The opposition INDIA bloc drew thousands to a 1 November rally in New Delhi, demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. Election Commission figures reported by Moneycontrol put 133.9 million entries in categories including absent or untraceable, shifted, deceased and duplicate; the total does not establish how many eligible voters were wrongly excluded. The Commission has directed states where the revision is complete to run special drives for eligible voters left out, while it rejects claims of politically motivated removals.
Trade figures released on 1 November put South Korea’s October goods exports at US$115.28 billion, 93.7% above October 2025. Strong semiconductor sales and more working days supported the increase; the comparison is export value, not a claim that shipment volumes doubled.
Iran's conditional proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved. On 3 November, Supreme National Security Council head Mohsen Rezaei said Washington's response to Tehran's demands was not convincing and that the Strait would not reopen until Iran's conditions were addressed, AP and Dawn reported. AP also reported limited U.S. strikes on Iranian targets on 2 November. The reports do not establish an accepted agreement, a verified reopening or a return to full-scale U.S. operations.
Bangladesh garment protests entered a third day Monday, 2 November, with clashes and factory stoppages in Dhaka-area hubs. Reuters says many factories broadly reopened; it cites BGMEA’s Sunday count of 529 and an estimate of about 500 temporarily closed since Saturday. The Daily Star cites Industrial Police for 264 factories suspending work or declaring holidays in Savar-Ashulia by 3:30 p.m. Monday. Sarabangla reports a separate five-zone BGMEA snapshot at 11:30 a.m. of 670 affected factories. Times, areas and definitions differ, so the figures are not additive. No new wage rate has been set; Tk30,000 remains workers’ demand.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday that he and U.S. President Donald Trump had a constructive call and negotiators would work in the coming weeks toward a possible trade agreement. Trump called it a “concept” and described possible tariff relief, but neither government had announced terms or a completed deal. The talks resume after Canada walked away in August and the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods, prompting Canadian retaliation, according to AP. The scope and status of any tariff changes remain unsettled.
The DRC Senate voted again on 31 October to approve a referendum bill after the Constitutional Court raised reservations about 13 provisions, according to state agency ACP and independent Congolese outlet Actualite.cd. ACP reports 78 yes votes among 109 senators; the Senate president said the text was sent to the president for promulgation. Opposition members warn the bill could enable changes affecting constitutional terms; the government rejects that reading. The reports do not say the law was promulgated. No amendment, referendum or presidential-term extension has occurred.
Sky News reported that Virgin Media O2 is drawing up plans for thousands of redundancies, with one source suggesting as many as 4,000 of its 16,000 workers could be affected. The BBC separately reported that thousands of roles are at risk but the number is not final. VMO2 declined to comment to both outlets; its third-quarter results are due on 3 November. No final job-cut total or company announcement has been made.
Malaysia Airlines has warned that some customer information may have been affected by an incident at reservation-technology provider Amadeus. Japan Airlines says Amadeus notified it on 23 October that reservation records had been accessed: about 90,000 customers had booking, name and itinerary fields exposed, while about 2,000 had additional contact, passport and other details; JAL reports a total of about 92,000. These are JAL-specific figures, not a combined count across carriers. JAL says no credit-card numbers or passwords were compromised; the overall incident scope remains unknown.
Authorities said 779 people were arrested in France during Saturday’s third consecutive weekend of protests, down from 1,314 the prior weekend; about 70,000 police were deployed. Paris prosecutors opened an attempted-murder investigation after firebombs were thrown at officers, with some reported injuries. Germany’s Saturday demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but Frankfurt later saw more than 100 officers injured, 54 people detained and 17 stores damaged, five of them looted, AP reported. The scheduled French school blockades and a Thursday general strike remain ahead; final totals, charges and whether unrest will continue are unknown.
The UN said on 31 October that Mohammad el Shami, a staff member of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, had died while detained by Houthi de facto authorities. He had been held since 6 June 2024. The UN said the circumstances were unclear and demanded an immediate impartial investigation. Al Jazeera reported that he died more than a month before the public announcement and that his family had only recently been informed; the exact death date is unknown. The UN says about 70 current personnel and five former staff remain detained.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy experienced a stroke on 31 October and was hospitalized, according to his chief of staff. After a transfer to Johns Hopkins for monitoring, Murphy’s office said on 1 November that he was awake and alert, responding well to treatment and expected to make a full recovery. The office has not announced the stroke’s severity or a discharge date. Murphy is not on the ballot in Tuesday’s midterm election.
Horst Fascher, a founder and manager of Hamburg's Star-Club who brought the Beatles to the venue in their early years, died on 31 October at 90, his brother confirmed, German outlets n-tv and Focus reported. The club also booked performers including Chuck Berry, Ray Charles and Bill Haley.
Philip “Popoy” Juico, a former Philippine agrarian reform secretary and sports administrator, died in Makati on 31 October at 78, his son announced. GMA News and ABS-CBN reported the death on 1 November. Juico also chaired the Philippine Sports Commission and led the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association.
More than 50.5 million ballots had been cast by Saturday morning, 31 October, ahead of the 3 November U.S. midterms, according to the Guardian's analysis of University of Florida Election Lab data. That was nearly 5 million above the 2022 midterm early-vote total. The milestone does not predict results; party registration is not a record of how a person voted.
Deep Purple said on 31 October that singer Ian Gillan had suffered a medical emergency resulting in hospitalization, forcing it to postpone performances in Leipzig that night and Hamburg on 1 November. The band said it was seeking rescheduled dates and did not disclose a diagnosis or his condition. Rolling Stone Australia reported that the next concert was still scheduled for 3 November in Dortmund as of its publication; that schedule is not a medical update.
An Associated Press analysis published 31 October says more than 115 drone or missile strikes claimed by Iran or Iran-backed militias damaged or destroyed structures at 26 military bases and other sites with U.S. equipment through August. AP used satellite imagery from multiple providers and interviewed four regional officials. A separate Wall Street Journal investigation, summarized by HuffPost, counted 274 damaged structures at 24 installations and cited an estimate of at least $5 billion; its timeframe and methods differ from AP’s.
President Rodrigo Paz announced on 31 October that he had signed a decree declaring a national emergency over El Nino-related droughts and other hazards. EFE reported a government estimate of 78,217 affected families in seven departments; Al Jazeera reported about 78,000 in six departments and more than 75,000 cattle lost. The reports differ on geographic scope, so the figures remain attributed rather than reconciled.
Pakistan scored 331 for seven in 48.3 overs to beat Sri Lanka's 325 for eight by three wickets in the 31 October final at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Pakistan thereby won the three-team Pakistan-England-Sri Lanka ODI tri-series.
The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68–63 at Chase Center in San Francisco on 31 October to win their first WNBA championship. They took the best-of-seven series 4–3 in the franchise’s second season.
Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia won the men’s Kuwait Major final on 31 October; Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay won the women’s final. FIP confirmed a fourth consecutive year-end No. 1 for the men and credited Triay with a record 59th career title.
The United States, Japan, Australia and India announced new cooperation at Quad foreign-minister talks in Atlanta on 31 October. Their statement outlines a semiconductor and AI supply-chain initiative and an intention to provide over US$85 million in technical and financial AI support in the Indo-Pacific.
A federal judge in Miami on 31 October dismissed Donald Trump’s amended defamation complaint against The Wall Street Journal’s publisher and other defendants with prejudice. The court found he had not adequately alleged actual malice; it did not decide whether the disputed Epstein birthday letter was genuine.
Vietnam announced on 31 October that gasoline excise would be set to zero from 1 November 2026 through 31 March 2027. Reuters also reports a 2% reduction in the average retail electricity tariff from 1 November. The measures concern specified energy charges, not the removal of every fuel tax.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.3 in October from 50.1 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on 31 October. The reading returned below the 50-point expansion threshold.
The UN biodiversity conference concluded on 31 October with the Yerevan Pathway, a response to lagging progress on existing 2030 nature targets. The CBD Secretariat said the conference and its parallel protocol meetings adopted nearly 50 decisions.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games opened in Senegal on 31 October, the first Olympic sporting event held in Africa. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye declared the Games open at the ceremony in Diamniadio.
Croatian singer Mate Mišo Kovač has died at 85, HRT and Jutarnji list reported on 31 October. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković issued an official condolence that day.
South Africa beat Australia by 176 runs at Newlands on 31 October to win the three-Test series 2–1. The ICC said South Africa moved to No. 1 in its men’s Test-team rankings.
Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed in Istanbul on 31 October to work on a Black Sea grain corridor. Erdoğan also urged Russia and Ukraine to stop attacks on civilian vessels. The meeting did not establish that a protected corridor had reopened.
The UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia closed on 31 October after a two-year handover. Its functions passed to Somali institutions and the UN country team. UN agencies continue their work; the political mission’s closure does not end African Union security operations.
Apple announced an Apple Intelligence rollout for users in China, with a developer beta planned for November 4 and general availability planned with iOS 27.3 in December. Initial features include writing, translation and image tools, using Alibaba's Qwen models. The announcement does not mean the service is already available.
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez defeated Christian Mbilli by unanimous decision in Riyadh on October 31 to regain the WBC super-middleweight title. The judges scored the bout 115–112, 116–111 and 117–110. It was Mbilli's first professional defeat.
North Korea's Ri Ryong Hyon won the men's 75kg world weightlifting title in Ningbo on October 31 with a 365kg total. Indonesia's Rahmat Erwin Abdullah took silver at 359kg and Thailand's Weeraphon Wichuma bronze at 355kg.
Sovereignty won the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on October 31, ridden by Junior Alvarado and trained by Bill Mott. The Puma finished second and Knightsbridge third. Sovereignty completed the one-and-a-quarter-mile race in 2:00.36.
New Zealand's Kaipo Olsen-Baker was named World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year for 2026, and Elinor-Plum King won the breakthrough award. They received the honours after New Zealand's match against France in Christchurch on October 31 local time.
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal leadership dispute remains unresolved. On 3 November, eight participating judges asserted that eight constituted a quorum and adopted a draft 2027 budget plan, Rzeczpospolita reported. Forsal reported that the assembly also formed panels for cases concerning the suspended tribunal president and deputy. The quorum and authority are disputed, and the reports do not establish that the actions resolve who lawfully controls the court.
Judge Trina L. Thompson’s 30 October order bars federal demands and prosecution threats aimed at stopping election workers from processing ballots solely because officials allege a voter is ineligible. AP’s 1 November story incorrectly described 2 November as the hearing date: the filed order sets a noon 2 November opposition deadline and a preliminary-injunction hearing for 13 November. The order remains scheduled to expire on 16 November at 5 p.m. unless changed. Whether defendants filed by the deadline or whether a later order modified the restraint was not established in the sources checked.
Chad’s territorial administration ministry said at least 25 people were killed and 22 wounded in intercommunal fighting on 30 October near Ngoura, on the border between Hadjer-Lamis and Bahr el-Ghazal provinces. AFP reported that a local lawmaker said a dispute at a pond escalated after a herder and another community member clashed, while a local official said security forces had largely brought the situation under control. The ministry said 39 people were arrested and transferred to N’Djamena. An independent casualty count and the current security situation have not been reported.
A Casablanca court of first instance sentenced artist Yasser Mounbir to four years in prison and a 40,000-dirham fine on 30 October over caricatures of King Mohammed VI posted on Instagram, H24info reported. It said he was convicted of insulting the king and public officials. AFP quoted his lawyer on 1 November as saying the defense disputed the investigation and legal classification and intended to appeal. No appeal outcome or public court judgment was found; the sentence is reported as a first-instance ruling.