South Korean President Lee Jae-myung delivered his first policy address to the National Assembly on Tuesday (November 4), urging the assembly to expedite the review and passage of the 2026 fiscal budget. This massive 728 trillion won (approximately S$660.5 billion) budget is the largest ever awarded by any government, and Lee described it as "the first national budget to usher in the era of artificial intelligence (AI)," a starting point for guiding South Korea toward the future.

The number of foreign residents in Japan reached 3.76 million last year, an increase of 350,000 from the previous year, marking a new record high. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi convened her first meeting on Tuesday (November 4th) to formulate a policy on foreigners, addressing issues such as foreign crime. As a flagship policy of the Takaichi Cabinet, she plans to formulate basic policy guidelines by January 2026, including tightening regulations on land purchases by foreigners.

(Washington, D.C.) Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney died on Monday (November 3) at the age of 84. He was described by presidential historians as one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history.

(Washington, D.C.) The U.S. federal government shutdown entered its 34th day on Monday, with initial signs emerging from both parties in the Senate to end the deadlock.

(New York/Washington) The U.S. government has provided $750 million (approximately S$980 million) to help two domestic rare earth companies expand their rare earth magnet production capacity in order to catch up with China’s global dominance.

(Seoul) U.S. War Secretary Hergace said the U.S. would consider allowing U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to respond flexibly to regional threats outside the Korean Peninsula, but the core objective of the U.S.-South Korea alliance remains to contain North Korea’s nuclear threat.

(Kyiv/Moscow) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine will establish arms export and joint weapons production offices in Berlin, Germany and Copenhagen, Denmark, in order to expand its domestic defense industry.

(Reuters, Toronto) In response to fraud, Canada has drastically reduced its intake of international students, with Indian student visa applicants being hit the hardest.