Daily briefing · Saturday, October 24

Tibet earthquake response turns to shelter and searches

Rescuers continued village searches Friday after Thursday night’s magnitude-7 earthquake near Nagqu in Tibet. Local authorities reported 16 deaths and an injury count that had risen to 76. At least 339 homes collapsed, while state news agency Xinhua said more than 12,000 residents had been evacuated. Officials described damaged communications, blocked roads and low temperatures complicating the response. Tents, winter clothing and prefabricated housing were arriving as intermittent snow was forecast. Beyond searching damaged buildings, the immediate task is providing shelter and medical care across a remote, high-altitude region. Rescuers search for survivors after deadly earthquake in China’s Tibet — ABC/AP/Reuters

U.S. consumer sentiment stays near record low

The University of Michigan’s final October consumer sentiment index was 48.0, barely below September’s 48.1, figures released Friday showed. It remained the second-lowest reading on record, although it improved from October’s preliminary estimate of 46.3. Expectations for inflation over the coming year rose to 4.7%, while longer-term expectations reached 3.5%. The comparisons answer different questions: the revision improved October’s initial picture, but households’ views changed little from September. Inflation expectations describe what people anticipate rather than measured price increases, and weak sentiment does not directly measure how much households are spending. US consumer sentiment near record low ahead of midterm elections — Reuters

Melanoma vaccine trial shows fewer recurrences

A personalized mRNA vaccine added to pembrolizumab reduced the risk of melanoma returning or death by 42% during follow-up in a phase-three trial, according to results detailed Friday. The study enrolled 1,137 patients after surgery. Memorial Sloan Kettering reported that about 82% receiving the combination were alive without recurrence at two years, compared with 70% receiving pembrolizumab alone: a difference of about 12 percentage points. Each vaccine uses information from the patient’s tumor. Merck and Moderna funded the trial. The vaccine remains investigational, and these findings do not establish whether patients live longer overall. Promising New Results for Melanoma mRNA Vaccine — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center · Merck and Moderna release promising data on cancer vaccine trial — NPR/TPR

Russia and Ukraine agree to local humanitarian ceasefire

Russia and Ukraine said Friday they had agreed to halt fighting in Russian-occupied Oleshky from October 27 to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations. Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman told Reuters that preparations would include clearing mines from roads. Both sides acknowledged Melania Trump’s coordinating role. Residents face shortages of food, water and medicine. The arrangement provides a specific plan for relief in one town; safe passage and deliveries still depend on implementation, and the agreement does not amount to a nationwide ceasefire. Russia, Ukraine agree on ceasefire in embattled town, to hold peace talks next month — Reuters

Singapore inflation eases as energy bills lag markets

Singapore’s annual core inflation slowed to 2% in September from 2.2% in August, official figures released Friday showed. Overall inflation eased to 2.2% from 2.3%, while electricity and gas inflation stayed at 8.7%. Authorities explained that quarterly electricity tariffs largely reflect natural-gas prices from the preceding quarter, so household bills can lag movements in global markets. Slower inflation means prices are rising more slowly, rather than generally falling. Singapore’s core measure excludes accommodation and private transport, making direct comparisons with other countries’ differently defined core measures potentially misleading. Singapore’s core inflation eases to 2% in September on lower services, retail prices — CNA

Israel begins searches and demolitions around Hebron

Israel’s military said Friday it had begun an operation around Hebron in the occupied West Bank involving searches, questioning and building demolitions after gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers. It expected the operation to last several days. An AFP photographer witnessed the checkpoint gun battle, and Israeli forces killed both attackers. The operation adds concrete measures to the wider closure announced earlier. Israeli authorities said they were targeting security threats. The UN secretary-general’s spokesman expressed concern about closures affecting Palestinian livelihoods, underscoring how movement restrictions can reach beyond the immediate attack site. Israel launches West Bank operation after attack days before election — AFP/CNA

Two-color glowing plants reveal immune activity

Researchers have developed glowing plants that use two colors to help distinguish gene activity from changes in metabolism. The study, published Friday in Nature Plants, pairs red and green light-producing proteins and compares their signals. That reference makes measurements less vulnerable to conditions that alter a plant’s overall brightness. In experiments, the system revealed localized immune responses around infection sites. The practical gain is a way to watch defenses develop over time without repeatedly sampling tissue. Applications to crop monitoring remain a possibility rather than a demonstrated field benefit. Glowing plants reveal immune responses around infection sites via two colors — MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences