– India lifted an estimated 496 million people out of poverty between 2011 and 2023, according to the World Bank’s October 2026 Poverty and Equity Brief. The share of Indians living in extreme poverty fell from 27.1% to just 2.6%
– Cyclone Arnab made landfall in India’s Andhra Pradesh state early on Wednesday after authorities evacuated tens of thousands of people from the eastern coast. The India Meteorological Department classified Arnab as a very severe cyclonic storm, the third-highest category
– Kenya is banking on new coffee varieties to boost production, improve yields and help farmers cope with climate change as it targets annual output of 150,000 metric tonnes. Henry Kinyua, chairperson of the Coffee Board of Kenya, said researchers
– Global registrations of battery-electric vehicles rose 12% in the first nine months of 2026 to a record 11 million, driven by strong growth in Europe, according to a study by consultancy PwC. Europe accounted for 2.5 million electric cars,
– Oil prices rose on Wednesday, with Brent crude futures climbing $1.48, or 1.3%, to $115.36 a barrel by 01:40 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained $1.22, or 1.22%, to $101.12 a barrel. The increase reversed part of
– 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
Technology
– Apple introduced a new MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR display based on tandem OLED technology, along with touch support on a Mac for the first time. The laptop comes in 14-inch and 16-inch models powered by M5 Pro
Comprehensive technical audits have confirmed that Dubai-headquartered enterprise digital publishing platform Integrated Identity has recorded validated 100/100 scores across both mobile and desktop environments on Google PageSpeed Insights. Backed by data from the HTTP Archive and the Chrome User Experience
– Scientists from Russia and China have developed an ultrasonic welding technology that doubles the strength of metal joints, TV BRICS reported. The report cited South Ural State University, known as SUSU, whose researchers carried out the work with Chinese
– Samsung Electronics has unveiled its next-generation memory and storage strategy for artificial intelligence infrastructure at the 2026 OCP Global Summit. The company presented the plans at the event in San Jose, California, which runs from October 12 to 15.