This morning's briefing covers 29 stories selected from issue 9 of Biguan (毕观天下), weighted towards Asia. Taiwan's coast guard drove away 16 Chinese vessels it accused of 'hybrid warfare', the US-Japan Keen Sword 27 exercise begins at record scale, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi's approval falls below 50%, and a truck killed 13 people at a Hindu festival in Gwalior, India. In Europe, cost-of-living unrest led to nearly 2,400 arrests in France and more than 150 detentions in Milan, while protests in Albania entered a sixth day. In the Americas, a fire at Canada's CFB Wainwright killed 4 service members and Brazil's presidential runoff is a week away. Gulf states invoked joint defence for Saudi Arabia after Houthi attacks.
A fire broke out late on Oct 17 in a training area at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, and strong winds pushed it off the base into surrounding rural areas. Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a televised address on Oct 18 that 4 service members were killed and dozens seriously injured, calling it one of the Canadian military's worst peacetime tragedies on home soil. The military said there was no sign of terrorism and the cause is under investigation.
About 550,000 people marched across France on Oct 17 against fuel price rises, the cost of living and declining public services; many protests turned into looting and arson, and Limoges city hall was set on fire. The Interior Ministry said nearly 2,400 people were arrested, and Al Jazeera reported about 1,000 police and gendarmes injured. In a national address from the Élysée Palace on Oct 18, President Emmanuel Macron said 'we all feel anger and shame' and that rioters would pay for their crimes, but declared no state of emergency or curfew.
A cost-of-living march in central Milan on Oct 17 turned into clashes, with masked protesters throwing stones at riot police and burning barricades; police used water cannon and tear gas. Italian news agency LaPresse reported at least 2 officers injured and about 50 people detained, many of them minors, and looting resumed on Oct 18. TASS, citing Corriere della Sera, reported more than 150 people detained, about 80% of them minors; Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said protesting is a right 'but setting the city on fire is not'.
Early on Oct 18, a heavily loaded truck lost control in Gwalior in India's Madhya Pradesh state and ploughed into Hindu festival devotees gathered at a temple. The Press Trust of India, citing hospital officials, said 13 people were killed. President Droupadi Murmu called the incident 'heartbreaking'.
Anti-government protests in Tirana over corruption, education and unemployment entered their sixth day on Oct 18, and offices of the Supreme Court were set on fire. Hundreds gathered outside the Education Ministry chanting for Prime Minister Edi Rama, now in his fourth term, to step down; police used rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas, and Rama refused to resign. RIA Novosti reported 10 police officers injured that day.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC's Meet the Press on Oct 18 that the US had restored intelligence sharing on incoming Russian ballistic missiles, saying Ukraine went three days without warnings during ballistic missile strikes. He maintained that the US deliberately throttled Starlink, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the accusation was 'very reckless' and warned him to 'be careful'. Zelensky also spoke with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and said Russia had violated the 'energy ceasefire' 76 times.
Ukraine launched a large drone attack on Russia overnight from Oct 17 to 18, about 1,000 drones according to CBS; Singapore's CNA described it as the largest on St Petersburg since the war began in 2022. St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said at least 1 person was killed and at least 5 injured, with fires at an oil terminal and an oil depot, and an Ozon logistics centre and a VKontakte data centre were also hit. Lithuania's defence minister said an FPV-1 drone that triggered air-raid alerts in Lithuania had taken part in the St Petersburg attack, and RIA Novosti reported that Ukraine acknowledged the airspace violation.
Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers met in Manama, Bahrain, on Oct 18, condemned repeated Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and invoked their joint defence pact, saying an attack on any member affects all six. Egypt's National Defence Council, led by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, agreed the same day to support Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition said it shot down two drones near Riyadh and in the Eastern Province early on Oct 18; Saudi Arabia said Houthi attacks injured 6 people and two soldiers died in a helicopter crash.
A Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos survey of 2,545 US adults conducted Oct 9–13 put Donald Trump's approval at 33%, down 4 points from July, with 66% disapproving and 52% strongly disapproving (margin of error ±2 points). On the House ballot, Democrats lead Republicans by 8 points among both registered and likely voters, up from 3 points in July. The midterm elections are about two weeks away.
Brazil's presidential runoff is set for next Sunday. Reuters reported that a PoderData poll released on Oct 16 had President Lula and right-wing Liberal Party Senator Flávio Bolsonaro at 50% each, after Flávio led by 2 points three days earlier, while Argentina's Clarín reported a Vox Brasil survey showing Lula ahead for the first time with 51% of valid votes. Lula trailed by 2 points in the Oct 4 first round and has now pledged free weekend public transport.
Argentina has announced sanctions and legal action against oil companies developing the Sea Lion oil field in waters off the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) in the South Atlantic. Argentina's La Nación reports that the UK government and lawmakers have called Argentina an 'unreliable partner' and that the UK Parliament is studying countermeasures aimed at blocking Argentina from joining the OECD and the CPTPP trade pact. The report adds that Chile is moving ahead with a shipping route to the islands.
Argentine President Javier Milei leaves for Spain on Oct 19, his third visit this year, La Nación reports. Spain holds a general election on Nov 29 that will decide whether Pedro Sánchez stays in power. Milei's only official engagement is a speech at the Nueva Economía forum on Oct 21, but he may meet Vox leader Santiago Abascal, Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso and economist Jesús Huerta de Soto.
Several Venezuelan political figures, in a document released in Caracas, agreed to 'recognise and support' the leadership of Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, France's Le Monde reports. Machado lives in exile in Panama. The document comes nearly 10 months after US forces captured Maduro.
After two Chinese coast guard ships entered restricted waters around the Pratas (Dongsha) Islands on Oct 16, Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration said on Oct 18 that it had driven away 16 Chinese coast guard, research and fishing vessels, including 4 fishing boats. It said the vessels were harassing waters off Taiwan's east, south and southwest and around the Pratas Islands at the same time, in 'unusually large' numbers. The agency described the coordinated activity as 'hybrid warfare' and accused Beijing of trying to unilaterally change the status quo.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said on Oct 17 that 458 Taiwanese who travelled to China this year had gone missing, been detained for questioning or were suspected of having their freedom restricted as of Oct 16, the Taipei Times reports. That is 4 more than in the previous count to Oct 8. Of these, 175 were reported missing.
A Kyodo News poll conducted Oct 17–18 put Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet approval at 49.1%, the lowest since she took office last October. The drop may be linked to slow handling of the case of farm minister Kazuo Yana, criticised for saying he would cut road funding to municipalities that did not support him, who resigned on Oct 14. 57.7% of respondents said his replacement came 'too late', and 81.5% said his resignation was warranted.
The Japan-US Keen Sword 27 joint exercise, seen as a rehearsal for defending Japan's southwestern islands, begins on Oct 19 at its largest scale yet, with about 45,000 Self-Defense Forces personnel and 12,000 US troops, the Japan Times reports. Japan is deploying its longer-range Type 25 surface-to-ship missiles outside their Kumamoto base for the first time, and the US is sending an advanced anti-ship missile system to Yonaguni Island in Okinawa, about 110 km from Taiwan. South Korea's large-scale Hoguk field exercise also runs Oct 19–30, including some South Korea-US drills postponed from August's Ulchi Freedom Shield.
Bank of Korea data show the won averaged 1,342.6 per dollar over the first 12 trading days of October, its strongest monthly average since September 2024 (1,332.8). The won had weakened to 1,528 in June on higher oil prices and foreign stock selling; exporters such as chipmakers have since sold more dollars amid sustained trade surpluses. On Oct 16 it touched 1,328.9 intraday, its strongest since Oct 2, 2024, and KBS reported the won at a 19-year high against the yen.
Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang said on a TV programme on Oct 18 that police are in the final stage of talks with private shopping malls to connect their CCTV systems to the police's expanding smart surveillance network, without naming the malls. He said whether video is streamed live 24 hours a day would depend on crime risk. Taiwan's Liberty Times reported that police aim to raise the number of cameras to 60,000 by 2028 and will use facial recognition.
Hong Kong's Electrical and Mechanical Services Department said on the night of Oct 18 that lift landing doors in another 74 private buildings serviced by Taizoom lack key door-frame components, bringing the total to 152, the South China Morning Post reports. Of these, 150 are private residential or commercial buildings and 2 are Tenants Purchase Scheme estates; the components block flames and smoke during a fire. About 180 buildings serviced by the company have yet to be inspected.
Singapore's National Environment Agency forecast the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index at 101 to 190, in the 'unhealthy' range, for Oct 19. It said rain and southerly winds may reduce haze from Kalimantan, though smoke from Sumatra could still drift in; Singapore's air has been unhealthy since Oct 9, peaking at 230 in the west. Malaysia's Firefly extended its suspension of Subang–Seletar flights to Oct 19, the 10th straight day.
Spain's weather agency had named the season's first cut-off low 'Adam', which brought extreme rain to mainland Spain over the weekend. Authorities in Mallorca issued the highest red storm warning for the night of Oct 18 into Oct 19, civil protection sent special alerts to all phones on the island, and schools closed on Oct 19, Der Spiegel reports. Mallorca's airport saw long delays and cancellations, and Ibiza and Menorca were put on yellow alert.
Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) signed a free trade agreement in Hanoi on Oct 18, attended by Communist Party General Secretary To Lam. The deal removes or lowers tariffs on imports including industrial goods, seafood and agricultural products. Vietnam said it shows the parties' commitment to rules-based trade as US tariffs disrupt global commerce.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar accused former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Oct 18 of plotting a coup, RIA Novosti reports. Orbán had said at an event that day that the opposition was ready for 'national resistance' against the government and could provide the tools for it. Magyar cited the criminal code, under which attempting to overthrow the constitutional order carries 5 to 20 years or life in prison.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after a two-day EU summit in Brussels that he had informed other leaders of an invitation to visit China, with an official visit possible later this year, RFI reports. Tusk said Poland would defend common EU interests in its relations with China and would 'never allow Poland to become a Trojan horse or a fifth column'.
Following remarks by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan involving the use of force against the Philippines, Philippine Senator JV Ejercito said on Oct 18 that the Senate is considering a resolution on the dispute between the Chinese embassy and Filipino lawmakers, RFI reports. Some senators want the ambassador to apologise or be declared persona non grata. The Chinese embassy replied: 'Please hurry up.'
JAXA said the H3 rocket carrying the MMX probe is scheduled to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 am Japan time on Oct 20. MMX aims to collect samples from a moon of Mars and return them to Earth, the first round trip to the Martian system, which could shed light on the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. The mission involves US and European space agencies as well as universities and companies.
Samsung Electronics will use TSMC's 3-nanometre process to make base dies for Nvidia's next-generation custom high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the Seoul Economic Daily reported on Oct 18, marking Samsung's first collaboration with TSMC in HBM manufacturing. Nvidia has asked Samsung, SK hynix and Micron to use TSMC processes for the base die of its NVHBM, which integrates Nvidia's own memory controller. Samsung will keep in-house production for standard HBM.
World No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea beat world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-23, 21-14, 21-18 in the Denmark Open (Super 750) women's singles final in Odense on Oct 18, retaining her title and winning her 9th title of the season. She is 61-1 this year, a 98.4% win rate, and has beaten Yamaguchi 10 times in a row.