U.S. to impose 25 percent tariff on medium-, heavy-duty trucks starting Nov. 1

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that a 25 percent tariff on imported medium- and heavy-duty trucks will take effect on Nov. 1.

"Beginning November 1st, 2025, all Medium and Heavy Duty Trucks coming into the United States from other Countries will be Tariffed at the Rate of 25 percent," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

On Sept. 25, he announced a tariff of 25 percent beginning Oct. 1 on "Heavy (Big!) Trucks" made outside the United States. "We need our Truckers to be financially healthy and strong, for many reasons, but above all else, for National Security purposes!" he posted then.

Indirect Hamas-Israel talks on Gaza ceasefire plan kick off in Egypt

Indirect talks between Israeli and Hamas delegations commenced Monday in Egypt to discuss a framework for the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reported.

The talks, hosted by Egyptian and Qatari mediators in the Red Sea city of Sharm El Sheikh, are focused on "preparing the ground" for the potential swap, according to the news channel.

With the priority to focus on and expand "common ground points" between Israel and Hamas, the mediators are actively working with both sides to "establish a mechanism for the release of all detainees in exchange for prisoners," it reported.

Thailand's headline inflation declines 0.72 pct in September

Thailand's headline inflation declined for a sixth successive month in September, driven by lower energy and food prices, official data showed on Monday.

The Southeast Asian country's consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.72 percent last month from a year earlier, decelerating slightly from a 0.79 percent decrease in August, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The September reading remained well below the central bank's target range of 1 percent to 3 percent for the seventh month in a row.

France's PM resigns after less than a month in office

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned Monday after less than a month in office, making him the shortest-serving prime minister of France's Fifth Republic. President Emmanuel Macron accepted his resignation, the presidency said.

In a statement, Lecornu admitted the formation of his government had not gone smoothly, saying conditions "were no longer met" for him to remain in office.

His decision rattled investors, with the CAC 40 index opening 2 percent lower on Monday following news of his departure.

Trio win Nobel Prize in medicine for discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance

Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi were awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance, the Nobel Assembly at Sweden's Karolinska Institute announced.

The laureates will share the prize sum of 11 million Swedish kronor (about 1.17 million U.S. dollars).

24 killed after heavy rain triggers landslides in India's West Bengal

At least 24 people were killed and many others injured after incessant rains triggered landslides in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, officials said Monday.

The landslides hit the picturesque Darjeeling town, about 626 km north of Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal, on Sunday and swept away homes, cutting off roads and isolating villages.

The tragedy wreaked widespread devastation and left hundreds of people, especially the tourists, stranded in the Himalayan foothill township.

The communication networks have also been snapped.