Journal Of Occurrences

World News

Daily Occurrences both Foreign and Domestic
You are here: Home / Archives for World News

World News

Sudan Files UN and African Union Complaints Accusing Ethiopia Over RSF Drone Attacks: November 2, 2026

Sudan has lodged complaints against Ethiopia with the UN Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, accusing its neighbour of letting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces launch drone attacks from Ethiopian territory.

In a statement late on Sunday, Sudan’s foreign ministry said the RSF had used Ethiopian soil for “brazen aggression” against “civilian sites and power stations,” and that the attacks place “Ethiopia before international law.”

A report from Sudan’s army-led Transitional Sovereignty Council alleged 70 attacks between February 15 and October 27 involving 187 one-way attack drones, killing or wounding 484 civilians and killing 176 soldiers. It named launch sites at Asosa airport, the Kurmuk-Gizen border area and Bahir Dar airbase, Al Jazeera reported.

The report cited an October 9 strike on displaced families in Wad el-Mahi, in Blue Nile state, that it said killed 30 civilians.

Sudan’s military has repeatedly accused Ethiopia of aiding the RSF, while Ethiopia has accused the Sudanese army of backing rebels linked to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday he was “appalled” by the toll of drone strikes in Sudan.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency

—

Uganda Begins Pulling Troops Out of Somalia After Nearly Two Decades: November 2, 2026

Uganda has begun withdrawing its troops from Somalia, ending nearly 20 years of military involvement in the fight against the al-Shabab insurgency.

Acting army spokesperson Chris Magezi said on Monday the first group of soldiers deployed under a bilateral arrangement had already returned home, with others to follow within days. All Ugandan forces, including those serving with the African Union mission, are to leave by the end of 2027.

A first contingent of 109 Uganda People’s Defence Forces troops reportedly left Mogadishu on Friday. “After 20 years of a lot of blood and sacrifice, we are handing over security to our Somali brothers,” army chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba wrote on X, as quoted by the BBC.

Uganda was the first country to deploy under the African Union Mission in Somalia in 2007 and helped drive al-Shabab out of Mogadishu. The BBC reports about 4,500 troops serve in Somalia under the current AU mission, AUSSOM, alongside about 2,000 deployed through bilateral deals.

The pullout follows a visit to Kampala by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who reportedly sought to persuade Uganda to stay. AUSSOM also faces uncertain funding as US and UN support winds down.

Sources: BBC News, DW

—

Hackers Hijack Ukrainian and Russian Air Alert Apps to Send Fake Nuclear Warnings: November 2, 2026

Ukraine and Russia both said on Sunday night that hackers had broken into air raid alert apps and pushed fake warnings to users, including of nuclear attack.

Ukraine’s widely used Air Alarm app sent red-level warnings nationwide, with some users in Kyiv and elsewhere also told of radiation, chemical attacks and street fighting. “There is no radiation threat! Stay calm,” the Ukrainian air force said on Telegram. The government temporarily disabled the app.

Hours later, Russia said one of its own alert apps had been hit by “a massive cyberattack” that sent “fake information to the public.” A purported screenshot shared by the Ukrainian partisan group Atesh, reported by the BBC, warned that Ukrainian drones carrying nuclear warheads had been launched at all regions of Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not address the breach directly but said Russian government sites are under “constant cyberattacks.” Russia’s emergencies ministry said the app would be fully restored by the end of Monday.

It was unclear who was behind the attacks or whether they were linked. The Ukrainian alerts went out minutes before the end of a local ceasefire in the Kherson region that had allowed civilians to evacuate Russian-occupied Oleshky.

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian

—

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever Offers Resignation After Budget Talks Collapse: November 2, 2026

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever offered his government’s resignation to King Philippe on Monday after overnight talks among his five-party coalition failed to agree a budget.

The king has not yet accepted the resignation. He will consult party leaders from Tuesday and meet De Wever again on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

The so-called Arizona coalition of the N-VA, MR, Les Engagés, Vooruit and CD&V had been trying to close a gap of about €10 billion. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said there were “too many sticking points,” while MR’s David Clarinval complained of “far too many taxes on the table.”

Belgium’s deficit reached 5.2% of GDP in 2025, according to Politico Europe, and its public debt tops €735 billion, more than 110% of GDP, according to Euronews, putting it under pressure from EU fiscal rules.

A similar standoff last year ended with the king granting De Wever extra time rather than accepting his resignation.

Sources: Associated Press, Euronews, Politico Europe

—

Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers Over Party’s Senate Nominee: November 2, 2026

Two days before the US midterm elections, Michigan Democratic Representative Haley Stevens has endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the state’s open Senate seat, breaking with her party’s nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, who narrowly beat her in the August primary.

Stevens announced the endorsement on Sunday after attending a Detroit church service with Rogers. “Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away,” she said in a video, according to the Associated Press via CBC. “And he’s right. And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers.”

“I’m not turning my back on Democrats. It is this one vote,” Stevens told reporters. Her top aide quit over the decision.

Tensions between the two Democrats had festered since the primary over Israel: Stevens is a staunch supporter, while El-Sayed is a fierce critic. Plans for Stevens to campaign with El-Sayed on Sunday unravelled after a public dispute.

Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel said the endorsement “shows that she has abandoned everything she claims to care about.” El-Sayed brushed it off: “At the end of the day I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens.”

The race for the seat held by retiring Democrat Gary Peters is tight and could help decide control of the Senate on Tuesday.

Sources: CBC News / AP, BBC News, The Guardian

—

Nine Killed as Business Jet Plunges Onto Florida Road Near Palm Beach: November 2, 2026

All nine people aboard a Learjet 60 business jet were killed on Sunday when the aircraft dived almost vertically onto a busy road in Palm Beach County, Florida, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

The jet came down around 12:50 p.m. local time on Military Trail, a six-lane road near Cresthaven, about nine miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. The Federal Aviation Administration said the flight had departed Austin, Texas, and was bound for the Bahamas. Nobody on the ground was hurt.

Air traffic control audio, as reported by the BBC, captured a crew member reporting moderate turbulence, icing and precipitation and asking to climb, then declaring an emergency as the jet descended at 20,000 feet per minute. The final words from the cockpit were “we’re out of time.”

“It’s like a missile coming down, and a massive explosion, debris going everywhere,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said of dashcam footage of the crash. Duffy called it a “horrific tragedy.”

Officials said about 600 residents of a nearby trailer park were evacuated, and damage to water lines and other infrastructure means the road will stay closed for at least 30 days. Thunderstorms had been reported in the area at the time.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation with FAA support. The identities of those aboard had not been released.

Sources: BBC News, DW, CBC News

—

World Brief, Evening: November 1, 2026

Israel’s election chief says the result stands, whatever Netanyahu says. Iran’s Guards say two tankers blew up on mines in Hormuz while the talks in Doha go into a third day. The Kherson truce runs out, Ukraine goes back after Russian refineries, and both countries’ air-raid apps get hacked on the same night. Bulgaria picks Iliana Iotova. Plus a Democrat crossing over in Michigan two days out, a business jet falling onto a Florida road, the King’s slavery speech set for Tuesday, the end of the UN mission in Western Sahara, and a U-turn in Fiji. Ten stories as of Sunday evening, November 1.

1. Jerusalem / Israel; Gaza. The head of Israel’s Central Elections Committee, Noam Sohlberg, says Tuesday’s result will stand even if claims of foreign interference turn out to be true. “Our position is that even if the suspicions are substantiated, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the election results as a whole,” he said in a video Sunday, standing with the Shin Bet chief and the attorney general, Al Jazeera reports. Netanyahu’s Likud has said, without evidence, that Arab-led parties “stole” the vote with money from Qatar. Qatar calls it disinformation. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of an “orchestrated and organised campaign to delegitimise the results.”

The math hasn’t changed: Netanyahu’s bloc 53, Eisenkot’s 48, Arab-led parties a record 19, and 61 needed. Results are due to be certified this week. In Gaza, Israeli strikes killed at least eight people Sunday, including a four-year-old boy in Gaza City and five police officers in Khan Younis, hospitals and the Hamas-run interior ministry said, according to the BBC. Israel’s military says it hit what it described as military operatives.

2. Strait of Hormuz; Doha / Qatar. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy says two oil tankers “exploded” after hitting mines while using an “unauthorized route” through the strait, Iranian state media reported Sunday, according to Reuters. Iran has been attacking ships it says break its rules for the waterway. That comes two days after missiles hit a Qatari LNG carrier near the strait.

In Doha, indirect US–Iran talks ran into a third day, with Qatar trying to free more than $6bn in Iranian assets as the first step to reopening Hormuz. Gulf officials are “braced for the worst,” the UAE’s Anwar Gargash said, as they wait for Washington’s answer before Tuesday’s midterms, The Guardian reports. Abbas Araghchi said he hoped the US would choose “diplomacy over other paths,” while a deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament said the nuclear programme is off the table “under any circumstances.”

3. Kherson / Ukraine. The six-day truce around Oleshky ended Sunday night with no violations reported and no extension, Al Jazeera reports. Ukraine’s military said it moved 167 more people out of threatened areas of the region on Sunday. Elsewhere, Zelenskyy says Russian strikes overnight Saturday on energy in four regions left hundreds of thousands of homes without power, and a strike in the Vinnytsia region killed two people, including a 13-year-old girl, the BBC reports. He says Russia is trying to “take maximum advantage of the shortage of ballistic missile interceptors.”

Ukraine hit back. Russian state media say drones set fire to the Kstovo refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, after a strike on a Rosneft refinery in Samara, The Guardian reports. The Kremlin says Kyiv is “simply ignoring” US wishes. Ukrainian officials say they never agreed to a 30-day pause on refinery strikes. Pope Leo said he hoped the Oleshky cooperation would “strengthen their willingness to engage in dialogue.”

4. Kyiv / Ukraine; Moscow / Russia. At about 10:47 p.m. Kyiv time, Ukraine’s air-raid app started telling people there was a “radiation threat” in the capital. Then came a message in Russian: “Hi! There will be a nuclear alert across Ukraine. Don’t worry, it’s Oreshnik flying.” Chemical attack and street-fighting warnings followed. The Air Force said the app had “probably been subjected to hostile interference. There is no radiation threat!” the BBC reports. In the Lviv region, the false radiation signal played over loudspeakers.

A few hours later it was Russia’s turn. Its emergency ministry said its own alert app had been hit by “a massive cyberattack” that sent “fake information to the public.” Atesh, a Ukrainian partisan group, said on Telegram that it had hacked the app, with laughing emojis.

5. Sofia / Bulgaria. Acting President Iliana Iotova won Sunday’s runoff with about 58% of the vote in initial counts, against roughly 38% for former caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov, Al Jazeera reports. Gyurov conceded: “This is how the Bulgarian citizens have voted.” If official results on Monday confirm it, Iotova becomes Bulgaria’s first elected female head of state. She favours dialogue with Russia and opposes military aid to Ukraine.

Turnout was only about 27% to 29%. The vote came with 21 people still missing after drone attacks on ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast last month. Those attacks are suspected spillover from the war in Ukraine. In a debate, Gyurov criticised Iotova for not explicitly blaming Russia for that war. The presidency is mostly ceremonial.

6. Detroit / United States; Alaska. Two days before the midterms, Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost the Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, turned up at church with Republican Mike Rogers and endorsed him. “I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign,” she said, the BBC reports. Chuck Schumer called it “a despicable betrayal.” At a rally in Iowa, Trump called her “very brave” and said he’d “love her to join the Republican Party.” El-Sayed: “At the end of the day, I don’t think about Haley Stevens.” Michigan is one of the tightest Senate races in the country.

In Alaska, a judge dismissed the Trump-backed Justice Department lawsuit that sought to block certification of the Senate race if Republican Dan Sullivan loses. The department says it will appeal. Sullivan told CNN, “I’m going to accept the election results,” The Guardian reports.

7. Palm Beach County, Florida / United States. A Learjet 60 flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas nosedived onto Military Trail near Cresthaven just before 1 p.m. Sunday, killing all nine people aboard. “We’re gonna crash … We’re out of time,” the pilot told the tower, according to air traffic audio reported by CBS and the BBC. “It’s like a missile coming down,” Governor Ron DeSantis said. Officials said they had no reports of anyone killed or hurt on the ground, but 600 residents of a nearby trailer park were evacuated, and the road will be shut for at least 30 days.

The crash site is about nine miles from Mar-a-Lago. Trump had left on Air Force One about an hour earlier. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted the basics below. The NTSB is sending a go-team and will brief reporters in West Palm Beach on Monday.

8. St John’s / Antigua and Barbuda. King Charles will speak about the transatlantic slave trade with “unflinching honesty” and “sincere sorrow” when he addresses Commonwealth leaders on Tuesday, Buckingham Palace said, according to the BBC. It follows Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying he is “open” to a formal UK apology, a shift in the government’s position. The Palace was told ahead of time, and the King hasn’t changed his speech because of it, the BBC understands.

Antigua’s prime minister, Gaston Browne, used his Independence Day address to say slavery’s “consequences have not disappeared with the passage of time.” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called “endless talk about apologies” a “distraction.” The King and Queen Camilla got caught in a downpour at Sunday’s parade.

9. Western Sahara. After 35 years, the UN peacekeeping mission known as MINURSO is over. Its mandate ran out after Russia vetoed a US draft on Friday and the Security Council rejected Russia’s own text. Sunday began the “liquidation phase,” with equipment going home to troop-contributing countries, Al Jazeera reports. Secretary-General António Guterres is worried about “the risk of hostilities escalating” and urged “maximum restraint.”

Morocco’s palace called the end of the mission a “significant development.” Algeria blamed Washington’s “excessive bias” toward Morocco. The Polisario Front said it was “concerned at the deadlock.”

10. Suva / Fiji. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has done a complete U-turn on tabling his Constitution (Amendment) Bill this week. He told parliament Monday the committee report will come “at a later sitting date,” with more time for public submissions, RNZ reports. His coalition partner, Biman Prasad of the National Federation Party, had said it would vote no: “Constitutional legitimacy cannot be sacrificed for political expediency.” Rabuka took him off the committee. Without the NFP and Sodelpa, he likely didn’t have the 36 votes he needed, and the December 9 referendum date is now stuck. Fiji’s election has to happen by February 6, 2027.

Coming Up

Nov 2: Bulgaria’s official results. Nov 3: U.S. midterms, and King Charles addresses the Commonwealth summit in Antigua (through Nov 4). Nov 4: Israel’s certified results due. Nov 6: Pope Leo XIV begins his Uruguay–Argentina–Peru trip. Nov 7: New Zealand votes. Nov 9: COP31 opens in Antalya. Nov 10–11: Israel’s new Knesset is sworn in, then Herzog’s deadline to pick someone to form a government. The Youth Olympic Games run in Dakar through Nov 13. The full board is on The Watch.

World Brief: November 1, 2026

Qatar’s mediators are still working a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington and Tehran keep talking tough. Russia knocks out power in four Ukrainian regions on the last day of the Oleshky truce. Two days before the US midterms, more than 53 million Americans have already voted. Europe’s youth protests turn violent in Frankfurt. Plus Israel’s coalition clock, King Charles and the slavery speech in Antigua, a huge opposition rally in New Delhi, the Youth Olympics under way in Dakar, Bolivia’s El Niño emergency and Australia’s fastest house-price slide in 40 years. Ten stories as of Sunday morning, November 1.

1. Doha / Qatar; Tehran / Iran. After Qatari-mediated talks in Tehran on Friday and in Doha on Saturday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days, down from the seven it offered before, if Washington meets its conditions, Al Jazeera reports. The list: lifting the latest US sanctions, restoring June’s oil waivers, a smaller US military presence, recognition of the new Iran–Oman shipping routes, and an end to fighting on all fronts, Lebanon included.

Both sides are hedging. “We are prepared for all scenarios,” Araghchi said. President Trump called the talks “fine” but said the US still has “one or two sites” to “take care of,” and “we can do that in 10 minutes.” The US has reportedly told Gulf allies to be ready for a short, intense round of strikes after Tuesday’s midterms. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says talks “have actually never stopped” (Al Jazeera).

2. Kyiv / Ukraine; Oleshky; Istanbul / Türkiye. Russia hit power infrastructure in the Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytskyi regions overnight. President Zelensky says hundreds of thousands of households lost electricity and Moscow is trying to “maximally exploit” Ukraine’s shortage of ballistic-missile interceptors, NBC News reports. Ukraine says it hit the Kamensky plant in Russia’s Rostov region, which it says makes missiles. Nizhny Novgorod’s governor reported “significant damage” to an industrial site after drones came over.

The local ceasefire around Oleshky, brokered with First Lady Melania Trump’s help, ends Sunday evening, and nobody has announced an extension (DW). On the diplomacy side, Zelensky met President Erdoğan in Istanbul on Saturday about preparations for a three-way summit with Russia and the US. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov says the first rounds should be just those three, and Zelensky is “welcome” to come to Moscow (Anadolu).

3. Washington / United States; Alaska. Early voting is at a record. As of Sunday morning, 53.14 million Americans had voted early, about 29 million in person and 23 million by mail, according to a University of Florida count, Al Jazeera reports. That beats the roughly 46 million early votes in the 2022 midterms, and Texas alone is past 7 million. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot Tuesday.

The fights over the count go on. Trump attacked Judge Trina Thompson’s order barring the Justice Department from threatening California election officials. “Why would they reject fixing Election Fraud?” he wrote (BBC). In Alaska, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan told CNN he will accept the result of his race, but accused Democrat Mary Peltola’s side of “disdain” for Alaskans over the alleged plot to put a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot. A ruling on a Justice Department suit that could hold up certification may come as soon as Sunday (CNN).

4. Frankfurt / Germany; Paris / France; Lisbon / Portugal. Youth-led cost-of-living protests turned violent in Germany late Saturday. Rioters looted shops in central Frankfurt, and police used water cannon in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg against people throwing fireworks, stones and bottles, the BBC reports. Organisers Gen Z regelt (“Gen Z takes charge”) are protesting school underfunding, spending cuts and compulsory military service. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt wants “harsh punishments.”

In France, about 320,000 marched by the government’s count. Paris prosecutors opened an attempted-murder investigation after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at gendarmes at Porte de Charenton, and 779 people were arrested nationwide over the protests and Halloween night, down from 1,314 a week earlier (DW). Before dawn Sunday, Portuguese police cleared housing-protest tent camps in Lisbon and Porto and arrested 13 people (DW).

5. Jerusalem / Israel; Gaza. Now the coalition clock. Final results are due to President Isaac Herzog by Wednesday, the new Knesset is sworn in November 10, and Herzog has to pick someone to try to form a government by November 11, Al Jazeera reports. Netanyahu’s bloc has 53 seats and the anti-Netanyahu Jewish bloc has 48, both short of 61. Whoever gets the nod has 28 days, plus a possible 14-day extension. Herzog has pushed for “creative solutions” to avoid another election.

In Gaza, hospital sources say at least eight Palestinians were killed on Sunday. Five were police officers hit by a drone in al-Mawasi near Khan Younis, and a four-year-old boy died in a strike on Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood (Al Jazeera). Israel’s military says it was targeting “a terrorist” in the south.

6. St John’s / Antigua and Barbuda. Buckingham Palace says King Charles will speak with “unflinching honesty” and “sincere sorrow” about the transatlantic slave trade when he addresses Commonwealth leaders on Tuesday, the BBC reports. The Palace knew in advance about Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying he is “open” to a formal UK apology, and the speech hasn’t been changed. Britain has never formally apologised or paid reparations. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the “endless talk about apologies” a “distraction.” “It is time for the Commonwealth to start looking forwards,” she said.

7. New Delhi / India. Thousands marched in the capital on Sunday behind Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign, Al Jazeera reports. The opposition says a voter-roll revision that removed more than 130 million names hit Muslims and other minorities hardest. The Election Commission denies taking sides and says anyone wrongly removed can register again. Hundreds of police with batons and shields lined the route to Ramlila Maidan, and Health Minister J.P. Nadda called it “carefully orchestrated drama” (BBC).

8. Dakar / Senegal. The Youth Olympic Games are open. Saturday’s ceremony launched the first Olympic event ever held in Africa, with almost 3,000 athletes. Among them is the first Refugee Olympic Team to compete at a Youth Games, six athletes led by Yiech Pur Biel, who ran for the first refugee team in Rio in 2016, the BBC reports. One of them is 15-year-old judoka Arno Yafunga Botay, who fled DR Congo as a child. Judo runs November 1–3 (BBC Sport), and the Games close November 13.

9. La Paz / Bolivia. President Rodrigo Paz signed a nationwide state of emergency on Saturday to free up resources and send more rescue teams to deal with El Niño. He warned of “very severe impacts in terms of drought and floods,” Al Jazeera reports. Drought already affects 78,000 families in six of Bolivia’s nine departments and has killed more than 75,000 cattle. The neighbours are feeling it too. Santiago, Chile had its rainiest October on record, and wildfires in Peru killed at least 12 people last month.

10. Sydney / Australia. Australian home values fell for a seventh straight month. Cotality’s index dropped 1.2% in October and is now 6.7% below the March peak, about A$63,400 off the median dwelling. Head of research Gerard Burg says this is the fastest decline of any downturn in 40 years, ABC News reports. Capital-city values are down 8.1% in seven months. The causes are higher interest rates, which make loans hard to get, and budget changes to property tax breaks that have cooled investors. Values have dropped in nearly every suburb of Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Coming Up

Nov 1: Bulgaria’s presidential runoff (Iotova vs Gyurov); the Youth Olympics continue in Dakar through Nov 13. Nov 3: U.S. midterms, and King Charles addresses the Commonwealth summit in Antigua (through Nov 4). Nov 4: Israel’s certified results due. Nov 6: Pope Leo XIV begins his Uruguay–Argentina–Peru trip. Nov 7: New Zealand votes. Nov 9: COP31 opens in Antalya. Nov 10–11: Israel’s new Knesset sworn in; Herzog’s deadline to name a candidate to form a government. The full board is on The Watch.

Australian House Prices Fall for Seventh Straight Month in Fastest Decline in 40 Years: November 1, 2026

Australian home values fell for a seventh consecutive month in October, with the pace of decline the fastest in at least 40 years, according to property research firm Cotality.

Cotality’s national Home Value Index fell 1.2 percent in October and is now 6.7 percent below its March peak, a drop of about A$63,400 for the median dwelling, which now stands at A$884,855. Capital city values are down 8.1 percent in seven months, close to the record 8.2 percent fall of 2017 to 2019, ABC News reported.

“This is really a demand-led downturn,” said Cotality head of research Gerard Burg, pointing to higher interest rates that have cut borrowing capacity and raised mortgage repayments, as well as weaker investor demand after federal budget changes to property tax breaks.

Sales over the past three months were 23 percent lower than a year earlier. Auction clearance rates in the combined capitals are running below 50 percent, the median time on market of 39 days is the longest since August 2020, and vendor discounting of 4.7 percent is the largest since May 2019.

Burg said buyers were likely to hold back until the Reserve Bank of Australia signals a change in direction on rates, which he does not expect until the latter half of 2027.

Sources: ABC News (Australia)

—

Qatari LNG Carrier Hit by Unidentified Objects in the Gulf: November 1, 2026

A Qatari liquefied natural gas carrier was hit by “unidentified objects” while sailing in the Gulf, its owner said, the latest attack on commercial shipping since the US-Israel war on Iran began in February.

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) said its LNG carrier Al Mayeda was struck on Friday evening. None of the crew was injured, there was no environmental impact, and the vessel is “in a safe condition, operational” while the damage is assessed, the company said in a statement.

More than 120 commercial ships have been hit since the war began, according to data from the International Maritime Organization and the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency cited by Al Jazeera. With at least 29 ships hit, October was the worst month of the war, ahead of 20 attacks in March.

Iran, which closed the Strait of Hormuz early in the war, has warned that vessels passing without its permission would face “destruction”. Attacks have increased since the United States reimposed a blockade on Iran’s southern ports in July. No one has claimed responsibility for the strike on Al Mayeda.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Nakilat

—