Global Express | October 30, 2026: Israel Election Leaves Netanyahu Bloc Short of Majority

1. Israel election results leave Netanyahu's bloc short of a majority

Source: Euronews

Final results from Israel's legislative election this week showed no clear winner, with both main blocs well short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc finished on 53 seats, while the opposition camp led by the centrist Yashar party of rival Gadi Eisenkot ended on 48.

Netanyahu's right-wing Likud remained the largest single party with 27 seats, while Arab parties secured a record 19 seats between them. In a statement on Thursday, Likud called the "Ra'am-gate" scandal "an earthquake" and said "the Israeli elections have been stolen", claiming foreign funding had been used to influence voters and that the Ra'am party had received money from Qatar. Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas reportedly denied any wrongdoing and said he would welcome an investigation.

Netanyahu has accused Arab parties of "stealing" the election and called on police and the domestic security service Shin Bet to carry out a "thorough investigation into election fraud". Eisenkot said on social media that foreign interference was "unacceptable and extremely serious" and urged Shin Bet to investigate the allegations "fully and immediately, without bias". President Isaac Herzog will now consult party leaders before assigning the task of forming a government to the candidate he believes has the best chance of securing enough support. That candidate gets 28 days, extendable by up to 14; a second leader can then be given up to 28 days, and the Knesset may request a third candidate with 14 days. If all attempts fail, another election is called.

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2. Houthis claim six attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities

Source: Al Jazeera

Iran-backed Houthi forces have claimed a total of six attacks on airports and oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, just days after a rare meeting of Saudi and Iranian senior officials in Tehran at which the two sides agreed to resolve regional differences through dialogue.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement posted on X that the attacks targeted vital commercial and military infrastructure stretching from Saudi Arabia's east and west coasts to Riyadh and the southern region of Najran. According to Saree, the group hit the Ras Tanura oil refinery with a ballistic missile, an Aramco facility in Abqaiq with a missile, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with multiple missiles, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam with a drone, the Rabigh oil refinery with a ballistic missile and a Saudi military headquarters in Najran. There was no independent corroboration of the claims.

Monday's meeting in Tehran was hosted by Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei and attended by Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, and focused on "peace and security in the region". Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry stressed "the importance of opening channels of negotiation to prevent a return to military escalation". Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition said its air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles fired towards the capital; Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence said shrapnel from the interception wounded one Saudi citizen in Riyadh and damaged a house and a vehicle.

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3. Russian drone hits Dnipro train station platform, killing at least 14

Source: Al Jazeera

Russian attacks across Ukraine have killed at least 19 people, including 14 at a busy platform in the main train station of the city of Dnipro, Ukrainian officials said.

State rail company Ukrzaliznytsia said a jet-powered Russian drone hit the platform where a train was preparing to leave for the nearby city of Zaporizhzhia. Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram that at least 14 others were injured and six were in critical condition, including an 11-year-old boy. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the attack as "horrific".

In Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, two teenagers were killed in a Russian attack, while three people died in a separate strike on an apartment building in the central city of Kremenchuk. Russia targeted Kharkiv, damaging an educational institution, according to mayor Ihor Terekhov. Moscow said air defences downed most of the 613 drones launched towards the Russian capital overnight; mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 231 were destroyed on approach to the city, while the Russian defence ministry said 1,214 Ukrainian drones were intercepted across regions. In the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky, a six-day localised ceasefire to deliver humanitarian aid is under way, with neither side reporting violations.

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4. Merz says North Korea is threatening Europe's freedom

Source: DW

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, visiting Seoul, said North Korea is putting Europe's security at risk by sending soldiers to fight for Russia in Ukraine. North Korea is thought to have sent about 15,000 soldiers.

Merz and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung deepened their countries' strategic partnership, including security and military ties. He wraps up his Asia tour with a trip to the Demilitarized Zone on Friday.

In parallel, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier continued his state visit to China, telling an audience at Peking University that free global trade must be strengthened and that economic imbalances between Germany and China, and between China and Europe, should be reduced. "We are not concerned about China's rise. We are watching how China rises," he said. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, meanwhile, handed over about 20 tonnes of humanitarian supplies worth more than €150,000 ($167,000) in Panama before travelling to Atlanta for the G20 meeting.

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5. China expels a record number of officials from the Communist party

Source: The Guardian

China expelled a record number of officials from the Chinese Communist party as it concluded the fifth plenum, a major political gathering that saw an unprecedented number of empty seats — a symbol of the scale of the purges under Xi Jinping.

A record 33 members were expelled at this week's plenum. Just 279 full and alternate members of the Central Committee attended, compared with the 376 originally named in 2022, meaning more than 25% of the original cohort were absent, many due to purges — the highest number of empty chairs at a plenum in modern Chinese history. The confirmed expulsions included Zhang Youxia, the former second-in-command to China's leader in the military hierarchy, and Ma Xingrui, the former party secretary for Xinjiang. Other absences were unexplained.

The theme of the plenum was party governance. Zhang Shengmin was promoted to the politburo this week, becoming the only military member of the senior leadership body; the seven-man Central Military Commission is now down to two members, Xi himself and Zhang. The plenum also laid the groundwork for the 21st party congress, expected in the second half of 2027, at which Xi is expected to secure a fourth term as party leader.

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6. Bank of Japan holds rates at 1.25% as it calls inflation consistent with target

Source: CNBC

The Bank of Japan said underlying inflation in the country was "generally consistent" with its 2% target, the first time it has made that assessment since adopting the target in 2013. Previously the BOJ said underlying inflation was "approaching 2 percent".

The central bank held rates at 1.25% as expected, still the highest level since 1995. The decision was split 8-1, with board member Hajime Takata dissenting in favour of a hike to 1.5%. The BOJ also upgraded its inflation forecast for fiscal 2027 to 2.6% from 2.4%, and its "core-core" forecast — which strips out fresh food and energy — to 2.7% from 2.6%, flagging the risk that underlying inflation deviates upward beyond 2%.

September core inflation came in at 2.1%, the highest level in 2026, while inflation-adjusted wages rose 1.5% year on year in August, the eighth straight monthly increase. Krishna Bhimavarapu, APAC economist at State Street Investment Management, described the decision as a "hawkish hold", saying the BOJ sees more hikes ahead. A CNBC survey of 16 economists before the decision found all of them expected the BOJ to set the stage for a rate hike in December or January, with 13 forecasting a terminal rate of 1.75% to 2% by around mid-2027.

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7. DoorDash to acquire Instacart for $17 billion

Source: TechCrunch

DoorDash announced on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire rival Instacart for $17 billion, bringing two major players in on-demand delivery under one roof and combining DoorDash's dominance in restaurant takeout with Instacart's reach in grocery delivery.

DoorDash will pay $65 for each Instacart share, and the deal has been approved by the boards of both companies. Instacart CEO Chris Rogers said joining forces with DoorDash would allow the company to "do even more". DoorDash plans to keep Instacart's brand, enterprise technology products and app, and the two companies will continue to operate separately until the transaction closes.

"Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online," DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said, noting that someone has to pick a ripe avocado, find a substitute a customer would choose, and get the ice cream delivered before it melts. Instacart currently has a market capitalisation of more than $13 billion and its stock is up 25% this year. Bloomberg previously reported that Instacart held talks with Uber but walked away. The deal is expected to close towards the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028.

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8. Hong Kong leader apologizes for fire that killed 168

Source: NBC News

Hong Kong's leader made a rare apology on Thursday for a residential fire that killed 168 people last year, announcing that a top housing official would resign after an investigation blamed corruption and regulatory failures for the territory's worst human-caused disaster in decades.

The fire on November 26, 2025 at Wang Fuk Court, a high-rise estate in the Tai Po district, swiftly engulfed seven of its eight towers, killing 110 women and 58 men aged from six months to 98. Thousands of others were displaced. The 1,154-page report by an independent committee found the blaze was most likely caused by a lit cigarette igniting combustible materials nearby, and that contractors used non-fire-retardant scaffolding nets and flammable foam boards to cover windows, putting "the lives of all residents of WF Court at serious risk, apparently with a view to maximizing their financial gains".

The report said main contractor Prestige Construction & Engineering Co. and project consultant Will Power Architects Co. "cut corners in numerous aspects" and were "the main culprits responsible for the occurrence of the inferno and the high fatalities". Both companies and seven individuals were criminally charged in June on 25 counts including manslaughter, money laundering and tax evasion. Housing Secretary Winnie Ho resigned on Wednesday, becoming the first official to lose her job over the fire. The report also criticised regulatory lapses and a "slack enforcement attitude" by government departments, and recommended criminalising bid-rigging.

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9. Finland opens criminal investigation into Google's forest clearing for datacentre

Source: The Guardian

Finnish police have launched a criminal investigation into possible breaches of the country's environmental laws at the site of a planned Google datacentre in rural northern Finland. Authorities allege that Tuike Finland, a Google subsidiary, cleared and drained 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest at the planned site in Muhos before environmental impact assessments required by Finnish law had been completed.

"Based on preliminary information, there have been ambiguities and shortcomings in the drainage and water management at the construction site of Tuike Finland Oy's datacentre project," Finnish police said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the criminal investigation would examine those issues. Earlier this month Finnish authorities ordered Google to suspend work at two sites, Muhos and Otanmäki about 100km to the south-east, after the company failed to complete assessments before clearcutting. Campaigners estimate 250,000 trees have been felled at Muhos and 150,000 at Otanmäki.

Google's Finland country manager Antti Järvinen has apologised for the forest clearings but argued the company acted according to "the best understanding we had of the legislation at the time". The Finnish government has encouraged such projects; Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called attracting investment a "top priority" when the plans were announced in September. The revelations have sparked a national debate, with more than 93,000 people signing a petition demanding more datacentre regulation and compensation for environmental damage. "Really, for Finland, there are no benefits," said Jussi Kangasharju, professor of computer science at the University of Helsinki.

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10. Analysis: Washington's carrot-and-stick approach is unlikely to move Iran

Source: Xinhua

US media reported on October 29 that senior military officials briefed President Donald Trump on options for a military strike on Iran. The same day, Iran confirmed it had received a letter from Vice-President JD Vance aimed at restarting negotiations, but said it had not replied.

The Wall Street Journal reported on October 29, citing US officials, that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine and Central Command chief Brad Cooper briefed Trump on the standoff and on options to restart military action. Israeli media, citing flight-tracking data, reported that more than 10 US military transport aircraft had landed at a base in southern Israel over the past week, reportedly carrying air-defence interceptor missiles. US media also said the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group is expected to deploy to the Middle East in late November, potentially giving US forces a three-carrier configuration in the region.

Iran has held firm on both the military and diplomatic fronts. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on October 29 that it had intercepted and shot down a US MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, the 14th such aircraft it says it has downed. Tasnim news agency reported that Iran insists the US meet seven conditions it has set before hostilities can stop and the strait can reopen. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on social media on October 30 that Washington's "carrot and stick" approach has no effect on Iran. Ding Long, a professor at Shanghai International Studies University's Middle East Studies Institute, said the US troop movements and Vance's letter show Washington is preparing for both war and talks.

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