Breakfast News Recap: Binance hack shocks crypto as Ukraine, Middle East and US election tensions mount

Binance said attackers tried to steal up to US$6.3 billion in digital funds after compromising a staff laptop, in what appears to be the largest hack in the cryptocurrency sector to date. The exchange said at least US$2.54 billion has been frozen as it investigates the security issue.  🔗  🔗

In Ukraine, Russia said it struck energy infrastructure in and around Kyiv, while a Russian drone attack on Dnipro hit the city’s main railway station, according to the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country. Separately, a Russian strike on Chernihiv killed two teenage girls and damaged homes, businesses and vehicles.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Across the Middle East, Houthi forces claimed six attacks on airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, as explosions were heard in Riyadh after authorities warned of a hostile aerial threat. The claims came amid wider regional diplomacy involving Iran.  🔗  🔗

Israel’s election remained deadlocked after final results showed Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc ahead but still short of the 61 seats needed for a majority, while opposition figures accused him of trying to delegitimise the vote. Israel also extended its ban on Sheikh Ekrima Sabri from Al Aqsa Mosque until April 2027, deepening wider restrictions on Palestinians.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces continued raids as the lockdown of Hebron entered its seventh day, with reports of further arrests and clashes. In Gaza and the wider region, the security picture remained tense as diplomacy and military pressure continued to run in parallel.  🔗

Elsewhere in Europe, France is preparing for nationwide Halloween protests after the interior minister warned of a very high risk of disorder and said 70,000 police would be deployed. In Spain, leaked audio has added detail to the inquiry into the high speed train collision near Toledo, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina EUFOR confirmed four Italian nationals were killed when a Chinook helicopter crashed during routine training.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Political unrest also flared in Albania, where opposition lawmakers disrupted parliament with flares and smoke bombs, and in Serbia, where the student backed Student List movement used its first post election news conference to demand sweeping resignations. In Germany and Ukraine, defence companies tested an armed ground robot intended for frontline use by Ukrainian forces.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Asia, North Korea staged a weapons demonstration featuring attack drones, cruise missiles and multiple rocket launchers, while China’s Communist Party expelled a record 33 officials as its fifth plenum ended in Beijing. In Kazakhstan, President Kassym Jomart Tokayev called for faster construction of two nuclear power plants.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the Americas, the US midterm campaign intensified with early voting topping 43 million and Republicans facing backlash over the economy, tariffs and Donald Trump’s policies. Trump cancelled planned rallies in Kansas and Iowa and shifted more of his final push online, while in Texas a county Republican party filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block certification of election results over AI and machine concerns. The Justice Department also renewed its bid to stop Alaska from certifying its Senate result, and the Pentagon fired Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia amid a classified leak probe.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Other developments included a Perth man charged over alleged terrorist attack planning, a US federal case in which Mohamed Sabry Soliman pleaded guilty over the Boulder antisemitic firebomb attack, and a separate Kansas City area fraud indictment involving 11 residents and more than US$400,000 in alleged PPP fraud.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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