Fighting between Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels in Yemen has intensified, causing casualties inside Saudi Arabia. Riyadh’s Kingdom Centre on the 18th told all office staff to work remotely until further notice; management described the instruction as mandatory but gave no reason, AFP reported citing an email. The central Riyadh tower, over 300m tall, houses tenants including Merrill Lynch, McKinsey and the IMF.

Iran's parliament on Oct. 18 approved a new defense minister. The appointee, a decades-long defense industry official with senior roles in aerospace and missile programmes who is under U.S. and EU sanctions, told lawmakers he will rebuild Iran's military-industrial base, speed defence-technology R&D and expand cooperation with private firms. He said Tehran has taken necessary measures to respond if the U.S. uses the 'Mother of All Bombs' and warned: 'If the U.S. makes another strategic miscalculation, the Iranian people and Islamic fighters will respond unexpectedly and on a large scale.' He added: 'The U.S. president should focus on ensuring safe withdrawal of U.S. forces from our region. If he drops a bomb, let's see how many U.S. soldiers are carried out of the region sideways.'

廣西壯族自治區政協原副主席黃日波涉嫌嚴重職務違法，目前正接受國家監委監察調查。