October 30, 2019 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- A motorcycle bomb explodes in front of a hotel in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Seven are wounded. (Hindustan Times)
- The Afghan army, together with its international partners, launch a series of counterterrorism airstrikes in Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul, killing 58, including a Taliban governor. Ten mines are also destroyed. (Hindustan Times)
- Syrian peace process
- The first meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee takes place in Geneva in a bid to end the country's eight-year-long civil war. (Reuters)
Business and economics
- Twitter announces it will ban all political ads on its platform starting November 22. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- 2013 Glasgow helicopter crash
- The fatal accident inquiry into the crash concludes with the issuing of a report by Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull. Turnbull criticises the helicopter's pilot, prompting concerns by some victims over excessive blame being placed upon pilot error. The aircraft crashed into a bar after running out of fuel. (BBC News)
- A fire destroys much of the 500-year-old Shuri Castle in Shuri, Okinawa, Japan, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (NHK World-Japan)
Law and crime
- 2019 Samoa assassination plot
- After months of delay, the Supreme Court of Samoa accepts a closed court bail hearing for two defendants accused of attempting to assassinate Prime Minister of Samoa Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi. A third defendant who pleaded guilty is due to be sentenced on November 1. (Radio New Zealand)
- Murder of Aya Maasarwe
- A court in Australia sentences Maasarwe's confessed killer, Codey Herrmann, to 36 years in prison with parole eligibility after 30 for rape and murder. The case prompted widespread debate about violence against women in Australia. (BBC News)
- 2019 Chilean protests
- Due to the escalation in the protests, President Sebastián Piñera announces the cancellation of the 2019 APEC Summit and the United Nations Climate Change Conference, due to be hosted in Santiago in the following weeks. (Bloomberg)
- Death of Jeffrey Epstein
- Dr. Michael Baden, a medical examiner who observed the autopsy of Jeffrey Epstein, says that it shows signs consistent with homicide. (Yahoo! News)
- Crime in California
- A mass shooting at a Halloween party at a residence in Long Beach, California, by at least one gunman, who is believed to have targeted the party but to have fired at random, kills three and injures at least nine, with some having significant injuries. (MSN)
- Censorship in Myanmar
- A court in Yangon convicts five members of satirical thangyat troupe Peacock Generation over an April performance in which they lampoon the nation's military. They each are jailed for one year. (BBC News)
Sports
- 2019 World Series
- The Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6–2 in Game 7 to win the World Series. It is the franchise's first World Series championship and the first World Series victory for an MLB team based in the district since the Washington Senators (now known as the Minnesota Twins) won in 1924. This World Series is also notable as the first in which all games were won by the visiting team. (USA Today)