The day

Wednesday 4 November 2026

9 stories, biggest first.

1. 1

   CrimeIllegal drug trade in the Philippines

   Philippine authorities seize a 200-kilogram (440 lb) shipment of methamphetamine, whose origin is traced to Laos, at the Manila International Container Port. The shipment had arrived six days after Laotian police found similar contraband destined for the Philippines.

2. 2

   Politics

   Hungary makes Communist-era secret police records publicly accessible through a database containing approximately 60,000 names linked to former state security services. Prime Minister Péter Magyar announces that additional documents will become available in February 2027.

   

3. 3

   News

   Five people are killed while two others are injured in an explosion at a suspected illegal fireworks factory in Malasiqui, Pangasinan, Philippines.

4. 4

   News

   A fire and explosion at a Panasonic subsidiary's factory in Hsinchu County, Taiwan, kills two employees and injures five others.

   

5. 5

   Science2026 Southeast Asian haze

   The Singaporean parliament amends the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act of 2014, introducing arrest powers, permitting trials in absentia, and increasing maximum fines tenfold to S$20 million (US$15 million) following widespread air pollution from Indonesian wildfires.

   

6. 6

   Crime

   Hackers steal approximately €100 million (US$112 million) from French bank Crédit Mutuel through unauthorized transactions using the bank's account.

7. 7

   Money

   The Bangladeshi garment industry wage board agrees to increase minimum wages following five days of worker protests and clashes with police. Workers demand ৳30,000 (US$240) monthly, up from ৳12,500 (US$100), while the board has not specified the increase.

8. 8

   Science

   The United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics reports that deaths linked to cocaine use have overtaken deaths from heroin in England and Wales for the first time on record. The increase in deaths from cocaine use is blamed on increased purity of the drug and its widespread availability across the UK in recent years.

9. 9

   Science

   The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a space telescope for studying gamma-ray bursts, re-enters Earth's atmosphere over Sumatra, ending its mission of nearly 22 years.

Stories adapted from Wikipedia’s Current events portal for 4 November 2026, by Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.