Japan's opposition Komeito held a party congress on the 3rd and formally approved House of Representatives member Okamoto Mitsunari to succeed Takeya Toshiko as party leader.

An Arkia-operated passenger flight carrying Israeli travellers stranded in Dubai landed at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv early on the 3rd, the Israel Airports Authority said. The flight departed Dubai on the 2nd and touched down at about 01:00 local time. The arrival follows a Sept. 30 security incident on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv service that diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after which a Dubai carrier suspended all flights to and from Israel. Israeli sources say more than 10,000 Israeli passengers remain stranded in Dubai and other locations.

CITIC Securities says AIDD companies are generally at an early stage and the industry may be entering an accelerated growth phase. It identifies three commercial models in AI biotech: SAAS-only software providers; AI-enabled CROs offering drug screening and evaluation services; and AI-originator drug companies that use platforms to design drugs and advance pipelines. Most firms currently combine models and the overall AI drug market remains small, but greater capital inflows, technology iteration and validation as AI drug pipelines reach the market should support a transition to a harvest/accelerated growth period.