Trending on X (6 a.m.): Limoges town hall fire, D.Batlut in Dornod, Ukraine’s turbojets, Hungary, Albania

These are the 7 topics Mongolian users discussed most on X between 02:13 and 06:13 on October 18 (Ulaanbaatar time), ranked by the likes, reposts and views of the leading posts. Activity among Mongolian users was very light in the early hours of Sunday. Besides weekend greetings, the most discussed topics were the fire that destroyed the town hall in Limoges, France, Defence Minister D.Batlut’s working visit to Dornod province, Ukraine’s turbojet engine production, and political events in Hungary and Albania. There were 7 real, verified topics in this window, so we did not pad the list to 10. Figures are as of 06:30.

1. Sunday morning: “Good morning” greetings fill X (new)

The posts with the most engagement from Mongolian users in the early hours were weekend morning greetings. A one-line “Good morning” post by @Enkhbilee drew the most likes in this window, and @Zavhan0128 shared a Sunday morning greeting. On the weather, @UBn_mn reported that it was 1°C and cloudy in Ulaanbaatar in the morning.

2. France: Limoges’ 143-year-old town hall burns during protests (new)

Mongolian users widely shared news that a group of people set fire to the town hall in Limoges during nationwide protests against the rising cost of living in France on October 17. @tuul1234 wrote that the roof collapsed, about two-thirds of the building was destroyed, and it was a major loss for France’s cultural heritage.

According to AFP and RFI, the roof of the building, which opened in 1883 and was modelled on the Paris city hall, collapsed onto the lower floors and two-thirds of its facade was destroyed. Maurice Barate, prefect of Haute-Vienne, called it a “heritage catastrophe” and condemned a “deliberate act by hooligans, not protesters.” No one inside the building was hurt. Prosecutors opened an arson investigation and more than 15 people were taken into custody. Organisers put nationwide turnout at 800,000, while the Interior Ministry counted 550,000. @soko_888 noted that protests by French high school students had also turned fierce.

Related:

https://www.egov.mn/en/article/limoges-143-year-old-town-hall-largely-destroyed-by-fire-during-french-cost-of-living-protests

3. Defence Minister D.Batlut opens the “Patriotic Mongolia” event in Dornod (new)

According to the national broadcaster MNB, Defence Minister D.Batlut worked in Dornod province on October 17 and opened the “Patriotic Mongolia” event there. The programme included briefings for residents on defence policy, check-ups by a mobile team from the Central Military Hospital, an exhibition of weapons and equipment, and the presentation of the President’s message to the children of veterans of the Liberation War. The minister was greeted with a ceremony by the honour guard of the Choibalsan garrison.

On X, @khadaa_n mocked the ceremonial welcome, describing it as people forcing others to honour them “rather than doing the work.” This is the user’s personal view.

4. Six Ukrainian companies begin serial production of turbojet engines (new)

@tuul1234 shared remarks by Andrii Hrytseniuk, head of Ukraine’s Brave1 defence innovation cluster. According to Ukrainian media, 11 companies in the country are developing small turbojet engines and six of them have moved to serial production. Brave1 began funding the field in 2025, and getting production up and running took more than a year and a half. The engines are mainly intended for jet-powered interceptor drones, and can also be used in drones and missiles.

5. Hungary as an example: a 16-year government replaced at the ballot box (new)

@soko_888 shared a post noting that Hungarians had peacefully voted out the leadership that had governed them for 16 years this April. In the parliamentary election held on April 12, 2026, Péter Magyar’s Tisza party won 53.18% of the vote and 141 of the 199 seats, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule. Orbán conceded defeat quickly.

6. Albania: student protests turn violent and government buildings are set on fire (new)

@soko_888 wrote that students in Albania had protested peacefully for a long time against corruption and the rising cost of living, but that the protests had now turned into violent clashes. According to AFP and the BBC, on October 14–15 thousands of protesters in Tirana demanding better university conditions and the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama attacked the education, finance and justice ministries and set parts of some buildings on fire. Police used tear gas and water cannon, and Rama said he would not resign. Anti-government protests have continued for more than four months.

7. Call to step up protection of taimen (new)

@Mongolkhyy called for better enforcement against the illegal fishing of taimen, which is listed in Mongolia’s Red Book, and addressed the post to the ministry in charge of the environment and the police environmental unit. Taimen is a rare species listed in Mongolia’s Red Book, and catching, transporting or selling it without a permit is prohibited by law. A person has previously been charged in a criminal case for catching taimen without a permit.

Methodology: We ranked posts from about 200 major news and influential accounts found through X search, plus more than 50 keyword searches, by an engagement score (likes + 2× reposts + views/100), and checked the facts against news sites. Posts that could not be verified or that carried a risk of defamation were left out. Views expressed by individuals on X do not represent the position of egov.mn.