Africa

Geneva, Switzerland: Around 50,000 people have fled fighting in southern Ethiopia and crossed into Kenya since last week, the United Nations confirmed Wednesday, drawing on estimates from local border authorities. The figure represents a sharp jump from the 36,000 recorded on Tuesday by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, in the wake of clashes between the armies of southern Ethiopia's Somali and Oromia regions. "According to local authorities, up to an estimated 50,000 people have crossed into Kenya," said Fatima Mohammed-Cole, the UNHCR representative for Kenya. That number could quickly change given the situation on the ground, with fresh crossings being recorded, Mohammed-Cole warned. The unrest was sparked on October 20 after a Somali regional flag was hoisted in Moyale, a city jointly administered between Somali and Oromia. Several people have died in clashes, sources told AFP on Saturday. Many of those who had fled were women and children, Mohammed-Cole said. "While some are staying with relatives and host communities, others have sought shelter in temporary locations like schools and churches," she added. UNHCR has sent an emergency team to the region and is working with the Kenyan government, alongside other humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross, to provide aid to those displaced.

Asia

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s government has laid out a 2-trillion-rupee ($6.01 billion) capital expenditure plan for 2027 to prioritizing national infrastructure and attract major domestic and development projects related to investment. Fernando said the allocation would focus on roads, railways, rural connectivity, logistics and transport facilities, alongside selected social expenditure. He said the government's next priority was to move towards economic transformation by strengthening domestic and foreign investment and further developing the capital market. Fernando said the Finance Ministry had reviewed 12 capital market development proposals submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed on most of them, with several expected to be included in the 2027 Budget, due to be presented on Nov. 12. He also said the government planned to introduce new legislation to restructure state-owned enterprises and establish a common legal framework for commercially operating entities. The proposed law would allow selected state enterprises to be incorporated as companies with greater autonomy to respond to market conditions, he said. Enditem

Asia

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's stock exchange, Bursa Malaysia's net profit for the first nine months ended Sept. 30, 2026, rose 13.46 percent year on year to 214.81 million ringgit (about 52.68 million U.S. dollars), while revenue increased 19.48 percent to 641.46 million ringgit, driven by stronger market activity and fundraising momentum. For the third quarter, net profit grew 9.96 percent year on year to 70.21 million ringgit, while revenue rose 20.3 percent to 216.42 million ringgit, according to its bourse filing on Wednesday. Chief executive officer Fad'l Mohamed said the exchange recorded continued momentum across its markets during the nine-month period, supported by stronger trading activity, fundraising and investor participation. Bursa Malaysia recorded 47 initial public offerings during the period, while average daily volume in the securities market increased 27.6 percent and average daily contracts in the derivatives market grew 19.3 percent. "These point to healthy participation across our markets," he said.