KMT Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Ke Zhi-en (柯志恩) has proposed giving city
residents priority access to concert tickets, a suggestion Mayor Chen Qi-mai
(陳其邁) today dismissed as a "whimsical idea."



Ke said she's given the proposal much thought, and consulted leaders in the
entertainment sector, including pop star A-mei's manager Chen Zhen-chuan
(陳鎮川).

Drawing on their practical experience, she proposed the "Concert Economy 2.0"
initiative, which includes offering venue rental discounts to encourage
real-name ticketing systems and establishing a mechanism to monitor hotel
accommodation prices.

Ke stressed that while major concerts attract fans from outside Kaohsiung and
generate substantial economic benefits, local residents also bear the costs
of traffic congestion, environmental pressures, and disruptions to daily
life.

She said the city government should consider how to protect residents'
opportunities to attend concerts while continuing to expand tourism-related
economic benefits.

Mayor Chen, on the other hand, said candidates should better understand the
complexities of the concert industry before putting forward policy proposals.

(JL)

New Taipei City's Labor Inspection Office is warning logistics and freight
companies against overworking delivery drivers as the November 11th Singles'
Day shopping festival triggers a surge in online orders.



The office says drivers face heavy workloads from loading and unloading large
volumes of packages and navigating complicated delivery routes.



It is reminding employers that drivers must not work more than 12 hours a
day and must be given at least one regular day off every seven days.



Companies must also ensure sufficient rest between shifts and pay overtime at
legally required rates if drivers work additional hours.



Companies found violating the Labor Standards Act could face fines of up to
$1 million NT, and the names of offenders may also be made public.

(JL)

The United States is to become the first country to skip a regular review of
its human rights record at the U.N.'s Human Rights Council.

The Trump administration withdrew from the council last year, accusing it of
bias against the U.S. and Israel.

The council reviews all 193 U.N. member states' rights records every three to
four years.

The United States, under Trump, already skipped its appointment for its
review a year ago.

The scheduled November 2025 review was pushed back until Tuesday in hopes
that the U.S. government might change its mind. It didn't.

Critics warn this could encourage other countries to ignore scrutiny.

The American Civil Liberties Union urges the U.N. to hold the U.S.
accountable for its human rights record.

British author John Harrison has won the 2026 Booker Prize for his novel,
"The End of Everything."

It's a dystopian ​satire that the prize says probes the limits of ‌human
understanding, becoming the oldest winner in the literary award's history at
age 81.

Harrison's 13th novel follows a man and his elderly aunt on England's south
coast years after social order has ​broken down.

The Booker judges unanimously selected the book, ​saying it "turns you upside
down, raises a wry smile and, surprisingly, ​given the subject matter, leaves
you with a twinge of optimism."

The victory was the first Booker Prize for Harrison, whose career as a
novelist spans six decades and includes acclaimed science fiction ​and
fantasy works.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has reiterated its plan to increase supplies
of cooking oil, saying it has reduced tariffs on imported oil and will import
an additional 5-thousand metric tons by the end of the year.

The move comes after a shortage of cooking oil surfaced across the island,
with many restaurateurs, vendors and food processing businesses reporting
difficulties in getting enough supplies.

The shortage stems from the shutdown in July of Central Union Oil, one of
Taiwan's biggest soybean oil suppliers,
after its products were found to contain traces of a carcinogen.

The M-O-E-A said it has already asked three domestic manufacturers to
increase their combined production by 4,400 metric tons per month.

It's also working with Taiwan Sugar to accelerate crude oil procurement and
expand its refining capacity, potentially adding another 700 metric tons to
monthly supplies starting in December.

Economics Minister Gong Ming-xin urged businesses facing cooking oil
shortages to contact his Ministry' Small and Medium Enterprise
Administration. through its hotline. at 0800-280-280.

(JL)

The Hua-lian County government is touting its tourist attractions, saying it
ranks first nationwide in the amount of domestic travel subsidies applied for
under the central government's program.

The County also ranks first in total funding allocated to support the tourism
industry, with total room sales exceeding $400 million NT.

To boost tourism recovery, Hualien County has combined central government
domestic travel subsidies with its own additional subsidy program to attract
more visitors.

Officials say the policy has proven to be successful, as over 150-thousand
individual travelers have applied for the subsidies since the program started
on September 1st.

They also express thanks to the businesses that have been most proactive and
successful in helping travelers apply for subsidies, including Lakeshore
Hotel Hualian, Hualien Hoya Resort and Parkview Hotel.

The County government is reminding travelers that its additional subsidy
program will continue until funding runs out, with an announcement expected
two weeks before the program ends.

(JL)

China says its trade surplus exceeded $1 trillion US dollars for a 2nd
straight year.

Customs figures released today showed exports in October surged 35% from a
year earlier, driven by strong demand for high-tech goods like computer chips
and autos.

Imports also rose year-on-year. Between January and October, China logged a
$1 trillion-dollar trade surplus.

Experts say Chinese exports are expected to remain strong, but growth may
slow next year.

The surge in exports has led some countries to raise tariffs or impose other
protective measures.

Strong exports have helped to offset weak consumer demand in China’s own huge
market.

Employers that pay workers below Taiwan's minimum wage will face cumulative
fines for repeat violations beginning Jan. 1, 2027, with fines for listed
companies, medical centers and other specified entities set at a minimum of
NT$50,000 (US$1,522).

The Ministry of Labor announced the move after criticism from labor groups
over inconsistent penalty standards among local governments, which they said
could undermine minimum wage protections.

The fine structure was unveiled after the MOL revised the guidelines for
imposing fines under the Labor Standards Act and the Minimum Wage Act to
ensure more consistent enforcement nationwide.

Workers who discover employers violating labor laws or paying wages below the
statutory minimum wage can file complaints with local labor authorities or
call the 1955 labor hotline.

17 year old Chen Pin An has become Taiwan's first male archer to secure a
podium finish at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal.

Chen won a silver medal in the men's recurve event but went on to lose 4-6
against a French opponent in the gold medal match.

Chen said he was regretful that he couldn't secure gold, but emphasized his
improvements compared to where he was before.

Chen has been training in archery since elementary school.

He said he was delighted to win an individual medal at the Youth Olympics and
hoped to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Chen thus becomes the first Taiwanese male archer to win a Youth Olympic
medal and the second Taiwanese competitor to achieve that feat, following Tan
Ya-ting's 譚雅婷silver in the women's recurve in 2010.

Visitors to the Taipei Zoo will have the chance to watch African penguins
leave their enclosure and waddle along a designated visitor pathway next
week.

The zoo says that African penguins in captivity are at risk of developing
bumblefoot, a common condition among penguins...

due to factors like insufficient exercise and excessive weight, which can put
sustained pressure on their feet.

As a result, the zoo has scheduled a 15 minute walk starting at 9:30am on
November 19th...

as long as temperatures stay below 24 degrees Celsius.

Now turning to international news,

The recent cancellation of planned trade talks between Malaysia and Taiwan
has highlighted strains in bilateral ties following the Malaysian Prime
Minister's "One China" remarks.

Industry leaders are warning of potential repercussions for semicondcutor
investment.

Nikkei Asia reports that the talks on expanding bilateral trade were
scheduled for late last month but Malaysian officials say that Taipei shelved
them,

That's as diplomatic tensions with Malaysia have risen in recent months...

as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in August said that he sees Taiwan, quote,
"as part of China, period."

He went on to compare the situation between Taiwan and China to a Malaysian
state attempting to secede.

Following those remarks, the Taiwanese foreign ministry warned that support
for China may impact Taiwanese businesses' plans to invest in Malaysia.

Anwar then backtracked, emphasizing the importance of a "peaceful resolution."

Despite that, officials here in Taipei say that Kuala Lumpur had made little
to no effort to address their concerns.

The cancellation of the talks highlights Malaysia's challenge in balancing
closer relations with China and deeper economic ties to Taiwan.

A Honduran court has postponed a verdict in a sex-trafficking case which has
highlighted issues of impunity and corruption in Honduras.

Four men are on trial in the case linked to the 2022 disappearance of Angie
Pena.

A verdict in the case has been delayed to November 20th.

The case has exposed a criminal network that facilitates widespread gender
violence in the country.

Critics says that postponing the verdict "fuels the perception of impunity,
increases public distrust in state security institutions, and prolongs the
suffering and vulnerability of affected families.

Lawyers for Penas family have questioned the lack of transparency of the
investigation and trial.

Peña disappeared in 2022, after taking a Jet Ski ride while on vacation with
her family.

Initially, authorities investigated her disappearance as a possible accident,
but the case expanded into a trafficking investigation after the Jet Ski she
used was found in Belize.

The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office says human remains found in a
plastic bag may belong to the sister-in-law of a man sentenced to death for
three murders.

A fisherman discovered the remains near Chenggong Bridge on November 5th.

The bag was tied to a dumbbell.

Prosecutors say DNA testing has not ruled out the possibility that the
remains belong to a woman surnamed Chang Huang (張黃), who was killed by her
brother-in-law, Chang Chieh-tsung (張介宗), in November 2024.

The 74-year-old Chang was sentenced to death in June this year for strangling
three women, dismembering their bodies and dumping the remains in a nearby
canal.

Chang has denied the charges and appealed the ruling.

Police previously found other remains dumped in the same canal during their
investigation into the three killings.

(CNA_IG)

Taiwanese nutritionists are reminding older people to store food properly in
their refrigerators to prevent contamination and spoilage.

A 2026 survey of caregivers found that 93 percent believe older people lack
sufficient knowledge about safe food storage.

Nutritionists recommend keeping cooked food above raw food, not filling the
fridge more than 70 percent full, using older ingredients first, and
regularly checking expiry dates.

They also advise people who cook large batches of food to divide them into
smaller portions, refrigerating what they'll eat the next day and freezing
the rest.

Cooked food should ideally be eaten within one or two days of refrigeration,
and no later than three days.

Doctors warn that refrigerators don't kill all bacteria, and reheating
spoiled food won't necessarily make it safe.

(IG)

China has rejected allegations of a spy plot involving Nvidia CEO Jensen
Huang, dismissing the claims as an attempt to smear Beijing.

The controversy follows a New York Times report that Huang had a close
relationship with a Chinese citizen accused of smuggling advanced computer
chips into China.

The report has raised questions about whether Huang helped facilitate chip
sales to China despite U-S export restrictions.

Huang has also lobbied U-S President Donald Trump to ease those restrictions.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson dismissed the allegations as
unsubstantiated on Monday.

Huang has separately acknowledged having an extramarital affair, but has not
identified the person involved.

Chinese authorities have reportedly arrested the founder of a Beijing house
church on fraud charges, amid a wider crackdown on unregistered religious
groups.

Pastor Xianfeng Edward Cui, who founded Beijing Jiaquan Church, was detained
on October 23rd.

His wife, Jin Young Gu, says the allegations involve donations made by church
members.

The church has faced pressure from authorities since 2019, when officials
sealed its worship facility and warned it about the size of its congregation.

The crackdown has also targeted other underground Christian networks.

In 2025, authorities arrested 30 leaders of Zion Church, one of China's
largest unregistered church networks.

Beijing has sought to bring religious groups under the control of the ruling
Communist Party.

Mourners have laid flowers and candles beside bullet holes in the historic
center of Krakow, Poland, following a deadly shooting that killed six people
and wounded 15 others.

Authorities say the 24-year-old gunman, who -- media outlets report -- held
far-right views, opened fire in the city's Main Square on Saturday before
police shot and wounded him.

The suspect is also linked to the deaths of three members of his family at
their home. Authorities have described the attack as an "act of terror."

Two police officers who helped stop the gunman remain hospitalized, with one
in critical condition.

A thick blanket of smog has covered India's capital, New Delhi, after
widespread fireworks during Diwali celebrations worsened already high
pollution levels.

Despite restrictions, residents set off firecrackers on Sunday evening,
pushing the air quality index above 350 in several parts of the city on
Monday morning, placing conditions in the severe category.

India's Supreme Court has sought to reduce Diwali pollution by restricting
conventional firecrackers, but enforcement remains difficult.

Home to more than 30 million people, New Delhi regularly experiences some of
the world's worst air pollution during the winter months, particularly in
late October and November.

The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research warns that inflation could top 3
percent and force interest rate hikes if lawmakers reject additional funding
for C-P-C and Taipower.

TIER President Chang Chien-yi (張建一) says the two state-owned companies have
helped shield consumers from soaring international energy prices caused by
the conflict in the Middle East.

But without additional government funding, C-P-C and Taipower may have to
raise fuel and electricity prices to cover their losses, while bottled LPG
could also become more expensive.

That would drive up costs for restaurants and small eateries, making dining
out more expensive.

TIER currently forecasts inflation of 2.05 percent this year and 1.94 percent
next year.

But Chang warns that higher energy prices could affect Taiwan's 23 million
residents and more than one million businesses.

(IG)

Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen says the suspected espionage attempt
involving NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang appears to follow what he calls a classic
Chinese intelligence tactic.

His comments come after Huang admitted to having an extramarital affair with
a Chinese woman (Alice Huang) and apologized to his family and employees.

Bloomberg reports that NVIDIA's board is launching an independent
investigation into whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence
operation.

The company says it has no reason to believe national security or company
secrets were compromised.

Shen says it's still unclear whether any damage was done, and that
investigators will have to determine what happened.

DPP caucus secretary-general Fan Yun (范雲) also called for an evidence-based
investigation, saying concerns about Chinese intelligence gathering targeting
sensitive technologies must be taken seriously.

China has denied there is any spy plot targeting Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and
is calling it a smear campaign against Beijing.

(IG)

An investigation launched by Nvidia into its founder and CEO Jensen Huang
over his extra-marital affair with an alleged Chinese spy is unlikely to have
a major impact on Taiwan's AI supply chain.

Taiwan Institute of Economic Research president Zhang Jian-yi (張建一) made the
remarks answering questions about the possible effects on Taiwanese suppliers
in the semiconductor sector.

Huang has admitted that he was romantically involved with Alice Huang, a
Chinese businesswoman who was reportedly an asset of China's top intelligence
agency.

Zhang said for Taiwan's exporters, many orders for the first half of 2027
have already been placed, and data centers that have secured permits are
still being built.

He also noted that the scandal would hurt Huang's reputation, but the
question of whether it had led to China obtaining AI servers outside
authorized channels would have to await the investigation's findings.

(JL)

China is denying there was a spy plot attempt to ensnare Nvidia CEO Jensen
Huang, calling the spying allegations unsubstantiated and a smear campaign
against Beijing.

Huang has acknowledged to the Nvidia board that he had been intimate with a
business executive who U.S. intelligence determined was gathering information
for Beijing.

The chips company CEO is at the center of a controversy over whether he drove
sales of advanced computer chips to China.

Nvidia said on Sunday that the company would launch an investigation into the
case.

China had previously denied the New York Times report that said Huang had
developed a close relationship with a Chinese citizen named Alice Huang, who
ran a company that faced claims of smuggling advanced chips into China.

Huang had pushed to loosen chip sales restrictions to China, successfully
lobbying U-S President Donald Trump to allow his company to sell H-200 chips.

Taiwan shares staged a strong rebound today, surging more than 2,600 points
in morning trading and climbing back above the 42,000-point mark.



The benchmark Taiex ended up 1,960 points, or 4.9-percent, to close the
session at 41,661.

But the turnover was a modest 837.9 billion NT.

The rally followed Friday's historic sell-off, which was fueled partly by
concerns over possible changes to U.S. artificial intelligence policies.



Investor confidence was boosted by a rebound in U.S. technology stocks and
the National Financial Stabilization Fund's announcement that it would step
in to support Taiwan's market.



TSMC led the rally, jumping more than 6 percent to 2,290 NT a share at one
point, while other major technology stocks, including Foxconn, MediaTek and
Delta Electronics, also posted sharp gains.



The rebound extended across the semiconductor and electronics sectors.

However, the big rise in stock markets has not propped up the Taiwan dollar,
which continued to weaken today.



The local currency fell to as low as 32.937 NT against the greenback in
morning trading, before recovering some of its losses.



Currency traders say continued capital outflows from foreign investors,
following several days of heavy stock selling, are putting pressure on the
Taiwan dollar.



(JL)

TPP Chair Huang Kuo-chang has slammed KMT and DPP candidates for Zhu-bei
mayor's race as neither candidate has agreed to a debate with TPP pick Qiu
Chen Yuan邱臣遠.

Huang says, he feels certain that debates between candidates are something
that voters expect and look forward to.

Huang described debates as an opportunity for candidates to present their
visions to voters and exchange opinions...

adding that debates are sign of a healthy democracy.

He questioned why Zhubei mayoral candidates were so "afraid" of debating.

(AH)

In world news..

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has requested a new passport
to facilitate her return from exile two years after she was ousted in a mass
uprising.

Her previous documents had been revoked.

Bangladesh earlier dismissed suggestions she needed new identification
documents to return home.

It has been seeking her extradition from India, but India has declined to
hand her over.

A special tribunal in 2025 sentenced Hasina to death for crimes against
humanity, ruling that she was responsible for ordering a brutal crackdown
which left hundreds of people dead and thousands injured.

The United Nations has said nearly 1,400 people were killed.

Hasina denies any wrongdoing.

She also has rejected the tribunal’s verdict and challenged the legitimacy of
the trial.

(KK)

Jean-Luc Mélenchon is betting his last shot at France’s presidency.

Young supporters wore his name on their backs like a soccer star’s, above the
number 27.

Many had spent the fall protesting or blockading their schools.

Then at a rally outside Paris, in walked Mélenchon: 75 years old, on his
fourth presidential run, and old enough to be their grandfather.

The far-left firebrand promised to change everything.

Mélenchon wants to replace France’s constitution, take the European Union’s
only nuclear-armed country out of NATO, and challenge Europe’s financial
order.

(KK)

Back to Taiwan and taking a quick look at weather for the afternoon,

Cloudy skies with occasional showers in the north,

Partly cloudy in the center and east,

And partly to mostly clear skies in the south.

Current temperatures:

Taipei - 22

Taichung - 24

Kaohsiung - 30

Hualien - 25

The Tainan District Prosecutors' Office says the founder and chairman of the
Taiwan People's Communist Party has been detained on suspicion of accepting
funding and instructions from China to run in a local election.

According to prosecutors' office, Party Chairman Lin Te-wang allegedly
accepted instructions and funding from the Chinese Communist Party to run for
ward chief in the city's Xinying District.

Lin is suspected of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act and the Election and
Recall Act.

The prosecutors' office says it requested a detention on the grounds that Lin
could flee or collude with others to destroy evidence.

A total of 14 people have been questioned as part of the investigation.

And,

The Taiwan Rice Heaven-Tianzhong Marathon attracted more than 17,000 runners
in Changhua County.

The race started at the Jin-Sung Cultural and Educational Park in Tianzhong
Township.

Changhua County Magistrate Wang Hui-mei attended the opening ceremony of this
year's run, which was held under the theme of "Let's Run Together."

Now in its 15th year, the Taiwan Rice Heaven-Tianzhong Marathon was won by
Japan's Koji Sakimoto with a time of 2 hours, 41 minutes and 37 seconds.

Now turning to international news...

South Africa's African National Congress has experienced its worst ever
election results.

It's a new low point for the party of the late Nelson Mandela after it
received only 31% of the vote.

Despite the poor showing, the once-dominant ANC remains the largest party...

while the main opposition Democratic Alliance recieved one quarter of the
vote and beat the ANC in many major cities.

Voters have rebuked the ANC over failed public services that have left many
areas with regular water and electricity outages, broken roads and
streethlights, and trash lining the streets.

The ANC's popularity has declined for more than a decade.

The U-S State Department is expressing concern over the closure of Taiwan's
representative office in Papua New Guinea under pressure from the government
in Port Moresby.

According to a State Department spokesperson, the incident is another example
of Beijing's intimidation of Taiwan.

The statements come after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last Friday
announced that it was closing its representative office in Papua New Guinea
and withdrawing all personnel stationed there after.

The ministry said at the time that the Papua New Guinea government had
renewed its unilateral demands that personnel from the Taipei Economic Office
in Port Moresby leave the country and that the office be shut down.

The U-S State Department spokesperson says such moves undermine the sovereign
decisions of countries choosing to partner with Taiwan and threatens
international peace and prosperity.

The spokesperson went on to say that Taiwan is a reliable, like-minded, and
democratic partner, and its relationships around the world provide
significant benefits to the citizens of those countries, including Papua New
Guinea.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau says fraud cases related to the upcoming
local elections have resulted in financial losses totaling 20.15-million N-T
over the past two months.

According to the bureau, the 87 cases of election-related fraud last month
alone saw losses of 19.11-million N-T.

The bureau says the scams typically involved fraudsters impersonating
customer service representatives or bank employees and persuading victims to
perform online banking operations, make cardless cash withdrawals, or scan QR
codes.

Common pretexts included claims that accounts had been frozen or that
transactions required verification.

Law enforcement authorities say legitimate transactions do not require
customers to verify payments by carrying out online banking operations.

They're urging people to stop any transaction if they encounter suspicious
links or requests to engage in any type of banking transaction.

The C-I-B says anyone who suspects they have encountered a scam can call the
165 anti-fraud hotline.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an and the D-P-P's Puma Shen both held campaign
events on Sunday.

Chiang's event highlighting sports achievements.

Speaking to supporters at the Taipei City Council, Chiang touted his
administration's achievements over the past four years, including Taipei's
first-place ranking in a nationwide sports-city survey conducted by Global
Views Monthly this year.

He also pointed to the Taipei Dome, which opened during his first year in
office and has since hosted major baseball games, as well as his
administration's efforts to renovate baseball fields and develop new sports
facilities across the city.

Meanwhile, Shen attended the opening ceremony of a joint campaign
headquarters with fellow DPP-nominated city councilor candidate Wendy Ma in
Taipei's Zhongzheng District.

In his address, Shen praised Ma, a former TV anchor and talk show host, for
her investigative reporting, which he said had exposed numerous scandals in
the city, including cases of child abuse.

He said Ma's vision of ensuring that the voices of disadvantaged people are
heard aligns with his own concept of municipal governance, which would
prioritize listening to the public and protecting vulnerable groups.

The second batch of three F-16V Block 70 fighter jets purchased by from the
United States has arrived in Taiwan.

According to the Air Force, the three jets landed at Chihhang Air Base in
Taitung County.

The Air Force Command Headquarters says it will proceed with training for the
induction of the new aircraft into service as planned, gradually building up
their initial operational capability.

Reports say the three jets departed from Lockheed Martin's factory in South
Carolina earlier this month and arrived in Hawaii on November 4.

Their arrival followed the delivery of the first batch of two F-16V Block 70
jets on October 2.

The U-S approved the sale of 66 F-16Vs and related equipment to Taiwan in
2019 for approximately 8-billion U-S dollars.

Deliveries were originally expected to begin in 2023 and be completed by
2026, but delays caused by technical issues have pushed back the timetable.

The Kaohsiung City Police Department says the bodies of two people have been
found after a fire burned through a row of small factory buildings in the
city's Niaosong District.

According to police, the a fire broke out at the bodies of two males were
found in a second-floor room in one of the factories the burned down.

The fire was reported at 8AM Sunday near Zhongcheng Road, Lane 8, and quickly
spread to a row of small corrugated metal factories buildings along the same
road.

It took the Kaohsiung City Fire Department two hours to contain the fire.

Police said the owner of one of the factories has said the fire appears to
have broken out on a terrace behind the buildings.

The cause of the fire and where it broke out are still under investigation.

And finally,

Taiwan inventors have won 12 gold medals, 15 silver medals and 23 bronze
medals at the 2026 iENA International Trade Fair-Ideas-Inventions-New
Products in Nuremberg, Germany.

The Taiwan Invention Association led a delegation of 78 inventors to the
event.

The gold medal winners included students from Feng-tian Junior High School in
Taitung County, who received the award for a smart safety vest for cyclists
that is equipped with lights that signal a cyclist's intended direction of
travel.

Another gold medal went to a student from Tung Hai Junior High School, also
in Taitung, for a multifunctional nail-trimming box equipped with a
magnifying glass and smart analysis features.

Students from St. Joseph Technical Senior High School in Taitung won a gold
medal for a height-adjustable urinal, while a caffeine- and melanin-based
scalp-revitalizing shampoo developed by Taiwanese care brand O'right also won
gold.

The 2026 iENA fair was held in Nuremberg from October 31 to November 2.

It featured 580 inventions presented by 340 exhibitors from 21 countries and
regions.

Sudanese authorities have detained a former senior Islamist official wanted
by the International Criminal Court for atrocities in Darfur.

Ahmed Haroun was originally detained in 2019 after the ouster of longtime
dictator Omar al-Bashir.

At that time the miltiary declined to hand Haroun over to the ICC.

He walked away from prison in 2024 amidst conflict between the army and the
paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Lawyers linked his latest detention to comments he made on a podcast...

comments which stirred outrage amongst rights groups, who condemned them as a
challenge to international justice.

Haroun has been accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

A Pakistani astronaut will board China's Shenzhou 24 spacecraft as the first
foreign national on Beijing's Tiangong space station.

Xinhua reported the news but didn't specify the launch date.

It said the Pakistani astronaut would complete a short on-orbit flight and
then return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft.

The mission will mark the first joint flight involving Chinese and foreign
astronauts in the history of China's manned space program.

AP_JvW

One of Haiti's most powerful gangs says it has reached out to the state
agency responsible for dismantling armed gangs in a push for peace.

The 400 Mawozo gang says that it plans to participate in a peaceful
demonstration later this month "to lay the groundwork for a national dialogue
and peace negotiation process."

Haiti's National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization, and
Reintegration has confirmed that an individual contacted them on behalf of
the armed group.

AP_JvW

Paraguay's ousted president, Santiago Peña, has been placed under house
arrest on suspicion of breach of trust, as prosecutors investigate the
collapse of Ueno Bank.

The Senate removed Peña from the presidency in a unanimous vote by the 44
senators present.

His vice president, Pedro Alliana, was sworn in to serve out the term through
August 2028.

Lawmakers accused Peña of using his influence to direct public funds to Ueno
while regulators overlooked risky lending.

He denies wrongdoing.

Prosecutors also ordered the arrest of former central bank chief Carlos
Carvallo, whom Peña appointed.

The *new* president is also under investigation.

Public outrage over the scandal has triggered mass protests in recent days.

AP_JvW

Macanese former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San has been sentenced to 12½
years in prison.

The sentencing followed a closed-door trial that raised concerns about
fairness.

Au's arrest last year was the first publicly known prosecution under Macao's
national security law since it was enacted in 2009.

A Macao court found him guilty of subverting state power and establishing
contacts outside Macao to commit acts endangering national security.

Critics said that his case reflected Beijing's emphasis on security and
intolerance of dissent.

Macao's pro-democracy movement has never been as influential as the one in
neighboring Hong Kong.

AP_JvW