This afternoon's briefing covers 30 stories selected from issue 20 of Biguan (毕观天下), weighted towards Asia. Typhoon Champi left 1 dead and 527 injured in Taiwan, Singapore's haze returned to unhealthy levels, two strong earthquakes struck off Vanuatu, and German Chancellor Merz is set to visit Japan and South Korea next week. Elsewhere, the US intelligence chief warned Iranian plots against Americans were at a 'late stage', Israel locked down Hebron after two soldiers were killed, the Pentagon designated Confucius Institutes a security threat, and Brazil held its final debate before the Oct 25 runoff.
Typhoon Champi swept past waters off Yilan, Taiwan, early on Saturday, Oct 24, and lingered near the coast, with gusts reaching about 227 kph; Taiwanese authorities said a man was swept away by waves and killed on Xiaoliuqiu off Pingtung, and 527 people were injured island-wide. Taiwan Power said 288,382 households had lost power at some point by 9am on Oct 24, about 80% had been reconnected and 56,580 were still without power. The storm, about 150 km east of Taiwan with gusts easing to about 126 kph, is moving towards China's coast and southern Japan, and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued an advance warning of linear rainbands for Okinawa's Ishigaki Island area at 10:28am on Oct 24.
US Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said in an unclassified memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, copied to CIA Director Ratcliffe, that Iran had increased efforts to target US personnel and that attack plots in the Middle East and some other countries had reached a 'late stage'. Argentina's Clarín reported that the US then reduced staff at four embassies in the Middle East. US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told the Financial Times the war with Iran could last another year.
The USGS recorded a magnitude 6.9 earthquake 197 km west-north-west of Port-Olry in northern Vanuatu at 02:31 UTC (10:31 HKT) on Oct 24, followed four minutes later by a magnitude 6.3 quake 170 km north-west of Port-Olry. GDACS put the depth at 10 km, said about 40,000 people were within Modified Mercalli intensity IV shaking and issued a green alert. NHK said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center measured the first quake at magnitude 7.2, and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was no tsunami impact on Japan.
A shooting in Hebron in the occupied West Bank killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three; Netanyahu ordered Hebron and neighbouring Halhul locked down, and the Israeli military said the operation would last 'several days'. Al Jazeera said Israeli forces also raided at least 15 towns in the northern West Bank, including Nablus, Jenin, Tubas and Qalqilya, detaining dozens of Palestinians. The Guardian reported that a three-storey building was demolished with residents given five minutes to leave, after which Israel's Supreme Court issued an interim order halting demolitions.
The Buenos Aires Times reported that heavy El Niño rains have swollen rivers in north-east Argentina, forcing more than 2,000 people from their homes, after two deaths last weekend. Chaco province evacuated about 1,200 to 1,300 people, mainly in Puerto Vilelas and Barranqueras, and Corrientes province more than 1,000. La Nación reported that in western Neuquén province heavy rain reactivated dry ravines and briefly cut off road access to Rincón de los Sauces.
The BBC reported that a fire broke out at 9:15pm on Friday, Oct 23, at the mountaintop Eagle's Nest (Kehlsteinhaus) above Berchtesgaden in Bavaria and was still not fully extinguished on Saturday, Oct 24, with about 200 firefighters and rescuers deployed. Police detained a suspect and no injuries were reported. The building, completed in 1938 as a gift from the Nazi Party to Hitler, is now a restaurant and tourist attraction.
After saying this week that 30 US universities had cut research ties with China-linked institutions, the US Defense Department designated China-funded Confucius Institutes and related campus cultural centres a national security threat. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video that the Pentagon had found 80 'propaganda units' at 30 US universities and that all had been removed over the past two months. Congress had earlier passed a law restricting Pentagon funding for universities hosting Confucius Institutes, and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
South Korea's KBS and Yonhap reported that Kim Jong Un guided the third conference of company commanders of the whole army in Pyongyang on Oct 22-23, stressing 'building a powerful army'; it was the first military-sector conference since the ruling party's Ninth Congress in February. State reports did not mention the DMZ or the United States. South Korea's National Intelligence Service had earlier said rumours of Kim's death were false, and state media published photos of him on an inspection on Oct 20.
NHK reported that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit Japan next week for a summit with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on cooperation including economic security. South Korean media said Merz will then make a two-day visit to South Korea from Oct 29 for a summit with President Lee Jae-myung in Seoul. KBS said it will be his first visit to South Korea as chancellor, and he will also attend the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business in Seoul.
The British government said Britain and France held their first joint nuclear deterrence exercise, codenamed Rummy, over the Mediterranean on Oct 20-21. French Rafale jets took off from Saint-Dizier air base on a simulated nuclear strike mission escorted by RAF Typhoons, with an A330 multi-role tanker taking part; no nuclear weapons were involved. The exercise was held under the Northwood Declaration signed on July 10, 2025, and Britain said it will spend £63 billion on nuclear deterrence over the next four years.
Al Jazeera reported that Kenya announced its second Ebola death, a 65-year-old woman; the country has nine confirmed cases, seven still in treatment and 135 close contacts traced, and the health ministry said there was 'no evidence' of community spread. The WHO launched the Tumaini clinical trial in Bunia, Ituri province, DR Congo, to test whether the Ervebo vaccine protects against the Bundibugyo strain. DR Congo's current outbreak has passed 9,700 cases and 4,600 deaths.
Brazil's presidential runoff is set for Sunday, Oct 25, and the last TV debate before the vote was held by TV Globo in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, Oct 23. La Nación reported that Flávio Bolsonaro called Lula the 'nine-finger president' while Lula called his rival a 'militiaman', and El País said Lula put Bolsonaro on the defensive. The latest polls show the pair at roughly 50-50, while on prediction market Polymarket Flávio's chance of winning stood at 79% and Lula's at 20%.
RIA Novosti, citing Iran's ambassador in Moscow, reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit in Moscow on Oct 27 and meet Vladimir Putin. It would be a major trip abroad for Pezeshkian since the war between Iran and the United States began.
CNBC reported that Moody's held France's sovereign credit rating at Aa3 with a negative outlook. France's 10-year government bond yield recently rose above 5% for the first time since 2002; the budget deficit is about 5.5% of GDP, and political instability has fed market worries about the country's debt.
EU ministers meeting in Dublin on Friday, Oct 23, said the bloc should cut imports of chemicals, machinery and other products through talks with Beijing to curb its widening trade deficit with China. Deutsche Welle reported that the EU's goods trade deficit with China exceeds €1 billion a day, with European industry warning of factory closures and job losses. RFI reported that the EU is also considering import quotas on plastics.
At cross-party talks in Tokyo on Oct 22, the Liberal Democratic Party proposed cutting the 465-seat House of Representatives by 31 seats, all from proportional representation, and the Asahi Shimbun reported on Oct 24 that the Democratic Party for the People was leaning towards accepting it. The plan is based on projections that Japan's population in 2030 will be 6.7% smaller than in 2015, and proportional seats would be allocated by a modified Sainte-Laguë method that favours small and mid-sized parties. The DPFP's acting leader said the plan 'took our party's ideas into account' and the party will discuss it again on Oct 26; coalition partner Ishin had sought a 45-seat cut, but some within it are willing to accept 31.
Data from Singapore's National Environment Agency showed the island-wide 24-hour PSI at 117 to 150 at 11am on Oct 24, in the unhealthy range, with the highest readings in the west. The agency forecast a PSI of 90 to 140 for the day, with possible improvement on Sunday. The Straits Times said it was the first time air quality had returned to the unhealthy range since Oct 5.
The Asahi Shimbun reported that after unauthorised access to a GMO Internet group service for automated foreign-exchange margin (FX) trading, several customers said trades they did not recognise appeared in their accounts and caused cash losses. Victims received emails, apparently from the attackers, saying they had logged into the trading accounts and were making demands of GMO, with a link asking them to get in touch. An analyst at Mitsui Bussan Secure Directions (MBSD) said directly hitting customer assets to extort a company was 'unheard of', and recommended two-step verification, trade notifications and keeping as little money as possible in automated trading accounts.
Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection reported a severe paediatric influenza case involving a 3-year-old boy with long-term illnesses who developed fever and cough from Oct 20 and was taken to Tuen Mun Hospital's emergency department on Oct 22 after his condition worsened; he lost consciousness and was moved to the paediatric intensive care unit after resuscitation. His respiratory sample tested positive for influenza A (H1), with clinical diagnoses of influenza A complicated by worsening asthma, acute necrotising encephalopathy and septic shock, and he is in critical condition. The centre said he had travelled to the United States during the incubation period and had not received this season's flu vaccine.
Hong Kong police said a Tuen Mun resident reported on Monday, Oct 19, that a woman approached them on the street saying she had forgotten her keys and her lock was broken, and asked to borrow money for a locksmith. Police said the scammers then asked for larger sums on various pretexts, and two victims lost HK$900,000 in total. Police have arrested two people.
A senior official of Singapore's National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said on Oct 23 that nearly 240 foreign workers in the processing industry had gone up to two months without pay. NTUC is working with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to arrange shared housing and job matching and to help recover wages including overtime pay, and about 90 workers are receiving daily meals. The Migrant Workers' Centre and MOM have met 230 of the workers, and the authorities will provide financial help where needed.
El País reported that four Salvadoran soldiers on an anti-gang mission in Haiti have been missing since an ambush last Sunday, and President Nayib Bukele has deployed elite troops, with six aircraft carrying about 100 soldiers arriving in Haiti. The New York Times said the ambush has escalated Haiti's anti-gang mission.
CNA reported that from Nov 1 Japan will switch to a new tax-free system under which tourists pay the 10% consumption tax when shopping and claim a refund when leaving the country, to stop visitors reselling tax-free goods inside Japan. Tokyo Customs demonstrated the new process to the media at Haneda Airport on Oct 22, where more than 20 terminals have been installed; travellers at Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose, Naha and other airports can complete part of the procedure online in advance.
CNA reported that China's first fully AI-generated science-fiction feature film, themed on Sanxingdui, opened on Friday, Oct 23, with more than 10,000 screenings on its first day according to Maoyan, but presales of only 65,000 yuan as of the evening of Oct 22 and a total box office expected below 100,000 yuan; nearly 100 people spent more than two years making it at a cost of over 10 million yuan. RFI, citing Le Monde, said about 90% of China's mobile micro-dramas are now made with AI, cutting costs to a tenth, while creators' incomes have plunged.
Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior published its 2025 abridged life table excluding specific causes of death, showing average life expectancy of 81.27 years; excluding malignant tumours would add 3.70 years to 84.97, the largest effect of the top 10 causes of death, while excluding heart disease and pneumonia would add 1.54 and 1.13 years respectively. Cancer has been the leading cause of death for 44 consecutive years and killed 54,838 people in 2025, 27.48% of all deaths.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announced on Saturday, Oct 24, that timetable changes on the T4, T8 and South Coast lines, due to take effect on Nov 15, had been scrapped; they would have affected about a quarter of Sydney train passengers. Some commutes would have become longer, for example by up to 14 minutes on the T4 line between Waterfall and the city.
Visually impaired sprinter Jang Min-ho won gold in the men's 400m T13 at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games in 46.24 seconds, breaking a world record that had stood for 16 years and adding to his 100m gold. Hosts Japan lost the wheelchair rugby final. Hong Kong's Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism congratulated the Hong Kong team on winning six more medals on Oct 23.
Japan Football Association president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said after an AFC extraordinary congress in Tokyo on Oct 23 that Saudi Arabia's current security situation makes it difficult to host the Asian Cup as scheduled from Jan 7 to Feb 5 next year. The Saudi side said the safety of players and fans is the top priority and that it will discuss the matter with the AFC. AFC President Sheikh Salman said last week the tournament could be postponed to 2028 if necessary.
The Hankyoreh reported that Seoul's Namdaemun police station said an SUV leaving Namsan Tunnel 3 collided with a car going straight at about 3:47pm on Oct 22. The SUV driver, a diplomat at the US embassy in Seoul, refused a breathalyser test citing diplomatic status, and under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations police could not compel the test; police said they would guide the parties to file a formal case if no settlement is reached.
The South China Morning Post, citing the Korea Herald, reported that a study on disposable straws commissioned by South Korea's Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment found that paper and bio-based straws have higher life-cycle emissions than plastic ones, and that paper straws' carcinogenic impact is 6.33 times that of plastic straws. The indicator measures potential cancer risk across the whole process from raw material production to disposal, not the risk from direct use. The report was disclosed on Oct 21 by a People Power Party lawmaker.