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US, South Korea, Japan vow 'complete' North Korea denuclearisation

They also pledged "full implementation" of UN Security Council resolutions, including a ban on supporting revenue for North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends what state media report was a launch ceremony for a new tactical nuclear attack submarine in North Korea on Sep 8, 2023. (File photo: KCNA via Reuters) SEOUL: The United States, South Korea and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete denuclearisation" of North Korea on Saturday (Oct 31), as Pyongyang continues to reject disarmament ahead of possible talks with Washington. Speculation is mounting over a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at next month's APEC summit in China, with Trump making repeated overtures to Pyongyang for nuclear talks. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi "reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearisation" of North Korea during talks on Friday on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Atlanta in the US state of Georgia, the US State Department said. They also pledged "full implementation" of UN Security Council resolutions, including a ban on supporting revenue for North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Despite long-running UN sanctions, North Korea, which is backed by Russia and China, has enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state in law, with its regime repeatedly declaring its atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible. Trump has made repeated overtures to Pyongyang for nuclear talks, while scaling back joint military drills with ally South Korea. The mercurial US leader even bucked long-held US policy last year by conceding that North Korea was already "sort of a nuclear power", while reaching out to Pyongyang for talks, saying he was "100 percent" open to a meeting - a suggestion that went unanswered. Analysts and South Korea's spy agency say Kim may have conveyed Pyongyang's position on potential talks with Trump to Beijing during a recent visit to the Chinese border city of Dandong. South Korea's dovish President Lee Jae Myung - who has repeatedly offered Pyongyang talks without preconditions - suggested in September that Washington seek a freeze, rather than the immediate elimination, of the North's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. Critics have said such an approach risks tacitly accepting North Korea as a nuclear-armed state while allowing Pyongyang to win sanctions relief without giving up its arsenal.

US, South Korea, Japan vow 'complete' North Korea denuclearisation
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

France gets budget warning as Fitch turns negative on rating

The Fitch ratings agency on Oct 30 maintained France's credit rating at A+ but downgraded its outlook from "stable" to "negative". PARIS – France’s credit score was put on a negative outlook by Fitch Ratings, an unscheduled move that highlights how quickly the country’s public finances are souring. The change “reflects a deterioration since our August 2026 review comprising weaker growth, higher borrowing costs and a wider deficit”, the company said in a statement late on Oct 30. “These worsen debt dynamics from an already weak starting point,” Fitch added. “Persistent political fragmentation and a challenging social backdrop increase the difficulty of delivering sustained fiscal consolidation.” France remains at A+ on the company’s assessment, on a par with Portugal and Belgium, and six notches above junk. The announcement arrives on the eve of another weekend of protests in cities including Paris. The authorities are trying to contain violence after large-scale riots earlier in October. “The emerging policy debate ahead of the presidential election has not materially strengthened Fitch’s confidence in the prospects for durable deficit reduction,” it said in the statement. “Large protests over public services and living costs further complicate the social context for fiscal consolidation.” The verdict is the latest indictment of France’s inability to find a way to contain its swelling debt burden, which put the nation at the forefront of bond market anxiety over the past weeks. French yields have risen more than any other in the developed world in October, hitting the highest level in 24 years. Fitch has taken a noticeably activist stance on France and its public finances, having led downgrades before major rivals.

France gets budget warning as Fitch turns negative on rating
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Apple overtakes Nvidia to become world’s most valuable company

Customers holding Apple iPhone Duo smartphones at Apple's Fifth Avenue store during the first day of in-store sales in New York, on Oct 23. Apple reclaimed the title of world’s most valuable company on Oct 30, taking the mantle from Nvidia as investors seek the perceived safety of the iPhone maker amid concerns about artificial intelligence spending. Shares of Apple fell 1.2% on Oct 30, resulting in a market capitalisation of US$5.03 trillion (S$6.4 trillion), while Nvidia sank 4.2% to close with a valuation of US$4.93 trillion. This is the first time Apple has overtaken Nvidia since briefly doing so in late July. The Oct 30 sell-off came as a number of major technology companies disappointed with their results, including Intel and Amazon, which followed similarly disappointing reports from Alphabet and Meta Platforms, among others. The reports renewed concerns about the outlook for AI spending, something Apple has largely foregone. Fears that heavy spending on AI computing infrastructure will not pay off have helped make Apple, which has kept a lid on capital expenditures, by far the best performing of the Magnificent Seven tech giants in 2026. Its shares are up 27% in 2026, more than twice the gain of second-place Nvidia, which is a key beneficiary of AI spending. The outlays have become so large that companies like Alphabet and Amazon have seen their free cash flow turn negative, forcing them to increasingly turn to debt markets for funding. Apple, by contrast, is projected to see its free cash flow climb 38% to US$142 billion in fiscal 2026, which ended on Sept 30. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index fell 6.7% in October, its worst month since March 2025. CoreWeave and Nebius Group, data centre owners that offer AI computing services, have dropped more than 30% in October.With the Oct 30 collapse, Intel lost more than 45% in October, its biggest ever one-month drop in data compiled by Bloomberg going back more than 40 years. BLOOMBERG

Apple overtakes Nvidia to become world’s most valuable company
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

What protections exist for Binance’s customers?

There does not appear to be any US governmental or regulatory entity that could force Binance or other troubled crypto companies to help customers. SAN FRANCISCO - The staggering digital hack at Binance, where criminals made off with US$6.3 billion (S$8 billion) in digital coins in a breach that the company revealed on Oct 29, is a reminder that putting money into cryptocurrency still involves a fair bit of risk. It has no real choice but to make people whole, lest its customers’ confidence sink even further than it has in the wake of such a large attack. But there does not appear to be any US governmental or regulatory entity that could force Binance or other troubled crypto companies to help customers. And minimal regulation is exactly what early crypto enthusiasts wanted, even as the Biden administration tried to rein in the industry before the Trump administration undid much of its work. The hack affected the original Binance (Binance.com), which the company blocks US customers from using, though some probably do so anyway via virtual private networks. There is also a small Binance.Us platform for US users in certain states, which was not part of the hack. In an announcement on its website, the company said it would “cover all losses” using its own funds and its “secure asset fund for users” (SAFU). The SAFU is an emergency fund that Binance set up on its own. “It is designed to reduce the potential impact on users if an extreme event does happen,” according to the company. The price of bitcoin has fallen about 30% in 2026, though the company says it replenishes the fund if it falls below US$800 million in value. “User funds are safe,” it added in its announcement. The company has suspended withdrawals for now. Not many, though plenty of customers believe otherwise, since there has been automatic deposit insurance at banks for decades.

What protections exist for Binance’s customers?
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

British telecoms firm Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs, Sky News reports

British telecommunications operator Virgin Media O2, which is jointly owned by Liberty Global and Spain’s Telefonica, will cut thousands of jobs in a sweeping shake-up, Sky News reported on Oct 31, citing people close to the company. Up to 4,000 of Virgin Media O2’s 16,000 employees could be affected, although the precise number of job cuts has yet to be finalised, the report said. Most of the job cuts are expected to affect non-customer-facing roles, while a number of senior leadership changes are already under way, the report said. The company is also expected to review its usage of contractors and suppliers in an effort to reduce costs, the report said. The Financial Times reported in July that the company’s owners were weighing options to reduce the company’s £22 billion (S$37.7 billion) debt pile. In September, the Financial Times reported Virgin Media O2’s shareholders were seeking to reduce costs by about £600 million. REUTERS

British telecoms firm Virgin Media O2 to cut thousands of jobs, Sky News reports
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

OpenAI’s Altman meets Samsung executives as chip crunch deepens

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is the latest American tech leader to visit South Korea, the leader in advanced memory chips. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman met with Samsung Group’s top executives in South Korea on Oct 31 to deepen cooperation on memory chips and AI infrastructure as global shortages intensify. Samsung hosted Altman for talks with about 50 executives from its electronics, financial and biotechnology affiliates in Yongin, south of Seoul, the South Korean company said in a statement. The discussions focused on how artificial intelligence can reshape industries, corporate decision-making and business opportunities over the next decade. The meeting comes as shortages in a broad array of memory products strain the global electronics industry and send chip prices soaring. Demand from data centre operators is intensifying competition for supplies, with the five biggest players in the AI infrastructure race planning to spend more than US$3 trillion (S$3.8 trillion) in the coming years. Altman is the latest American tech leader to visit South Korea, the leader in advanced memory chips and a country where AI adoption is accelerating among businesses and consumers. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Advanced Micro Devices’ Lisa Su have both visited twice since 2025 to strengthen supply chain ties. Technology executives have warned that chip production is struggling to keep pace with demand. The Oct 31 meeting builds on a partnership announced earlier to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s Stargate infrastructure project and cooperate on AI data centres, including floating offshore facilities. Samsung is also accelerating AI adoption across its businesses, from research and manufacturing to marketing and corporate operations. BLOOMBERG

OpenAI’s Altman meets Samsung executives as chip crunch deepens
Asia-Pacific
Channel NewsAsia

Melaka state election: Anwar's PH, Muhyiddin's Bersatu avoid clashes in 4 seats as candidates confirmed

Analysts say Melaka could serve as a testing ground to see whether Bersatu can help Pakatan Harapan win over Malay voters ahead of Malaysia's next general election. Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim (left) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Muhyiddin Yassin. (Photos: Facebook/Anwar Ibrahim, Muhyiddin Yassin) Aqil Haziq Mahmud 31 Oct 2026 02:47PM Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST KUALA LUMPUR: The campaign for the 16th Melaka state election officially began on Saturday (Oct 31) with all 28 seats to be contested, the Election Commission announced after candidates were confirmed on nomination day. The line-up for the Nov 14 election offers clues about potential political alliances, notably with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and former premier Muhyiddin Yassin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) avoiding direct contests in four seats. Analysts told CNA the nominations show PH and Bersatu are informally cooperating, although some internal pushback from at least one component party means they have not explicitly admitted it. Future cooperation depends on whether Bersatu can help PH win some of the Malay votes in Melaka and stem the “Malay tsunami”, the analysts said, referring to how the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) partnership has swept to resounding victories in recent state elections. CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less This comes as BN is widely expected to retain control of Melaka after successful campaigns alongside the opposition coalition PN in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, as the coalitions continue to test their alliance ahead of the 16th General Election, due by February 2028. A total of 79 candidates are vying for the 28 seats in Melaka – which will see straight fights in 11 constituencies, 11 three-cornered contests, and six four-cornered contests. PH will contest in 24 seats, while Bersatu has fielded candidates in seven seats. BN, Anwar’s partner in the federal unity government, will contest 23 seats in a partnership with PN, which will contest the remaining five seats. BN component party the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) had threatened to derail the alliance after it said it was unsatisfied with the number of seats it was allocated following initial negotiations. This dispute appeared to have been resolved following eleventh-hour talks between the two coalitions, when MCA was eventually given two more seats – Bandar Hilir and Kota Laksamana – to contest.

Melaka state election: Anwar's PH, Muhyiddin's Bersatu avoid clashes in 4 seats as candidates confirmed
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

New Year travel trends: Indians opt for cruises, Lakshadweep and spiritual holidays

Indian travellers are exploring experience-led New Year holidays, from Northern Lights excursions and cruises to Lakshadweep escapes and spiritual journeys. | Photo Credit: iStockphoto Indian travellers are increasingly looking beyond traditional New Year’s Eve parties and celebrations, opting for holidays that combine cultural experiences, outdoor adventures, cruises and spiritual journeys, according to a press release issued by Thomas Cook (India) Limited and SOTC Travel. The travel companies said that year-end holiday preferences are changing, with travellers seeking experiences that go beyond the midnight countdown, including Northern Lights excursions in Europe, cultural celebrations in Japan, premium island holidays and pilgrimage trips within India. “New Year travel is increasingly about combining the excitement of celebration with the opportunity to discover a destination and its experiences,” said Rajeev Kale, President and Country Head - Holidays, MICE and Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited. He said Indian travellers are looking to make the occasion memorable through different experiences, ranging from watching New Year fireworks over Sydney Harbour to exploring European festive markets and Alpine landscapes. “Indian travellers are looking to make the occasion memorable through distinctive experiences, whether it is watching the New Year fireworks over Sydney Harbour, exploring Europe’s festive markets and Alpine landscapes, experiencing multiple destinations on a cruise or choosing a premium island escape like Lakshadweep or a spiritual journey in India,” Kale said. According to the companies’ release, destinations such as Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland are among the options for travellers seeking winter experiences, including Northern Lights viewing, husky and reindeer sledding, snowmobile excursions and stays in glass igloos. Japan is another destination being highlighted for its traditional New Year customs, including Hatsumode, the first shrine or temple visit of the year, while Southeast Asian destinations offer cultural experiences alongside festive celebrations. Closer to home, spiritual tourism is also gaining momentum, with travellers seeking faith-based experiences during the year-end holiday season. The companies said pilgrimage destinations such as Char Dham, Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, Tirupati and Vaishno Devi continue to attract travellers looking to combine holidays with prayer and reflection. Premium island holidays are also emerging as an option for domestic travellers. Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel have introduced direct charter flights from Bengaluru to Lakshadweep for the year-end season to make the island destination more accessible. Cruises are another option for travellers seeking to combine New Year celebrations with visits to multiple destinations, with itineraries covering Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Australia-New Zealand.

New Year travel trends: Indians opt for cruises, Lakshadweep and spiritual holidays
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

SEBI plans simpler fundraising rules, lower compliance costs to boost capital markets

FILE PHOTO: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey outlines measures to simplify fundraising, reduce compliance costs and strengthen investor protection in India’s capital markets. | Photo Credit: PTI The Securities and Exchange Board of India, Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Saturday said the regulator is working to make India’s capital markets more accessible, efficient and resilient, with a focus on simplifying fundraising processes, reducing compliance burdens and strengthening investor protection. Addressing an event organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce to mark its 125th anniversary and launch the Bharat Chamber Investors’ Forum, Pandey said building world-class capital markets would require more than higher market capitalisation and trading volumes, emphasising the need to connect household savings with productive investments. “Good businesses should be able to access suitable forms of capital through efficient and transparent processes,” he said, outlining the steps taken by the regulator to facilitate capital formation and improve ease of doing business. SEBI has streamlined initial public offering (IPO) processes, shortened timelines for rights issues and rationalised listing requirements for large issuers. It has also allowed founders, subject to prescribed conditions, to retain certain employee stock options after listing. On the debt market side, the regulator has reduced listing timelines for public issues, enabled debt securities with lower face values and relaxed the mandatory merchant banking requirement for certain eligible issuers undertaking private placements. Pandey said these measures were aimed at reducing issuance costs while retaining appropriate safeguards. He added that SEBI was reviewing regulatory processes to make compliance more proportionate and risk-based without compromising governance and market integrity. Highlighting the growth of India’s capital markets, he said market capitalisation had grown at an annual rate of around 17 per cent over the past decade, while mutual fund assets had expanded by around 20 per cent annually. The number of unique investors in the securities market has increased fourfold since FY19 to more than 15 crore. Companies raised over Rs 98,000 crore through 189 initial public offerings in the first half of the current financial year, while outstanding corporate bonds stood at around Rs 61 lakh crore, he said. Referring to West Bengal’s growing participation, Pandey said the number of securities market investors from the state had risen to over 90 lakh from around 12 lakh in FY15, with approximately 36 per cent below 30 years of age. He also stressed that increasing reliance on technology makes cybersecurity, operational resilience, surveillance and risk management critical, adding that world-class markets must remain resilient during periods of stress. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

SEBI plans simpler fundraising rules, lower compliance costs to boost capital markets