This morning's briefing covers 30 stories selected from issue 17 of Biguan (毕观天下), weighted towards Asia. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Nagqu in Tibet, killing at least 16 according to Xinhua, Typhoon Champi shut Taipei's offices, schools and stock market, and Hong Kong's unemployment rate rose to 3.9%. Elsewhere, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said seven ships were hit near the Strait of Hormuz as Brent crude topped $113, Russian missiles struck Kyiv, France reported the world's first known human case of Shamonda virus, and the WHO said the Ebola outbreak had become more complex.
The China Earthquake Networks Center said a magnitude 7.0 quake struck a county of Nagqu in the Tibet Autonomous Region at about 22:33 local time on Oct 22 at a depth of 10 km, in an area averaging about 4,864 metres above sea level. CBS, citing AFP relaying Xinhua, reported at least 16 dead, 32 injured and more than 300 houses collapsed; the USGS put the depth at about 18 km, 191 km east-northeast of Nagqu. CNA said it was China's strongest earthquake since January 2024, about 400 km from Lhasa, followed by several aftershocks of magnitude 3 to 4.
CNA Singapore reported Taiwan's Central Weather Administration issued a land warning for Typhoon Champi on Oct 22, with the storm centre about 250 km south-east of Yilan, gusts near the centre above 227 kph and a storm radius of 320 km; it was expected to pass closest to north-eastern Taiwan late on Oct 23 before heading north towards waters off Shanghai. Taiwan's transport ministry said 125 flights, mostly domestic, were cancelled on Thursday, and northern mountain areas could see close to 1,000 mm of rain. Taiwan's Central News Agency said Taipei suspended work and classes on Oct 23 and the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Taipei Exchange closed for the full day; NHK said the typhoon was approaching Okinawa's Sakishima Islands.
The Guardian and CNA, citing AFP, reported that Kim Aris, son of Myanmar's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said on Facebook on Oct 22 that he had spoken to his mother by phone for the first time in more than five years. She has been detained since the February 2021 military coup, and Myanmar authorities say she is under house arrest in Naypyitaw. Aris said she 'sounded fairly healthy' and they spoke only about family because the call would be recorded, adding that 'one phone call is not the same as regular family visits'; on Monday the authorities released photos of her receiving a package from King Charles III.
The Hong Kong government said the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July–September 2026 was 3.9%, up 0.1 percentage point from June–August, and the underemployment rate rose 0.1 point to 2.0%. Unemployed persons rose by about 1,100 to 155,000 and underemployed persons by about 2,900 to 75,000, while total employment rose by about 3,000 to 3,655,000. Unemployment rose most visibly in social work activities and warehousing and support activities for transportation; the rise in underemployment was mainly in food and beverage services and retail.
SCMP reported that Britain's latest six-monthly report on Hong Kong, published on Oct 22, said the national security law had further eroded the openness underpinning the city's success; the Foreign Secretary wrote in the foreword that he was 'deeply concerned and disturbed' by Jimmy Lai's continued imprisonment. Lai was sentenced to 20 years for national security offences. A Hong Kong government spokesman said it 'strongly condemns and firmly rejects' the report, saying the Sino-British Joint Declaration gives the UK no authority to interfere in Hong Kong affairs, and Beijing told Britain to stop interfering in China's internal affairs.
SCMP reported that Australian Defence Minister Marles and Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao signed a defence framework agreement in Dili on Oct 22, under which Australia will provide A$62 million (about $44 million) for cybersecurity, maritime security, infrastructure, disaster relief and training. Marles said Australia is Timor-Leste's largest defence and security partner and the deal would significantly increase joint exercises. AFP said the move comes as Canberra seeks to curb China's growing influence among Australia's neighbours, having recently signed defence and economic deals with several Pacific island nations.
SCMP reported that after a second unvaccinated child died of influenza in Hong Kong, the controller of the Centre for Health Protection said falling vaccination rates were raising infection risk. More than 900,000 flu vaccine doses have been given since Sept 17, about 10% fewer than the roughly 1 million a year earlier, and coverage among children aged 2 to 11 fell 5 percentage points. The season began in June; last year's ended around week 18, and this year's is still not easing at about week 16, so he expects it to last longer than last year's.
CoinDesk, citing The Paper, reported that Chinese prosecutors applied to confiscate more than 61,800 bitcoin and other assets linked to a fundraising fraud of over 40 billion yuan (about $5.7 billion). Prosecutors said Qian Zhimin, the actual controller of Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, sold unlicensed wealth products nationwide from 2014 to 2017 promising guaranteed high returns, raising more than 40.378 billion yuan from over 102,000 investors, who lost nearly 20 billion yuan. A UK court recently ruled that victims' claims to bitcoin seized in Britain should be governed by Chinese law; a Chinese court has opened a six-month notice period for interested parties.
Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that a Kuomintang-backed referendum to abolish the 'nuclear-free homeland' policy has been approved by the Central Election Commission and will be held alongside the nine-in-one local elections on Nov 28. A presidential office spokesperson said on Oct 22 that Taiwan reached the nuclear-free goal when the last unit of its third nuclear power plant was decommissioned on May 17, 2025, and power supply is sufficient; President Lai Ching-te holds no ideological position and rules out no energy option, but a restart must be safe, have a solution for nuclear waste and have social consensus. The policy is written into Taiwan's Basic Environment Act.
Asahi Shimbun reported that the Liberal Democratic Party, at a cross-party electoral reform council on Oct 22, proposed a compromise cutting only 31 proportional-representation seats from the 465-seat lower house, after opposition parties rejected the 45-seat cut proposed with Nippon Ishin no Kai. The plan would also switch seat allocation from the D'Hondt method to a modified Sainte-Laguë method more favourable to small and mid-sized parties, and raise the threshold for dual candidates' revival from one-tenth to one-sixth of valid votes, aiming for agreement within the month. The Democratic Party for the People's acting leader said it was 'better than cutting 45', while Ishin's leader insisted on a 10% cut, or 45 seats.
PHP developers disclosed two long-hidden critical vulnerabilities found by AI and released patches on Oct 21. KBS reported that South Korea's science ministry and the Korea Internet & Security Agency raised the civilian cyber crisis alert from 'interest' to 'caution', the second of four levels, at noon on Oct 22, expanding response staff and sending protective measures to about 5,900 organisations and about 30,000 companies required to report information security officers. KBS said about 70% of websites worldwide use PHP; Asahi Shimbun said millions of attacks were recorded within half a day of disclosure, with exploitation attempts even before it.
Hankyoreh reported that the National Office of Investigation's security investigation bureau of the Korean National Police Agency confirmed on Oct 22 that it began investigating last year after detecting signs that North Korean IT workers had concealed their identity to be employed by South Korean private companies, the first such case made public. Police are tracing how much was paid and how, and investigating links to North Korean organisations. On July 31 South Korea's foreign ministry and police joined agencies from 11 countries including the US, Japan, the UK and Australia in warning that North Korea relies on IT workers using false identities to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
The Straits Times reported that Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced on Oct 22 that the second round of haze mask distribution would begin on Oct 23, with Singaporeans aged 60 and above eligible for two N95 masks each, compared with 67 and above in the first round; CHAS Orange and Blue card holders and Medical Fee Exemption Card holders are also eligible, collecting at community clubs and dedicated vending machines. About 22% of eligible residents have collected masks so far, and the government said stocks remain and it is helping retailers restock.
Liberty Times reported that a severe grassland fire broke out in early October in a strictly protected area in Mongolia's Dornod province and was fully extinguished on the morning of Oct 16, burning nearly 80% of the reserve, about 4,700 sq km. NHK reported that Japanese telecoms company KDDI said the fire was linked to the activities of its local subsidiary and apologised; Liberty Times, citing local reports, said the fire was suspected to be linked to a Japanese company executive.
Hankyoreh reported that Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Efpe auto-injector pen (efpeglenatide), South Korea's first home-grown GLP-1 obesity drug, can be prescribed at some medical institutions from as early as Oct 29, after approval by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Oct 7. In a phase 3 trial of 448 Korean patients with obesity, body weight fell by about 9% on average after 40 weeks. The first month's supply price is about 130,000 won, roughly half Mounjaro's lowest-dose four-week supply price of about 270,000 won; it is for adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 to 30 with related conditions.
BBC reported that from Oct 22 Starbucks China requires customers to buy something before sitting in its roughly 8,000 stores nationwide, saying the aim is to improve the 'in-store experience'. Starbucks China faces fierce competition from local brands such as Luckin Coffee; Starbucks in North America earlier ended its long-standing policy of letting non-customers use seats and toilets, and Starbucks Korea has asked customers not to bring 'bulky items' after people occupied seats with printers and desktop computers.
Asahi Shimbun reported that at about 3 pm Japan time on Oct 22, car navigation systems in moving vehicles across Kyushu simultaneously displayed a red-framed alert reading 'Level 5 heavy rain emergency warning: underpasses dangerous!'. The land ministry's Kyushu Regional Development Bureau said that evening it was sent in error by a staff member practising on the system ahead of the approaching typhoon, retracted it about 20 minutes later and apologised; there was no disaster-level rain in Kyushu at the time. The function began on Oct 6, and the bureau said the incident was unrelated to unauthorised access or the PHP vulnerability.
After US envoy Witkoff met Russian President Putin in St Petersburg on Oct 21, Putin agreed 'in principle' to resume US-Russia-Ukraine talks, with no date set. AP reported Russia bombarded Kyiv with ballistic missiles hours later, with Ukrainian officials saying at least four were killed and dozens injured; RFI, citing AFP, said Ukraine reported seven dead, and NHK quoted Zelensky as saying two were killed and more than 30 injured. Russia's defence ministry said on Thursday its air defences intercepted more than 800 Ukrainian drones, and Meduza reported Moscow's mayor said 630 drones flew towards Moscow and the Moscow region from the evening of Oct 21, injuring two people.
BBC and AP reported that France's health and agriculture ministries announced on Oct 22 the world's first known human infection with Shamonda virus. The severely immunocompromised patient was treated in a Lyon hospital and died in early October, with neurological complications considered 'likely' linked to the virus; authorities believe the patient was infected by a biting midge in eastern France, where animal infections were found this spring and summer. The virus mainly infects cattle, was first identified in Nigeria in the mid-1960s and was detected on European cattle farms for the first time this summer; France said there is no identified risk to the general public, and the WHO confirmed it is the first documented human case.
Last weekend's French cost-of-living protests turned into riots and looting. CNA, citing AFP, reported the justice minister said on Oct 22 that 2,700 people had been detained since Saturday, more than 1,000 had appeared in court and 217 had been jailed after fast-track trials, half of them with no criminal record and mostly men aged 18 to 25. BBC reported Paris extended a partial curfew around Place de la République and Les Halles until Monday, the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and Picasso Museum will close on Saturday, and Marseille and Lyon banned all protests this weekend; Interior Minister Jean-Didier Berger said police deployment would be 20% larger than last weekend.
BBC reported Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office said on Oct 22 that a Ukrainian man, Vadym Y., was arrested on suspicion of gathering military intelligence for Russian intelligence services, in contact with them through intermediaries since at least July 2025 and collecting information on armoured vehicles and ammunition and explosives production; he was to appear before an investigating judge on Friday. Chancellor Merz called the case a 'success' but said Russian intelligence activity in Germany remains at a consistently high level. Germany has arrested several people this year suspected of working for Russia or other foreign powers.
Al Jazeera reported that Serbia's student-led opposition movement held its final pre-election rally in central Belgrade on Oct 22, drawing tens of thousands, while the president held a rival rally at a sports arena in the city the same day. The 'student list' is fielding 250 candidates for the 250-seat parliament, mostly academics and political newcomers campaigning on anti-corruption, aiming to defeat the right-wing populist Serbian Progressive Party, in power for more than 14 years, in Sunday's vote. The protests began nearly two years ago after a renovated railway station canopy in Novi Sad collapsed in 2024, killing 16 people.
La Nación reported a Datafolha poll released on Oct 22 showed right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro on 47% and President Lula on 45% ahead of Sunday's runoff, within the margin of error, compared with 49% for Bolsonaro in the Oct 8 poll. BBC reported Lula's campaign petitioned the Superior Electoral Court on Wednesday seeking Bolsonaro's disqualification, alleging Meta restricted its content to help him, while Bolsonaro's camp sought Lula's disqualification over mass distribution of government posts on WhatsApp. Meta denied treating them differently; a report led by the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression said data showed accounts linked to one side faced disproportionate restrictions.
CNBC reported that partial data on Moderna and Merck's personalised mRNA cancer vaccine intismeran autogene leaked early on Oct 22, sending Moderna shares down as much as 25% intraday. Full phase 3 data then showed that, combined with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda, the vaccine cut the risk of recurrence or death by 42% and of distant metastasis or death by 38% versus Keytruda alone in some melanoma patients, with two-year recurrence-free survival of 82% against 70%. Detailed results are to be presented at this weekend's ESMO congress; STAT said the vaccine targets neoantigen mutations unique to each patient's tumour.
BBC Mundo reported that Luisa González, a former presidential candidate and ally of former President Correa, was arrested on Oct 22 in Canuto, the town in Manabí province where she grew up, by police sent from Quito, in an investigation into alleged irregularities in her 2023 presidential campaign financing. Prosecutors said they executed three arrest warrants in Manabí and Pichincha provinces early on Thursday and intend to bring money-laundering charges. The investigation has already disqualified her from upcoming local elections and barred her Citizen Revolution party from fielding candidates; she previously faced President Noboa in a presidential election.
Al Jazeera reported Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Oct 22 that four oil-carrying ships were attacked and set ablaze in the northern Persian Gulf and three more lost power after hitting mines west of the Strait of Hormuz, the most in a single day on the waterway since the US and Israel went to war with Iran on Feb 28; the claims were not independently verified. The IRGC warned the conflict would extend to US bases in the region if the US kept helping tankers through the strait, while Trump said on Truth Social Iran was making up the attacks and mines to push up oil prices before the midterm elections. CNBC said Brent crude futures rose 4% to settle at $113.17 a barrel, the highest since May 4, and CBS said US Central Command marked 100 days of the renewed blockade of Iranian ports, which it said had stopped about $25 billion of Iranian crude exports.
Al-Monitor, citing Reuters and six people familiar with the matter, reported that Saudi Aramco told employees on Oct 22 to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf coast and work remotely, which would be the first such evacuation since the Iran war began; the company did not respond and the reason was unclear. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi Arabia, including Aramco facilities and airports, with King Fahd International Airport in Dammam hit on Oct 21, and a Houthi spokesman said the group had attacked an Aramco facility in Yanbu. LSEG data showed the benchmark TASI index fell 2.5% on Thursday after the news.
The New York Times reported a drone strike in the Abyei region killed more than 150 people during Sudan's civil war. Le Monde said all the dead were civilians, quoting a local resident: 'Traders, women, children... they spared no one.' The Times said the warring sides, deadlocked on the battlefield, increasingly rely on long-range drone strikes that cause heavy civilian casualties; Abyei is a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan.
Al Jazeera reported WHO's regional director for Africa said on Oct 22 the situation was 'more complex'. The Ebola outbreak declared in DR Congo in mid-May has killed more than 4,000 people there, and Kenya, DR Congo and Nigeria have current or recent cases, while Uganda, which had cases earlier in the year, has declared itself clear. Nigeria confirmed its first case on Tuesday, the Ugandan wife of a Swiss diplomat in Abuja; health authorities are investigating whether she had contact with Kenya's first patient at a Ugandan airport. The New York Times said the outbreak has reached its widest expansion ever.
The Guardian and Japan Times reported the International Union for Conservation of Nature's first global coral reef assessment, covering reefs in more than 80 countries, found about 24% are currently critically endangered, rising to 96% when expected global warming is included, with almost all shallow-water reefs, including Australia's Great Barrier Reef, at high risk of ecosystem collapse by 2075. About a quarter of known marine species live on or around coral reefs. Mishal Gudka, the assessment's scientific lead and a research director at Cordio East Africa, said 'the risk is real and very concerning'.