,000. Data showed 5,026 people have died out of 10,351 infected, a lethality rate of nearly 50 per cent. Cases have also been recorded in other African countries, and experts have expressed concern about authorities' ability to contain the spread.
Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, warned the United States and Israel on Saturday against returning to war, according to a written statement posted on his website. The statement said that if enemies again launch military or terrorist attacks, Iran's armed forces and the Iranian nation will determine when and under what conditions such attacks end. The warning followed threats from Iran's foes of a possible resumption of strikes.
More than 320,000 people demonstrated across France against rising living costs and poor public services. Some protesters clashed with police.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham says his government will consider apologizing for the first time for the UK's role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Foreign ministers from the United States, Australia, India and Japan pledged on Saturday to work on building reliable global supply chains. They expressed grave concern about what they called arbitrary export restrictions.
A federal judge on Saturday dismissed with prejudice President Donald Trump's multibillion-dollar lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, barring refiling. The suit arose from a Journal story about a birthday letter associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the international community is showing growing interest in facilitating a limited ceasefire in the Black Sea.
Governments at a U.N. conference that ended Saturday agreed to step up efforts to protect global biodiversity after talks ran through the night. Funding for these efforts remains short.
On Saturday, US District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed with prejudice Donald Trump's US$10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The suit concerned a story reporting on Trump's ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. Gayles ruled that Trump did not prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice, as the law requires. Saying the president was "grasping at straws," the judge threw out the case.
An outside analysis found that more than 40% of names on a list of alleged noncitizens used by the Department of Justice are not on California's voter rolls. The Department has used the list to threaten prosecution of election officials. The analysis also found that thousands of U.S. citizens appear to be flagged as ineligible to vote on the government's list. It is the first outside analysis of the list.
New drug-driving rules took effect on October 31, and Kaohsiung's Qianzhen Precinct launched a targeted enforcement operation that caught two riders suspected of drug driving within an hour. A man surnamed Lin, who was carrying a friend on his scooter, reportedly tested positive for drugs; his motorcycle was impounded, and the passenger and the vehicle owner were also fined. A man surnamed Shen refused a saliva screening test and received a maximum fine of NT$270,000.
A Harvard research team has identified a key mechanism behind why inflammatory signals fail to shut off. When the immune system detects a threat, cells communicate through signals that trigger inflammation. For decades, scientists broadly believed these signals must be transmitted through receptors. The findings could lead to new treatments for autoimmune diseases.