The Toronto Blue Jays won Game 4 6-2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving them the first two games in a row on Tuesday, giving them the lead in the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series at two games apiece.
The Blue Jays overcame the heartache of a 18-inning deficit to place Game 3 in Toronto on Friday with RBI singles from Andres Gimenez, Bo Bichette, and Addison Barger.
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In his first World Series start, Shohei Ohtani allowed four runs on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts for the Dodgers. He had a walk and two strikeouts in Game 4, and he was 0-for-3 at the plate in Game 4. He had already reached base nine times in Game 3.
The Dodgers’ offense has three runs going back to Game 3’s eighth inning over the past 20 innings.
Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium is the start of Game 5 of the best-of-seven series.
Max Muncy scored on a sacrifice fly in the second inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.
Guerrero’s two-run shot against Ohtani gave the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Guerrero, who had an RBI on the night before the Fall Classic, had the seventh postseason win, but it was his first of the World Series.
Ohtani’s World Series-record 11 consecutive plate appearances in which he reached base was ended when Bieber struck him on a foul tip in the third inning. In Game 3, Ohtani had reached base all nine times (including two doubles and two home runs), and he had singled in Game 4’s eighth inning.
Bieber (3-1) allowed just one run on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks over the course of five and a half innings.
After the Blue Jays gave up a single and an RBI, Ohtani (2-1) took the mound in the seventh inning.
Anthony Banda, the left-hander for the Dodgers, took over the mound and Gimenez gave him an RBI single to left to start the game. Bichette and Barger both added RBI hits for a 6-1 lead with a groundout from Ty France.
On a Tommy Edman groundout that scored one run in the ninth inning, Los Angeles responded with one more.
Due to a right-side injury that occurred in Game 3, Toronto did not play without leadoff man George Springer.
In Game 4, Guerrero Jr of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a two-run home run to the Los Angeles Dodgers. [Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images via AFP]
After falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in game four, the Toronto Blue Jays are now tied with the best-of-seven World Series at 2-2.
Major League Baseball’s only Canadian side came from behind at Dodger Stadium with Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s early two-run homer and a ton of runs in the seventh inning.
Additionally, it guarantees that the series will play a sixth and possibly final seventh game there.
The Dodgers and Blue Jays were betting on long starts from their starting pitchers to give their relief corps some respite after Monday’s 18-inning epic drained the energy of both teams’ bullpens.
Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ superstar Japanese hitter, was in the stands to start the game and serve as the team’s leadoff hitter.
Ohtani, 31, is a remarkably uncommon “two-way” player who plays both as pitcher and hitter at the highest level.
But after giving up one hit with the bat in game three, he went hitless with the bat and left the pitcher’s mound in the seventh inning, with the team trailing 2-1, having put two men on base, both of whom would score, with no outs.
With two strikeouts and a single run allowed in the sixth inning, Toronto’s less popular starter Shane Bieber, who was born in California, did the hosts no favor.
Max Muncy was scored on Enrique Hernandez’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second inning to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
George Springer, who had a muscle injury in game three, was missing from Toronto’s offense, but Guerrero came up and fired Ohtani over left center to tie the game 1-1.
The Blue Jays had a 6-1 lead going into the seventh inning when Andres Gimenez, Ty France, Bo Bichette, and Addison Barger all scored runs following Ohtani’s suspension.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers briefly threatened to rally with Hernandez’s single as Tommy Edman ground out after Muncy doubled and Teoscar Hernandez reached base.
World Series results, reports, and schedule
Dodgers, 11-4, in Game 1: Blue Jays
Game 2: Dodgers 1 – 5
Dodgers 6-5 Blue Jays in Game 3.
Game 4: Dodgers 2-6 Blue Jays
Wednesday, October 29th, for Game 5 (in LA).
Friday, October 31 for Game 6 (in Toronto).
Saturday, November 1st, for Game 7* (if necessary, in Toronto).
Seoul, South Korea – In their first official meeting since 2019, Washington and Beijing appear to be on the verge of a truce to lower the tempo of their fierce rivalry.
However, expectations are modest for how far any deal will go in resolving the numerous issues between the world’s two largest economies, despite Trump and Xi being widely anticipated to ease US-China tensions in South Korea on Thursday.
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Instead of reversing the trade war that Trump started during his first term and has dramatically expanded since he returned to office this year, many details of the anticipated deal have been raised in advance.
Some of the proposed measures address issues that have only been addressed in recent weeks, such as China’s plan to impose strict export restrictions on rare earths starting December 1.
There is no denying that Washington and Beijing will continue to argue over everything as they battle for control in a rapidly changing international order, according to analysts, whatever Trump and Xi decide on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju.
Deborah Elms, the head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore, said, “I have modest expectations for this meeting.”
No matter what happens this week, “I believe we haven’t seen the end of economic tensions, tariff threats, export controls, restrictions, and the use of unusual levers like digital rules,” Elms, according to Al Jazeera.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping interact during a meeting on the day of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. [Susan Walsh/AP]
Contours of a deal
Trump and Xi are still deciding any deal’s exact terms, but details have changed recently as to what terms might be agreed upon.
This week, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent claimed in media interviews that Trump’s threatened 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods was “in effect off the table” and that he anticipated China to ease its restrictions on rare earths.
Bessent added that he anticipated the Chinese government would agree to bolster US-grown soya beans, strengthen cooperation with the US to stop the flow of fentanyl-producing chemicals, and approve a finalized TikTok deal.
A deal in this area would remove a number of tariffs, sanctions, and export controls that would otherwise exacerbate US-China ties and prevent trade and business between the parties.
The average US duty on Chinese goods has increased by more than 55% since Washington and Beijing’s partial truce in their tit-for-tat tariff negotiations in May, while the average US levy on Chinese goods has remained at about 32%.
Washington has prohibited the export of cutting-edge chips and other key AI manufacturing equipment, blacklisting hundreds of Chinese businesses that are perceived to pose risks to national security.
China has since added dozens of US businesses to its “unreliable entity” list, launched antitrust investigations into Nvidia and Qualcomm, and slowed the exports of more than a dozen rare earths and metallic elements, including gallium and dysprosium, among others.
Since Trump’s re-emergence in the White House, US-China trade has drastically decreased.
In September, China’s exports to the US decreased by 27 percent, marking its sixth consecutive month of decline. However, as shipments increased overall as a result of expanding trade with Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa, the overall trend increased.
The imports of US goods by China decreased by 16%, continuing the downward trend since April.
According to Wang Wen, dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing, “the structural contradictions between China and the United States have not been resolved,” there will continue to be friction and “even worse” relations between the superpowers in the future.
Wang told Al Jazeera, “The most important thing is that China’s strength is growing and will surpass that of the United States in the future.”
De-escalation is “improbable.”
The “bulk” of the agreement between Trump and Xi, according to Shan Guo, a partner with Shanghai-based Hutong Research, is intended to avoid escalation. Given the political climate in the US, Guo told Al Jazeera, “A fundamental de-escalation is unlikely.”
On October 28, 2025, a man films the APEC logo outside the Gyeongju, South Korea, location [Lee Jin-man/AP]
Washington and Beijing could put their differences aside for longer than previous trade agreements, Guo said, because the US will soon have no choice but to supply Chinese rare earths and minerals.
He claimed that this reduces the risk of negative effects on US-China relations for at least a year or even longer.
Although he is optimistic that the summit will lead to “positive tactical results,” it won’t mean the end of the trade war, according to Dennis Wilder, a professor at Georgetown University who worked on China for the CIA and the White House’s National Security Council.
Wilder told Al Jazeera, “A comprehensive trade agreement is still not possible.
If and when President Trump travels to China next year, Büstent and his Chinese counterpart will continue to negotiate in hopes of reaching a more fruitful agreement.
Trump and Xi’s signature phrase on the US-China relationship itself emphasizes the conflict.
Trump frequently criticizes China for “ripping off” the US, but Xi has repeatedly urged that mutual respect and “win-win cooperation” rule over how their relations are structured.
Wang of Renmin University said, “The United States should treat China in a manner that China considers respectful.”
Just before US President Donald Trump makes a visit to South Korea, North Korea test-fired a number of sea-to-surface cruise missiles into its western waters, according to state media.
The missiles, which were launched on Tuesday in the Yellow Sea, flew for more than two hours before hitting targets, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday.
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Top military official Pak Jong Chon, who oversaw the test, claimed that “significant successes” were being made in developing North Korea’s “nuclear forces” as a “war deterrent,” according to KCNA.
According to Pak, the test was intended to assess “the reliability of various strategic offensive means and impress their abilities upon the enemies.”
He continued, “It is our responsibility and obligation to ceaselessly strengthen the nuclear combat posture.”
The military confirmed to the joint chiefs of staff in South Korea on Wednesday that they had detected the North Korean launch preparations and that they had fired cruise missiles into the nation’s northwestern waters on Tuesday around 3 o’clock (06:00 GMT).
The joint chiefs stated that South Korea and the US were conducting an analysis of the weapons and still had a “dominant response” to any provocation from North Korea.
Following short-range ballistic missile tests last week, North Korea said its latest launches included a new hypersonic system designed to strengthen its nuclear deterrent.
The most recent test occurred just before Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s scheduled summit, which is taking place in Gyeongju, where South Korea is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings this year.
Trump is scheduled to attend a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping while he is in South Korea, where he has expressed interest in meeting with Kim.
However, South Korean officials have stated that a Trump-Kim meeting is unlikely.
Kim has stated that he still has “fond memories” of Trump, but that he will only be open to discussions if Washington stops requesting that his nation abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Since Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump ended in 2019, during the US president’s first term, North Korea has avoided engaging in any kind of dialogue with Washington and Seoul.
On Tuesday, at the Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo, Japan, President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meet with relatives of Japanese nationals who have been kidnapped by North Korea.
Trump was in Tokyo on Tuesday when he met with the families of the Japanese who had been abducted by North Korea and told them that “the US is with them all the way” as they sought assistance in finding their loved ones.
After years of denial, North Korea admitted in 2002 that it had abducted 13 Japanese citizens decades ago and used them to train spies in Japanese customs and customs.
On Wednesday, October 29, 2025, how things are going:
Fighting
One person was killed and three others were injured in Russia’s southern Zaporizhia region on Tuesday, according to Governor Ivan Fedorov, who carried out 396 attacks on 15 villages.
One person was killed and six were injured in the Kherson Regional Military Administration, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, on Tuesday. Russian forces also launched drone attacks, air strikes, and artillery shelling across the Ukrainian region.
According to Prokudin, a woman who was hurt in a Russian attack in the Kherson region on Monday passed away as a result of her injuries.
Only 561 people were still living in the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region as of midday on Tuesday, according to Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration. As Russian forces advanced, thousands of people were forced to flee the city, which had a population of more than 26 000 before the war.
An 85-year-old woman was killed in Ukrainian attacks in Kherson, which is occupied by Russia, according to a local official.
5, 800 people in the area have been without electricity as a result of Ukrainian attacks on power lines and substations, according to the governor of Kherson appointed by Russia, Vladimir Saldo.
Authorities in Russia reported late on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had slowed down air traffic around the Russian capital by sending drones for a third night straight towards Moscow.
A local official claims that Ukrainian forces killed a person in Bryansk, near the Russian border.
Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Affairs Minister’s Ambassador at large, reported to the TASS state news agency that nearly 20 people, including a child, were killed in recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian regions.
According to TASS, Russian forces shot down 124 Ukrainian drones within 24 hours, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Politics and diplomacy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, stated on Tuesday that Kyiv was prepared to reach peace with Russia, but that it would not cede any more territory as Moscow had demanded.
He added that officials from the United States and Europe would meet to discuss the specifics of a ceasefire plan at the end of the week.
There is no way to put an end to the war, he said. A ceasefire is required, Zelenskyy said. Our advisers will meet in the upcoming days, we agreed on Friday or Saturday, so we have a plan to begin diplomacy. The specifics of this plan will be discussed.
When the two leaders meet later this week, the Ukrainian leader also urged US President Donald Trump to press China’s Xi Jinping to end his support for Russia.
He added that Ukraine requires financial assistance from Europe to defend itself from Russian forces for another two or three years.
According to Katherina Reiche, Germany’s economy minister, the US government has written to Reuters that Rosneft’s German business will no longer be subject to new oil sanctions because the assets are no longer under Russian control.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated that while Trump has urged other nations to stop purchasing Russian oil, Russia’s partners will make their own decisions regarding whether to continue purchasing its energy products.
Peskov added that because Kyiv has put peace negotiations with Ukraine on hold, Russia is unable to assess the status of them and is unwilling to respond to questions posed by Russia.
Since the US’s most recent sanctions against Moscow, many Indian refiners have halted new orders for the country’s oil, according to Reuters. However, state-run Indian Oil said it will not stop buying Russian oil as long as it adheres to the sanctions.
Russian crude is not permitted, according to the statement. Sanctions are beingimposed on the entities and shipping routes, according to Anuj Jain, Indian Oil’s finance director. I will continue to purchase something if someone approaches me with a non-sanctioned entity, and the cap is being met, and the shipping is acceptable, he said.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, an Indian state-owned warplane manufacturer, announced on Tuesday that it had reached an initial agreement to build civil commuter aircraft with Russian aerospace company United Aircraft Corporation, which is subject to Western sanctions.
Weapons
Zelenskyy claimed that Ukraine, which has made significant increases in weapons production during the war, intends to start controlled arms exports starting next month.
Matthew Whitaker, the US’s permanent representative to NATO, reported to Bloomberg that he anticipates raising money to pay for Ukraine’s weapons until 2026.
He said, “It’s going to be US weapons… and I think this is yet another example of our NATO allies here on the continent supporting Ukraine,” referring to the Trump administration’s policy of ensuring that European countries purchase US weapons to support Ukraine rather than the US government.
Islamabad, Pakistan – After three days of talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul, which were supposed to end a tense and bloody standoff between the South Asian neighbors, it appeared to have hit a wall in Istanbul on Tuesday.
Following a first dialogue round in Doha, which resulted in a temporary ceasefire on October 19 following a week of fighting that resulted in dozens of fatalities on both sides, the negotiations came under the auspices of Qatar and Turkey.
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The chances of new hostilities between them are high after their inability, according to analysts, to continue “last-ditch” efforts were said to be ongoing in order to pull the two countries out of a full-fledged conflict.
According to Pakistani security officials, talks lasted almost 18 hours on Monday. However, they claimed that the Afghan delegation had changed its mind about Islamabad’s pressing request that Kabul halt the Pakistani Taliban’s use of the acronym TTP. Due to the sensitive nature of the conversation, a representative, who spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity, claimed that the “instructions received from Kabul” for the Afghan team were putting off the negotiations.
However, Kabul claimed that the Pakistani delegation was “not presenting clear arguments” and kept “leaving the negotiating table,” according to Afghan media.
Haji Najib, the deputy minister for administrative affairs at the Ministry of Interior, is in charge of the Afghan team, whereas Pakistan has not made its representatives known to the public.
In Pakistan and Afghanistan, recent cross-border attacks between the militaries of the two countries have resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians, soldiers, and civilians, and the injuries of numerous others.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, addressed reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia earlier this week, telling them he would “solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis very quickly” and have repeatedly sought credit for resolving global conflicts.
However, a long-term agreement appears to be challenging because of the two countries’ “profound mutual distrust and conflicting priorities,” according to Baqir Sajjad Syed, a journalist who covers national security and a former Wilson Center fellow.
Syed added that the Afghan Taliban’s historical grievances and Pakistan’s prior interventions in Afghanistan pose a political risk.
The main issue, in my opinion, is ideological alignment. Despite Pakistani concerns, the Afghan Taliban’s dependence on TTP makes it difficult for them to break away from the organization, he told Al Jazeera.
A dangerous friendship
Pakistan was once viewed as the Taliban’s primary protector throughout history. After the US forces were withdrawn, the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 was welcomed in public by many Pakistanis.
However, relations have significantly deteriorated since the TTP, an armed group that emerged in 2007 during the US-led “war on terror” and has waged a protracted campaign against Islamabad.
The TTP-related armed group has been attacking Pakistani security personnel more frequently [Fayaz Aziz/Reuters].
The TTP opposes the annexation of Pakistan’s former tribal regions into its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and demands the release of its members who are imprisoned there. The two organizations share the same ideological stance, despite being politically independent of the Afghan Taliban.
Kabul denies that the TTP and other organizations, including the Balochistan Liberation Army and the ISIL affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP), are attracted to its accusations.
The Afghan Taliban have repeatedly argued that Pakistan’s insecurity is a domestic issue and have repeatedly argued that the TTP is a problem. Additionally, the Taliban have long considered the ISKP to be a threat.
In an interview from last week on October 19, Mullah Yaqoob, Afghanistan’s defense minister, reported that states occasionally used the term “terrorism” for political purposes. He and his Pakistani counterpart, Khawaja Asif, signed the ceasefire in Doha last week.
He continued, “Any government can brand its adversaries as “terrorists” for its own agenda because there is no universal or clear definition of terrorism.”
Regional powers, including Iran, Russia, China, and a number of Central Asian nations, have also urged the Taliban to oust the TTP and other alleged Afghan armed groups.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Afghan minister of foreign affairs, was also present at consultations in Moscow in early October, which resulted in a second-time appeal.
rising tensions, rising tolls
More than 20 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in recent days, including officers, in various attacks.
More than 2,500 deaths were recorded in Pakistan in the year 2024, and 2025 is on pace to surpass that, according to analysts.
Attacks have targeted both civilians and security personnel, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan serving as the most recent targets. Both frequency and intensity of TTP operations have increased sharply.
According to our data, the TTP has carried out at least 600 attacks or clashes with security forces in the past year alone. According to a recent Armed Conflict Location &, Event Data (ACLED) report, activity in 2025 has already far outpaced that in all of 2024.
According to Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, a security analyst from Islamabad, Pakistani negotiators must acknowledge that ideological ties between the Taliban and the TTP, making it difficult for the Afghan government to abandon the anti-Pakistan armed group.
Sami Yousafzai, a journalist who has long observed Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, concured, stating that the chances of a détente are now becoming less and less likely.
Both Mehsud and Yousafzai cited the Taliban’s history of sticking with allies despite mounting military and international pressure.
The Afghan Taliban held the same attitude toward Al-Qaeda in 2001, Mehsud claimed.
The Afghan Taliban are war veterans who can withstand military pressure, according to Yousafzai.
Diplomacy that failed
Both sides have engaged in diplomatic communication in recent months, which has been hampered by China, which has also mediated negotiations between Qatar and Turkiye.
However, according to analysts, Islamabad may soon come to the conclusion that it has few non-military options.
Syed cited Asif’s recent threat of an “open war” by the Pakistani defense minister, and said these remarks could indicate the start of targeted airstrikes or inter-national operations against alleged TTPsanctuaries in Afghanistan.
“With that said, mediators, particularly those from Qatar and Turkiye, are expected to make a last-ditch effort to restart the dialogue or move it elsewhere. He added that there is a small chance that other nations will join in, especially now that President Trump has made a recent declaration that he is ready to intervene and de-escalate the crisis.
According to Syed, a full-fledged military conflict might be avoided by implementing economic incentives, including aid, in exchange for adhering to the ceasefire provisions.
Trump has used this tactic in recent conflicts to stop fighting in both Thailand and Cambodia, among other tactics. Last weekend, the US president oversaw the signing of a peace treaty between the Southeast Asian countries in Kuala Lumpur.
During negotiations in Doha, Qatar on October 19, 2025, Afghan Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid and Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif shake hands.
unintended effects
The Taliban also has advantages, according to analysts, which admonish Pakistan against overconfidence in Islamabad.
Yousafzai claimed that military action against the Taliban could increase the group’s support in the country because of the country’s recent diplomatic relations with Pakistan.
The Afghan Taliban’s attack on the Pakistani military on [the] border was seen as a strong response, increasing their popularity. And even if Pakistan keeps bombing, it could still endanger innocent civilians, leading to more animosity and anti-Pakistani sentiment in the Afghan Taliban and the general public.
Yousafzai believes that Islamabad should be concerned about this situation, particularly if Haibatullah Akhunzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, intervenes.
Many young Afghans could join the ranks of [the] Taliban if the Akhunzada issued an edict declaring Jihad against Pakistan, Yousafzai warned. The situation will not be good for Pakistan, according to the statement, “Even if it means a bigger loss for Afghans.”
