October 31, 2014 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Blaise Compaoré resigns as President of Burkina Faso following the 2014 Burkinabé uprising. General Honoré Traoré assumes leadership on a transitional basis. (BBC)
- A bomb blast in Nigeria's Gombe State kills at least 4 people and injures 32. (BBC)
Business and economy
- The Bank of Japan announces a decision to buy more assets, continuing an aggressive expansion of the money supply, by roughly US$60 billion per month, admitting that it hasn't yet reached its goals on growth. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- One person is dead and another injured after Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo explodes and crashes in California's Mojave Desert during a test flight of the spaceplane. (The Bakersfield Californian) (ABC News) (BBC)
Health
- Ebola virus disease in the United States
- A Maine judge imposes limited restrictions, but rejects state officials' bid to quarantine nurse Kaci Hickox, who returned to the United States last week after treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. (Boston Globe)
International relations
- Australia and the United States lift sanctions against Fiji following recent democratic elections. (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- A Mexican judge releases a United States Marine Corps member detained for crossing the border with loaded guns eight months ago. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Major political parties in Myanmar hold a meeting about the upcoming Burmese general election, 2015 which included Thein Sein's Union Solidarity and Development Party and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. (ABC Go)