NEED TO KNOW
EU Violent protests spread across Europe: This week France saw its worst unrest in years as hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets over the cost of living and public services, with demonstrations on Saturday escalating into widespread rioting, looting of luxury stores and supermarkets, and the torching of buildings including the Limoges town hall, which was completed in 1883 and designated a historic monument in 1975. About 1,800 people were arrested nationwide. Luxury brands such as Dior deployed private security to protect their stores, and streets in Paris and other cities were left with smashed shopfronts, burnt-out cars and debris. Similar cost-of-living and housing protests turned violent in Milan, where rioters clashed with police, threw stones and set barricades alight, and in Lisbon, where demonstrators set up a tent camp after large marches. Spain’s housing protests continued into their third week, while protesters in Belgium also clashed with police who used water cannon and tear gas.
KSA Saudi-Houthi conflict escalates: Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi rebels escalated their conflict this week following last week’s attack on Riyadh airport, which killed 12 people. On 13 October, Saudi-led forces struck an oil facility near Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital, in what the rebels described as retaliation for their earlier attacks on Saudi territory. The Houthis subsequently targeted Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and launched further missiles towards Riyadh, where falling debris injured civilians and damaged homes. On 15 October, Houthi missiles struck the presidential palace complex in Aden, killing five people, while the Prime Minister and cabinet remained unharmed. Meanwhile, fighting intensified around Taiz, where Houthi forces cut key supply routes, worsening shortages of food, fuel and medicine.
UKR Zelensky clashes with Trump: President Zelensky declared early this week he felt betrayed by the US and ended the “energy ceasefire” announced by President Trump last week, saying Ukraine would no longer refrain from striking Russian oil facilities because Russia continued attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. On Thursday, Ukraine resumed the strikes, hitting a Rosneft refinery southeast of Moscow. Trump responded by calling the renewed attacks a “disgrace” that was driving up global oil prices and saying Zelensky was more difficult to deal with than Putin. Trump also waived key sanctions against Russia on Friday just days before the measures were due to take effect, with Zelensky strongly condemning the decision. Overnight into Sunday, Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks of the year on the St. Petersburg area, striking an oil terminal, fuel depot, logistics facilities and a major data centre.
AL Protests against government turn violent: Thousands of students and young people protested across Albania, demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation over alleged corruption, rising education costs and poor university conditions. The demonstrations escalated into violence in the capital, Tirana, where protesters set fire to the Education Ministry and a nearby Raiffeisen Bank and clashed with riot police using tear gas and water cannons. Anger has also been fueled by plans for a luxury resort on Albania’s southern coast backed by Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, which has faced legal challenges. Rama rejected calls to resign, while the protests spread to other cities.
US Deadly school shooting in Oregon: A 16-year-old former student killed three children, aged 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher in a special-needs classroom in Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday. The attacker forced his way in by shooting through locked doors before an armed parent followed him into the school and fatally shot him. One mother whose fifth-grade son was trapped inside is herself a survivor of a 2001 California school shooting and used her experience to reassure him during the attack. A seven-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were injured and taken to hospital, while police and the FBI investigate the motive.
IS Settlers attack Palestinians, journalist, diplomats: Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank this week, seriously injuring Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who required surgery after being assaulted. The following day, masked settlers attacked a group of European diplomats from France, Belgium and Poland who were observing the olive harvest near the village of Taybeh, pelting their vehicles with stones, smashing a window of a Belgian consular car and forcing at least one diplomat to the ground. Israeli President Isaac Herzog telephoned Levine to apologize and strongly condemned the violence against her and the diplomats, stating that such acts do not represent Israel.
FR Supermarkets hit by cyber attack: An unprecedented cyberattack targeted over 700 French supermarkets, forcing some refrigerators and freezers to heat up to 50°C and spoiling fresh and frozen food worth tens of millions of euros. 80 Carrefour supermarkets and 180 stores from Intermarché and its Netto brand were affected, with other chains also named in local reports. Paris prosecutors launched an investigation, as the attack highlighted how hackers can now target physical systems in the real world, not just data.
US Inflation heat up in September: US inflation rose more than expected in September, with the CPI increasing 3.7% year-on-year, up from 3.4% in August, and 0.6% month-on-month. The hotter-than-expected figures, the highest in five months, were driven partly by surging energy costs. Gold briefly fell more than 1.5% as the data strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again soon.
KR KOSPI plunge triggers circuit breaker: South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index plunged 7.57% on Thursday to a six-month low, triggering a 20-minute market-wide circuit breaker after a sharp sell-off in technology shares. Samsung Electronics fell about 9.5% and SK Hynix dropped more than 11%, hit by doubts over the sustainability of the AI boom and hotter-than-expected US inflation data that raised expectations of further rate hikes. Foreign investors led the selling, offloading billions of dollars’ worth of shares. It was one of the heaviest single-day declines for the index this year.
US Federal agents raid Minnesota Congresswoman’s home: The home of Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was raided this week as part of a criminal investigation reportedly focused on alleged irregularities in her immigration and naturalization paperwork from decades ago, when she arrived in the US as a Somali refugee in 1995. The Justice Department confirmed that agents executed a search warrant, while Omar denied wrongdoing and accused President Trump’s administration of weaponizing federal law enforcement against political opponents. Reuters reported that investigators are examining potential immigration fraud and false statements, with denaturalization and deportation reportedly among the possibilities being considered.
CY Deloitte accused of hiding Abramovich assets: A BBC Panorama investigation revealed that the world's biggest accountancy firm helped falsify documents that enabled Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to hide billions in assets and evade tax. Staff from Deloitte’s Cyprus office backdated paperwork so that valuable holdings, including yachts, mansions and private jets worth hundreds of millions, disappeared from company accounts, leaving one firm with only $75,000 in reported assets. The firm also signed off on accounts that experts describe as involving straightforward tax evasion. Abramovich denies wrongdoing, while Deloitte said it could not comment on specific allegations involving records more than 20 years old.
GOOD TO KNOW
China’s protein exports surge
China’s export boom is proving far broader than high-tech goods alone, with poultry and other proteins now playing a growing role. A Reuters report from a major chicken processor in Shandong shows Chinese producers winning overseas buyers with far lower prices than Brazilian or Thai competitors, even as they work to overcome past quality concerns. As an export manager for Wintop Food told Reuters: “International clients used to distrust the quality. But when the meat is $1,000 cheaper per ton than Brazilian and Thai competitors, they have to either buy from China or lose out."
Companies such as Wintop Food, which processes 60 million chickens a year and sells to more than 20 countries, are expanding capacity and relying on exports for a large share of profits. China last year became a net exporter of chicken, with shipments reaching $2.6 billion, nearly double 2020 levels, while remaining the world’s largest seafood exporter. Its overall agricultural trade deficit is still large, but shrinking.
The food export push comes on top of an already powerful surge in manufactured goods. September exports jumped 36.3% year-on-year, driven by semiconductors, AI-related equipment and automobiles, pushing the cumulative trade surplus for the first nine months of 2026 above $938 billion. Together, the tech and protein stories illustrate how Chinese manufacturers continue to find new markets and products even as domestic demand remains relatively soft and trading partners raise concerns about overcapacity.
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GR Ambassador Guilfoyle resigns amid misconduct allegations: Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as US ambassador to Greece on 13 October after reports alleged that she asked Trump donor Eric Deters to pay a $100,000 American Express bill in exchange for access to senior administration officials, allegations she denies. On 15 October, Deters filed a defamation lawsuit against Guilfoyle and her lawyers, claiming they damaged his reputation by disputing his allegations.
EU Salmon producers switching to chicken feed: Europe’s major salmon producers are increasingly feeding farmed fish chicken by-products, including bones and organs, as traditional fishmeal prices have nearly doubled over two years amid dwindling wild fish stocks and supply disruptions. Lerøy, one of Norway’s largest salmon farmers, has introduced poultry-based feed at all its offshore salmon farms, while Grieg Seafood has already made the switch and Mowi is planning to follow, although Scottish salmon farmers say none currently use poultry-derived proteins. The change is controversial, as consumers may consider it unnatural, and retailers are not legally required to disclose fish-feed ingredients on packaging.
US Tesla unveils “flying car”: Elon Musk has unveiled what he calls the world’s first flying car, a new Tesla Roadster 2 equipped with SpaceX rocket thrusters that allow it to flip, leap and fly short distances. During a demonstration at a SpaceX facility in Texas, the remotely controlled prototype drove up a curved ramp, gripped the surface upside down, then used its thrusters to perform aerial manoeuvres and jump over a line of other Teslas. Musk said the car can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under a second and “basically fly like a rocket,” though he noted it is not yet legal in all jurisdictions and production is planned for 2028.
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