1. Sudan’s military takes power in coup, arrests prime minister

Sudan’s military seized power Monday, dissolving the transitional government hours after troops arrested the prime minister, and thousands flooded the streets to protest the coup that threatened the country’s shaky progress toward democracy. Security forces opened fire on some of them, and three protesters were killed, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Committee, which also said 80 people were wounded.

The takeover, which drew condemnation from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, comes more than two years after protesters forced the ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and just weeks before the military was supposed to hand the leadership of the council that runs the country over to civilians

2. Biden imposing new international travel vaccine rules, lifting restrictions

US President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order imposing new vaccine requirements for most foreign national air travelers and lifting severe travel restrictions on China, India and much of Europe effective Nov. 8, the White House said. The extraordinary US travel restrictions were first imposed in early 2020 to address the spread of Covid-19. The rules bar most non-US citizens who within the last 14 days have been in Britain, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.

3. Facebook invests billions in metaverse efforts as ad business slows

Facebook Inc said on Monday it will start publishing the financial results of its augmented and virtual reality labs as a separate unit, where it is investing billions in its ambitions to build the “metaverse” and as it reported that its main advertising business faces “significant uncertainty.” Facebook, which reported third-quarter profit up 17%, warned that Apple Inc’s new privacy changes would weigh on its digital business in the current quarter. The social media company reported quarterly revenue below market expectations, which Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts was due to the iOS changes.

4. Egypt’s President Sisi ends state of emergency for the first time in years

Egypt’s state of emergency will be lifted for the first time in years, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Monday. Egypt imposed a state of emergency in April 2017 after deadly bombings of churches and has since routinely extended it at three-month intervals, despite an improved security situation.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (File photo via Reuters)

“Egypt has become … an oasis of security and stability in the region,” Sisi wrote in a Facebook post. “Hence it was decided, for the first time in years, to cancel the extension of the state of emergency in all areas of the country.”

5. Investigators recover ammunition from Baldwin movie shooting scene

Detectives recovered what they described as loose and boxed ammunition from the Western movie set where actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed a cinematographer, according to an inventory of seized items that was released on Monday. Authorities did not say what type of ammunition they removed from the set of “Rust” and whether it included live or dummy bullets or blank cartridges. The items included two boxes of “ammo,” “loose ammo and boxes” as well as “a fanny pack w/ammo.” One of the central mysteries about the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins remains what kind of projectile was fired from the gun and how it got there.