World

Americans Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford won the 2026 economics Nobel “for microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation”. We explain their work, and why it matters to Asian central banks such as the RBI, which raised rates last week.

India beat West Indies in Indore, the INDIA bloc marches to the Supreme Court, Tim Cook is back in China, Japan’s push on the UN “enemy state” clauses strains ties with Beijing, the IMF and World Bank meet in Bangkok, haze returns in Malaysia and a flash flood hits Nepal.

All 22 Indian crew of the tanker MT Gem No. 2 were rescued off Ras Al Khaimah on Sunday, India’s consulate in Dubai said. We list at least eight incidents at sea in eight days and the ships on which Indian sailors have been killed or hurt this year.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi wrapped up a six-day Asian tour in Jakarta on Sunday after visits to Seoul and Putrajaya. He launched trade-pact talks with South Korea, upgraded ties with Malaysia and signed four agreements with Indonesia. Our table compares the three legs.

Pakistan’s cabinet meets on an emergency or governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; CJP’s three leaders remain in police custody after more than 7,000 detentions in Delhi; Johor keeps 1,198 schools shut; ships are hit almost daily near Hormuz; North Korea marks its party anniversary quietly.

Ships have been struck in or near the Strait of Hormuz almost every day in October, with 12 attacks in one week, the most since the war began. Yet Middle East crude exports are back near pre-war levels. Our tables track the attacks, the shipping numbers and the cost for Asia.

Donald Trump pressed Xi Jinping in Washington last month to lift China’s export curbs on Japan and talk to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the South China Morning Post reported. Xi was not receptive. Our timeline traces the China–Japan rift from Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks to next month’s APEC summit in Shenzhen.

Navi Pillay, a jurist of Indian Tamil descent who sits in the Myanmar genocide case, wins the Nobel Peace Prize; haze eases slightly but stays unhealthy; PTI heads for Swabi; Delhi locks down central areas ahead of the CJP protest. What matters in Asia this morning.

Navi Pillay, the 85-year-old South African jurist of Indian Tamil descent and former UN human rights chief, has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law. She now sits as a judge ad hoc in the Rohingya genocide case against Myanmar.

Two days after reports that China had rejected EU calls to curb hybrid exports, the two sides announced a “shared understanding” in Beijing that Brussels says could cut Chinese hybrid exports to Europe by more than half. What was agreed, what is still unknown and what comes next.

Haze from Indonesian fires shuts schools across Malaysia, the ICC rules Rodrigo Duterte fit for trial, a Saudia jet is damaged in a Houthi attack on Riyadh airport, the PTI march reaches Peshawar and India’s GST Council recommends removing arrest powers. What matters in Asia today.

A Saudia airliner was heavily damaged by fire at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport during a missile attack claimed by Yemen’s Houthis. Nearly 300 flights were cancelled, and Air India, IndiGo and Akasa Air suspended Riyadh services. What is known, what is not, and what it means for Indian travellers.