Business
– Microsoft said on Monday it is offering voluntary buyouts to a wide range of employees as it balances a costly artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out with capital efficiency. The new voluntary exit offer covers certain workers in the United States,
– South Korea posted the second-largest current account surplus among major economies in the second quarter, exceeding the combined surpluses of Germany and Japan. The country’s surplus reached $116.63 billion in the April-June period, according to central bank data reported
– Trade between Russia and Oman grew 22-fold in the first seven months of 2026 to reach $1.5 billion, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said. He gave the figures on Tuesday, October 20, during a meeting in Moscow with
– Japan recorded a trade deficit of 536.6 billion yen in September as imports grew faster than exports, preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance showed. Exports rose 16.7% from a year earlier to 10.9723 trillion yen. Imports climbed 18.9%
Travel
– Türkiye has set its sights on becoming the sixth-highest-earning tourism country in the world, according to its 2027 central government budget draft. Anadolu Agency reported that the draft allocates $244.5 million to tourism, compared with $188.4 million this year.
Health
– Nearly 4,900 people have died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak as confirmed cases passed 10,000, official figures showed on Tuesday. Ministry of Health data put the number of confirmed cases at 10,060, with nearly half
– Malaria has killed 22 people in Namibia’s Zambezi Region this year, as cases since January reached 33,944, health authorities said. Three clinics, Muyako, Choi and Sesheke, have emerged as the main hotspots. They accounted for 49% of the 706
– The Democratic Republic of the Congo has recorded 9,765 Ebola cases and 4,727 deaths as new clusters emerge in remote parts of the country, the World Health Organization said. WHO called for stronger epidemiological surveillance to contain the spread
– More than one in five women diagnosed with breast cancer in five sub-Saharan African countries were younger than 40, according to a study highlighted by St. George’s University. The figure of 21.9% has prompted the university to call for
– The World Health Organization has set a target for countries to identify and understand new health threats within 24 hours by 2030. WHO placed the goal at the center of a new five-year strategy for its Hub for Pandemic
Strategic capital deployments aimed at international medical sovereignty are accelerating as European authorities commit targeted funding to African healthcare systems. Ahead of the World Health Summit, the EU announces investment in health of almost €170 million to secure regional supply
Sports
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland are among the 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. Organizers announced the men’s shortlist on September 8 before the awards ceremony in London on October 26. Ousmane Dembélé, Rodri and
