World News

Alphabet Loses About $500 Billion in Market Value as Investors Fret Over AI Spending and Search: October 30, 2026

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Shares in Google’s parent company Alphabet fell more than 12%, wiping roughly $500 billion off its market value, even as the company reported a 25% jump in quarterly revenue to $127.6 billion.

The slide took Alphabet’s value from about $3.97 trillion to $3.46 trillion, according to the BBC, as investors weighed heavy spending on artificial intelligence and concerns that Google’s AI-powered search features could eat into its core advertising business.

Chief business officer Philipp Schindler said Google’s “AI mode,” which answers questions conversationally, was eating into revenue from ads shown alongside traditional search results, though he said he felt “very good about our trajectory.”

Other technology giants also reported results. Amazon shares fell about 6% in after-hours trading after it posted revenue of $201 billion, up 11%, alongside a cash flow figure of negative $42 billion as it pours money into data centres.

Microsoft reported revenue of $92.3 billion, up 19%, with its cloud business growing 30% to $63 billion.

Sources: BBC News

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Sir Patrick Stewart, Star Trek’s Captain Picard and X-Men’s Professor X, Dies at 86: October 30, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Sir Patrick Stewart, the classically trained Shakespearean actor who became a global star as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, has died at the age of 86.

Stewart died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He had been living with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, the BBC reported.

He played Picard in more than 170 episodes of The Next Generation between 1987 and 1994 and in four feature films, before returning to the role in Star Trek: Picard in 2020. His final film role was in Avengers: Doomsday.

Before Hollywood, Stewart built his career on the stage, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. He was knighted in 2010.

Tributes poured in from colleagues. Sir Ian McKellen, his longtime friend and X-Men co-star, called him the “most respected and beloved actor of his generation.” William Shatner, George Takei and Hugh Jackman were among others who paid tribute.

London’s West End theatres will dim their lights for two minutes on November 3 in his honour. Stewart is survived by his wife, Sunny Ozell, and his children, Daniel and Sophie.

Sources: BBC News, BBC News

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World Brief, Evening: October 29, 2026

Israel’s count is done and nobody has a majority, so the fight has moved to who gets to call the result legitimate. A drone kills 14 on a Dnipro rail platform while Ukraine quietly parks its refinery strikes. The Gulf hears of mined tankers and Houthi missiles. Google sheds half a trillion dollars, Binance freezes billions, and Egypt hikes rates. Plus Brazil, Erin Patterson, sick penguins and a farewell to Patrick Stewart. Ten stories as of Thursday evening, October 29.

1. Jerusalem / Israel. Counting is finished, and nobody won outright. Netanyahu’s bloc has 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc has 48, and the two Arab-led lists have a record 19, Al Jazeera reports. Results are certified by Wednesday.

Now the argument is about legitimacy. Likud has accused the Arab-led parties of “stealing” the election and says voters were “bribed.” The Shin Bet is looking into claims of illegal funding from Qatar and Turkey, which Qatar calls “ridiculous and dangerous,” the BBC says. The acting elections director said there was “no basis for allegations of systematic violations.” Eisenkot accuses Netanyahu of “an orchestrated and organized campaign to delegitimize the election results.”

2. Dnipro and Kyiv / Ukraine; the Black Sea off Bulgaria. A Russian drone hit a busy railway platform in Dnipro on Thursday, killing at least 14 people and injuring 14 more. Strikes elsewhere killed at least 20, and ballistic missiles later hit warehouses in Kyiv, The Guardian reports. The local truce in occupied Oleshky held for a third day, and both sides said an aid operation there was ready to begin.

The Wall Street Journal also reports that Ukraine has paused its long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries after pressure from President Trump. The pause is expected to last until after the U.S. midterms. Putin, meanwhile, said that if anyone wants a war with Europe, “let them prepare,” and warned there would be “no winners.” At sea, the Greek-managed container ship Contship Jet sank off Bulgaria after three maritime drones struck it. All 18 crew were rescued. It was the fifth drone attack in Bulgaria’s economic zone this month, AP reports.

3. Strait of Hormuz and Saudi Arabia. The naval arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards says three tankers caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and a fourth vessel struck mines farther east, according to Al Jazeera. Yemen’s Houthis claim six attacks across Saudi Arabia, including the Ras Tanura and Rabigh refineries and airports in Riyadh and Dammam. Nobody has independently confirmed those. Saudi Arabia says it shot down two ballistic missiles fired at the capital, and falling shrapnel wounded one person in Riyadh (Al Jazeera).

In Washington, Trump said JD Vance’s letter to Tehran is about medical supplies, not restarting peace talks. Iran says it has the letter but hasn’t answered, and that its conditions stand, Reuters reports.

4. New York / United States. Alphabet lost just over $500bn in market value on Thursday. Its stock fell almost 13% after Google said AI summaries in search were cutting into ad sales, the BBC reports. Amazon dropped 6% after hours on a negative $42bn cash-flow figure.

Crypto had its own bad day. Binance, the world’s largest exchange, suspended deposits and withdrawals and froze about $3bn in assets over a suspected hack. Tether and Circle froze another $2.4bn or so. Analysts at Chainalysis put the theft above $5.9bn, roughly four times the 2025 Bybit record, according to the BBC. Binance says it will cover all losses. Bitcoin fell about 5%, to below $77,000 (Al Jazeera).

5. Urda / Spain. The victims of Wednesday’s high-speed crash in central Spain are being named. The toll stands at 69, with more than 100 hurt. They include Julieta Gallego, a 24-year-old long jumper with Madrid’s AD Sprint, and Fátima Báñez, 59, a former employment minister who chaired the CEOE business federation, the BBC reports. Families have been giving DNA samples at the forensics institute in Toledo. It is Spain’s second rail disaster this year and its worst since 2013.

6. Cairo / Egypt. Egypt’s central bank raised rates for the first time since March 2024. The deposit rate rises one point to 20% and the lending rate to 21%, Reuters reports. The bank cited an “unfavorable external environment.” The pound has lost about 9% against the dollar since late September, says Forbes Middle East, and Egypt’s IMF programme expires in December.

7. Brasília / Brazil. Trump says he didn’t “take sides” in Brazil’s election but called it a “disgrace” and “a great embarrassment to the people of Brazil.” His comments came a day after Flávio Bolsonaro and his family landed in Miami. The New York Times reports the U.S. government helped them leave and would likely give them permanent residency, Al Jazeera notes. Brazil’s Supreme Court had ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his passports. He lost Sunday’s runoff to Lula by more than four million votes.

8. Melbourne / Australia. Erin Patterson, the mushroom murderer, lost her appeal, and the court made her sentence tougher. Victoria’s Court of Appeal threw out her challenge to three murder convictions and one attempted murder conviction, then scrapped her 33-year non-parole period, so she will never be released, the BBC reports. The judges called the crimes “extraordinarily cold and calculated” (ABC).

9. Danger Islands / Antarctica. Scientists have worked out what killed more than 537 Adélie penguins found on a single landing ramp off the Antarctic Peninsula in 2024. Everyone suspected bird flu, but the culprit was avian cholera, a bacterial disease, NPR reports on a study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Thousands more birds probably died across the islands. Researchers say die-offs like this may happen regularly without anyone checking.

10. Los Angeles / United States. Patrick Stewart has died at 86. The stage actor became Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X. He died Wednesday at his Los Angeles home after “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,” his spokesperson said, according to The Guardian. Tributes are pouring in, led by his longtime friend Ian McKellen (AP). Make it so, one last time.

Coming Up

Oct 30: Bank of Japan decision and Outlook Report, Tokyo. Nov 1: Bulgaria’s presidential runoff (Iotova vs Gyurov). Nov 3: U.S. midterms. Nov 4: Israel’s certified results due. Nov 6: Pope Leo XIV begins his Uruguay–Argentina–Peru trip. Nov 7: New Zealand votes. The full board is on The Watch.

World Brief: October 29, 2026

Leaked audio puts Spain’s train disaster on a control-room order; Israel starts counting soldiers’ ballots; Washington tells Gulf allies to brace while Vance writes to Tehran; a drone hits a crowded platform in Dnipro; the ECB holds as Lagarde names her exit date; and Typhoon In-fa bears down on the northern Marianas. Ten stories as of Thursday morning, October 29.

1. Mora and Orgaz / Spain. The death toll from Wednesday’s high-speed collision south of Madrid has risen to at least 69. Now audio published by El País and RTVE suggests why it happened, the BBC reports. After a computer failure halted six trains, a control-centre operator cleared the Renfe driver to carry on “at normal speed with normal operation.” The driver asked, “At normal speed?” The answer was “Yes.” A stationary Iryo train was sitting on the line ahead. Transport Minister Óscar Puente has already said the trains were let go without speed limits “under inexplicable circumstances.” Spain began three days of national mourning on Thursday, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has promised a full investigation, says DW. The opposition’s Alberto Núñez Feijóo says Spaniards “are asking tough questions that demand answers,” a month before the November 29 election.

2. Jerusalem / Israel. With 97% of votes counted, Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc has 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc has 48, and Arab-led parties are on course for an unprecedented 19, the BBC reports. Nobody is near 61. Counting began Thursday on up to 480,000 absentee ballots, mostly from soldiers, and President Isaac Herzog expects official results next week. Meanwhile Likud figures are calling the vote “stolen” and pointing to reports of foreign-funded turnout. The Central Elections Committee chair has asked for an investigation, while police sources call the claims baseless, ABC News reports. Qatar, named in Israeli media reports, called the accusations “ridiculous and dangerous.”

3. Washington, Tehran and the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. has told Middle East allies to prepare for possible renewed military action against Iran after next Tuesday’s midterms, and for Iranian retaliation against energy sites, two diplomats told AP. President Trump has not made a final decision. At the same time, Vice President JD Vance sent a letter through Qatari mediators to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. According to U.S. media reports summarised by Al Jazeera, it proposes direct talks with the nuclear programme on the table from the start. In the strait, a ship was reported on fire 9 nautical miles north of Khasab, Oman. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say three tankers hit sea mines in 24 hours and claim another U.S. drone was shot down, per DW. The Pentagon puts the war’s cost so far at $47.1 billion.

4. Dnipro / Ukraine. A Russian jet-powered drone hit a crowded platform at Dnipro’s main railway station on Thursday, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 14 more, including an 11-year-old boy, the BBC reports. A passenger train bound for Zaporizhzhia was standing at the platform. Railway chief Oleksandr Pertsovsky said an elevated threat level had been announced, “but unfortunately there were still a large number of people on the platform.” In Chernihiv, a missile strike killed two 15-year-old girls. President Zelensky called for more U.S., European and G7 sanctions. Further south, the local truce around Oleshky was holding into a third day, and Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman says he is travelling there via Belarus and Russia, per DW.

5. Frankfurt / Eurozone. The European Central Bank kept its deposit rate at 2.5% on Thursday. It warned that rising energy prices pose “upside risks to the inflation outlook and downside risks to the growth outlook,” and it did not commit to any rate path, according to the ECB statement. Eurozone inflation is running at 3.8%, close to double the target. Hours earlier, Christine Lagarde said she will step down on February 7, 2027, about nine months before her term ends. That lets EU leaders choose her successor before France’s presidential election, AP notes. Spain’s Pablo Hernández de Cos and the Netherlands’ Klaas Knot are seen as frontrunners, says Euronews.

6. Montreal / Canada. The two-day EU–Canada summit opened Thursday. Ursula von der Leyen said the “associate membership” she has floated for Canada would be a partnership that “comes close to membership,” the BBC reports. The member states aren’t all on board. Germany’s Friedrich Merz and other leaders had the term struck from the draft declaration, which now calls for “closer ties” without membership and is expected to be published Friday, DW reports. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada and Europe are “stronger together” in an age of “geopolitical rupture.”

7. Florida / Brazil. From the United States, Flávio Bolsonaro has posted a letter calling himself “leader of Brazil.” A deleted earlier version said “rightful president.” He says, without evidence, that he was the victim of “electoral fraud” and that he will lead the opposition from abroad, the BBC reports. His complaint is about Sunday’s extension of polling hours, which both campaigns requested. A BBC Brazil and BBC Verify analysis found only about 34,000 people voted in the extra time, against Lula’s winning margin of 4.4 million. Bolsonaro left Brazil after ignoring an order to surrender his passports.

8. Addis Ababa and Moscow / Ethiopia. Ethiopia has received 12 Russian Su-35 fighter jets and plans to acquire four S-400 air-defence systems, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced at the Russia–Africa Summit in Moscow, the BBC reports. The deal comes as fighting intensifies in Tigray, on the border with Eritrea. Abiy called it a “milestone” and said, “If we fail to build this capability, surviving as a country in our region will become difficult.” Analysts say it strengthens Moscow’s foothold in the Horn of Africa, per Al Jazeera.

9. Seoul / South Korea. At an appeal hearing in the Seoul High Court on Thursday, special prosecutors again asked for the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, Al Jazeera reports. Yoon was sentenced to life in February for leading an insurrection with his December 2024 martial-law declaration. A prosecutor said there was “no reason to hesitate.” South Korea still has the death penalty but hasn’t carried out an execution since 1997. Yoon’s lawyers say he meant to warn an opposition-controlled parliament, not to set up authoritarian rule.

10. Northern Mariana Islands and Antarctica. Typhoon In-fa is a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds, heading west-northwest toward the far northern Marianas. A typhoon warning is in effect for Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan, and the center is forecast to pass close to Agrihan Friday afternoon or evening local time, according to the National Weather Service in Guam. Governor David Apatang has raised the three islands to Typhoon Condition II, per the NMI News Service. Far to the south, oceanographer Sylvia Earle is calling for an end to krill fishing near Antarctica. The U.S., China, Russia and 24 other governments are negotiating a possible deal that would dramatically expand the catch, AP reports. The Antarctic fisheries commission (CCAMLR) wraps up its annual meeting in Hobart on Friday.

Coming Up

Oct 30: Bank of Japan decision, Tokyo; EU–Canada declaration, Montreal. Nov 1: Bulgaria’s presidential runoff (Iotova vs Gyurov). Nov 3: U.S. midterms. Nov 4: Israel’s final official results due. Nov 6: Pope Leo XIV begins his Uruguay–Argentina–Peru trip. Nov 7: New Zealand votes. The full board is on The Watch.

‘You Can Draw the Inference’: Australia Says China Gave Thin Warning Before Pacific Submarine Missile Test: October 29, 2026

CANBERRA — Australia received only limited warning before China test-fired a long-range ballistic missile from a nuclear submarine into the South Pacific in July, officials told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday.

Sarah deZoeten, a first assistant secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said several Chinese “notice to airmen” alerts issued the day before the July 6 launch “referred to hazardous operations or space debris” but “lacked some detail.” Australian officials were contacted directly by China with about two hours’ notice on the day.

The test came just hours after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong signed two treaties with Fiji in Suva. “I was in Suva with the prime minister to sign the Vuvale Union and the Ocean of Peace Alliance, so you can draw the inference,” Wong told the hearing, Crikey reported.

China said earlier this month that it used its third-generation Changzheng nuclear submarines for the test, the first time it had launched such a missile from a submarine rather than from land.

Pacific Islands Forum leaders expressed “concern” over the test in a September communique, with Nauru dissenting. Wong said she raised it with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Manila in late July, calling the test “destabilising.”

Sources: Crikey

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Hong Kong Leader Apologises as Report Blames Cigarette and ‘Decades of Failure’ for Fire That Killed 168: October 29, 2026

HONG KONG — Chief Executive John Lee apologised on Thursday for the Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people last year, as an independent report found the blaze was most likely started by a cigarette and blamed private-sector misconduct and “decades of failure” by government bodies.

“I apologise to the victims as well as the city’s residents,” Lee said, before standing and bowing with top officials. He announced that Housing Secretary Winnie Ho had resigned, the first official to step down over the disaster.

The roughly 1,000-page report found the fire was “most likely caused by a glowing source, likely a cigarette, which ignited paper materials” at the complex in Tai Po, which was under renovation. It said contractors used scaffolding nets that were not fire-retardant, covered windows with flammable foam boards and used fake paperwork to “feign compliance,” the BBC reported.

Four government bodies should bear part of the responsibility, the report said, with the housing department bearing a greater share. Lee promised to criminalise bid-rigging in construction, with fines of up to HK$10 million and 10 years in prison.

The November 2025 blaze was the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980. Of those killed, 114 were aged 65 or older. Authorities have charged seven people and two companies, including with manslaughter, and arrested at least 35.

Sources: BBC News, ABC News (Australia)

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North Korea Fires About 10 Short-Range Ballistic Missiles Into the Sea as Border Tensions Rise: October 29, 2026

SEOUL — North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea’s military said.

The missiles were launched at around 12:30 p.m. local time from an area near Wonsan, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that Seoul was strengthening surveillance and sharing information with the United States and Japan. Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missiles fell outside its exclusive economic zone.

Pyongyang has tested missiles on more than 10 occasions this year, most recently on October 12, a day after US President Donald Trump suggested he might meet Kim Jong Un this year.

The launch comes amid a border dispute between the two Koreas. Three South Korean soldiers were wounded by landmines in the Demilitarized Zone on September 21, and a joint South Korea–UN investigation concluded this month that North Korea planted the mines south of the demarcation line, DW reported.

Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister, called Seoul’s demand for an apology “despicable.” North Korea has said it will resume propaganda broadcasts along the border and deploy new weapons there, and has not responded to a South Korean offer of talks.

Sources: DW

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US Sanctions Rwanda’s Defence Ministry Over Support for M23 Rebels in Eastern Congo: October 29, 2026

KIGALI — The United States has imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s defence ministry over its alleged backing of the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, raising pressure on Kigali to pull out its troops.

“Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DRC,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. The Treasury says the ministry directed thousands of troops to fight alongside M23, supplying weapons, equipment, logistics and training. Rwanda denies backing the rebels.

Washington also sanctioned the Zigama Credit and Savings Society, a bank serving Rwanda’s security services, alleging it facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transactions for M23 and its political wing and enabled gold to move from rebel-held areas to Kigali.

The measures are meant to reinforce the Washington Accords, the US-brokered peace deal signed in December 2025, but fighting has continued. Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said commitments on neutralizing the FDLR militia were “wholly unmet, and with no accountability,” the BBC reported.

Congo’s foreign ministry welcomed the sanctions. They follow US sanctions on Rwanda’s army and four senior commanders in March and on a gold refinery and three mining companies in June.

Sources: BBC News, US Treasury

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Russian Jet-Powered Drone Kills 13 on Crowded Train Platform in Dnipro: October 29, 2026

DNIPRO, Ukraine — At least 13 people were killed and five injured Thursday morning when a Russian drone struck a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro during the morning rush.

State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said a jet-powered drone hit a platform where passengers were waiting to board a regional train to Zaporizhzhia. “Despite an increased threat warning, people were on the platform,” the company said. Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted three drones in the daytime attack, but a fourth got through.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strike “horrific” and said sanctions on Moscow “must not be eased for as long as this Russian war continues,” referring to a deal this month between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that eased some sanctions, DW reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe must aim for “much more than a localized ceasefire — such as the one recently negotiated for Oleshky.”

Russia has targeted Ukrainian trains and stations throughout the war. Ukrzaliznytsia said more than 5,800 trains had to be evacuated in September alone because of the threat of strikes.

Sources: DW

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ECB President Christine Lagarde to Step Down in February, Nine Months Before Her Term Ends: October 29, 2026

FRANKFURT — Christine Lagarde will step down as president of the European Central Bank on February 7, 2027, about nine months before her eight-year term was due to end, the bank said Thursday.

“European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde today informed the Governing Council and the president of the European Council Antonio Costa that she will step down from her position on 7 February 2027,” the ECB said in a statement. Costa said the process to choose her successor would begin immediately.

No reason was given. There has been speculation that an early exit would let EU leaders pick her successor before French elections next spring, which could see a eurosceptic far-right victory influence the choice. The Guardian reported that Lagarde is seen as a candidate to lead the World Economic Forum.

“I leave this institution with a sense of good work done and an ECB that is fit for the future,” Lagarde, a former French finance minister and IMF chief, said in a short video.

The announcement comes as the ECB meets this week and is expected to hold its deposit rate at 2.5% after two hikes since June to curb inflation driven by the energy shock from the Iran war, DW reported. The meeting is also likely to focus on France, where government borrowing costs rose to their highest level in 25 years last week amid a budget deadlock.

Sources: DW, The Guardian

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