LATIN AMERICA
EUROPE
French workers strike nationwide against austerity as Lecornu faces crisis
On Thursday, September 18, 2025, France’s streets were engulfed by a wave of strikes and protests, as hundreds of thousands of workers, students, and union activists staged a coordinated day of resistance against budget cut plans unveiled in the wake of François Bayrou’s ouster as prime minister. With estimates of 600,000 to 900,000 demonstrators nationwide...
Macrons to present scientific proof in US court amid defamation battle
In a case that underscores the collision of digital conspiracy theories and high-level politics, French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron are preparing to present scientific and photographic evidence before a US court to counter claims that Brigitte was born male. The lawsuit, filed in July 2025 against US right-wing influencer Candace Owens, marks a turning...
Italy passes landmark AI law balancing innovation with responsibility
Italy has become the first European Union member state to pass a comprehensive law regulating artificial intelligence, setting a precedent for the bloc and placing itself at the forefront of global AI governance. The new framework, fully aligned with the EU’s landmark AI Act, combines strict safeguards against misuse with measures to support innovation, cybersecurity...
ASIA PACIFIC
South Korea Questions $350bn US Investment Amid Harsh Immigration Crackdown
South Korea Questions $350bn US Investment Amid Harsh Immigration Crackdown
South Korea Questions $350bn US Investment Amid Harsh Immigration Crackdown
South Korea has publicly raised concerns that visa restrictions in the United States threaten to derail its promised $350 billion investment package. The warning underscores the widening contradiction between Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown and his simultaneous push to attract foreign capital into America’s critical industries...
British Couple Freed by Taliban After Eight-Month Detention Ordeal
South Korea Questions $350bn US Investment Amid Harsh Immigration Crackdown
South Korea Questions $350bn US Investment Amid Harsh Immigration Crackdown
After eight months of fear, uncertainty, and deteriorating health, Peter Reynolds (80) and his wife, Barbie Reynolds (76), were finally released from Taliban detention in Afghanistan. The British couple, who had lived in the country for nearly two decades, were reunited with their daughter Sarah Entwistle as they landed in Doha, Qatar. For their family, it was a moment of “immense joy.” ...
Straw Hat Pirate Flag Becomes Global Youth Protest Emblem
Trillion Peso March: Philippines Braces for Historic Anti-Corruption Protest
Trillion Peso March: Philippines Braces for Historic Anti-Corruption Protest
When Nepal’s historic Singha Durbar palace went up in flames last week during fierce anti-government protests, one striking image captured global attention: a black pirate flag bearing a grinning skull with a straw hat, lifted high against the golden gates of the government building. This wasn’t just any flag. It was the Jolly Roger of Monkey D. Luffy, protagonist of the wildly popular...
Trillion Peso March: Philippines Braces for Historic Anti-Corruption Protest
Trillion Peso March: Philippines Braces for Historic Anti-Corruption Protest
Trillion Peso March: Philippines Braces for Historic Anti-Corruption Protest
The Philippines is bracing for one of its largest demonstrations in recent years as thousands prepare to march through Manila on Sunday. The rally—dubbed the “Trillion Peso March”—is being organized against alleged corruption in government infrastructure projects, particularly flood-control programs that were supposed to protect millions from worsening climate-driven...
RUSSIA
Russia Declares “No Choice But War” After Ukraine U-Turn
Russian airspace violations rattle NATO while Kyiv regains
Russian airspace violations rattle NATO while Kyiv regains
The Kremlin has responded defiantly to U.S. President Donald Trump’s sudden U-turn on Ukraine, insisting that Russia has “no alternative” but to continue its military campaign...
Russian airspace violations rattle NATO while Kyiv regains
Russian airspace violations rattle NATO while Kyiv regains
Russian airspace violations rattle NATO while Kyiv regains
In the past week, Russia escalated its confrontational tactics in Europe, pushing tensions with NATO to the brink. Following threats to Finland earlier this month, Moscow violated Estonian and...
NATO allies weigh “drone wall” and rapid tech innovation
Russian airspace violations rattle NATO while Kyiv regains
NATO allies weigh “drone wall” and rapid tech innovation
From the Baltic to the Black Sea, Europe is grappling with the growing menace of Russian drones. The recent incursion of about 20 Russian drones into Poland underscored a glaring vulnerability in...
CHINA MAINLAND
China’s New Climate Target Branded ‘Disappointing’
Beijing Abandons Special WTO Status to Boost Global Trade
Zhuhai Battered as Typhoon Ragasa Forces to Evacuate
When Chinese President Xi Jinping announced during a United Nations video address that China would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 7–10 percent from peak levels by 2035, the world took notice. This was the first time Beijing formally...
Zhuhai Battered as Typhoon Ragasa Forces to Evacuate
Beijing Abandons Special WTO Status to Boost Global Trade
Zhuhai Battered as Typhoon Ragasa Forces to Evacuate
The sound of rush hour in Zhuhai, a bustling coastal city in southern China’s Guangdong province, was replaced this week by the roar of 160 km/h winds and pounding sheets of rain. Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s strongest storm...
Beijing Abandons Special WTO Status to Boost Global Trade
Beijing Abandons Special WTO Status to Boost Global Trade
Beijing Abandons Special WTO Status to Boost Global Trade
In a move that could reshape the politics of global commerce, China announced that it will no longer seek “developing-country” benefits within the World Trade Organization (WTO) — a concession long demanded by the United...
US Lawmaker Urges New Global Trade Rules for China’s Rise
US Lawmaker Urges New Global Trade Rules for China’s Rise
Beijing Abandons Special WTO Status to Boost Global Trade
In a significant diplomatic overture, a U.S. congressional delegation visiting China this week openly acknowledged the need to renegotiate global economic rules to account for the growing influence of China and other emerging...
China Targets Online Pessimism Amid Economic Slowdown
US Lawmaker Urges New Global Trade Rules for China’s Rise
Xi Jinping Skips UN as Li Qiang Represents China Globally
For years, China’s powerful internet censors have focused on removing political dissent, blocking sensitive historical references, and silencing criticism of the Communist Party leadership. But in a striking new development...
Xi Jinping Skips UN as Li Qiang Represents China Globally
US Lawmaker Urges New Global Trade Rules for China’s Rise
Xi Jinping Skips UN as Li Qiang Represents China Globally
In what many analysts view as a symbolic shift in China’s diplomacy, President Xi Jinping did not personally address the United Nations General Assembly’s 80th anniversary session in New York this week. Instead, Premier Li Qiang...
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
Australian PM faces Trump’s demands on Aukus, defence, trade
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump briefly met at a reception for world leaders in New York, confirming a formal sit-down in Washington on October 20.
The encounter came after Albanese was left off Trump’s official schedule for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) week...
Elon Musk’s X Challenges Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban
Elon Musk’s X platform (formerly Twitter) has formally called for a delay in Australia’s upcoming under-16 social media ban, raising what it described as “serious concerns” about the legality, proportionality, and unintended consequences of the controversial policy.In a submission to a Greens-led inquiry on age...
Andrew Hastie Warns Liberal Party Could ‘Die’ Without Migration Cuts
Senior Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has escalated his push for a harder line on immigration, warning that the Liberal Party “might even die as a political movement” if it fails to commit to curbing net overseas migration. In a strongly worded Instagram post, Hastie declared: “If we don’t act...
MIDDLE EAST
Israeli escalation in Gaza City sparks global alarm and outrage
Israeli escalation in Gaza City sparks global alarm and outrage
Israeli escalation in Gaza City sparks global alarm and outrage
Israel has intensified its military assault on Gaza City, carrying out a series of deadly air and drone strikes that killed at least 40 Palestinians in a single day, including children and people waiting for food aid. The attacks mark the opening stage of Israel’s controversial plan...
US sanctions ICC judges over Israel cases, escalating tensions
Israeli escalation in Gaza City sparks global alarm and outrage
Israeli escalation in Gaza City sparks global alarm and outrage
The United States has imposed sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges and prosecutors, including senior legal officials from France and Canada, in a move that underscores Washington’s increasingly combative stance toward the Hague-based tribunal...
Israel prepares 130,000 troops for Gaza invasion despite truce
Israeli escalation in Gaza City sparks global alarm and outrage
Israel prepares 130,000 troops for Gaza invasion despite truce
Israel is preparing to mobilize 130,000 soldiers for a major ground offensive in Gaza, in what could become the largest stage of its war since October 2023. The plan, approved by Defence Minister Israel Katz and revealed by the Times of Israel, will roll out in phases...
AFRICA
Britain to Pay $3.9 Million Compensation for Kenya Army Fire Damage Costs
Britain to Pay $3.9 Million Compensation for Kenya Army Fire Damage Costs
Britain to Pay $3.9 Million Compensation for Kenya Army Fire Damage Costs
The British government has agreed to pay nearly $4 million in compensation to thousands of Kenyans affected by a devastating fire caused by its troops during a military training exercise in 2021. The blaze tore through more than 10,000 acres of land in the Lolldaiga Conservancy, leaving behind environmental destruction...
Congo Seeks Death Sentence Against Kabila Over M23 War Crimes
Britain to Pay $3.9 Million Compensation for Kenya Army Fire Damage Costs
Britain to Pay $3.9 Million Compensation for Kenya Army Fire Damage Costs
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has entered uncharted political and judicial territory as its military prosecutor formally demanded the death penalty for former president Joseph Kabila, who stands accused of treason, homicide, torture, and war crimes linked to the M23 rebellion...
Guinea Junta Suspends Opposition Parties Ahead of Referendum Vote
Guinea Junta Suspends Opposition Parties Ahead of Referendum Vote
Guinea Junta Suspends Opposition Parties Ahead of Referendum Vote
The fragile hopes of a democratic transition in Guinea have been dealt another blow. On Saturday, the country’s ruling military government suspended the activities of its three largest opposition parties, including that of ousted former President Alpha Conde, just weeks before a critical constitutional referendum...
Uganda’s US Deportee Deal Sparks Trade Hopes and Rights Fears
Guinea Junta Suspends Opposition Parties Ahead of Referendum Vote
Guinea Junta Suspends Opposition Parties Ahead of Referendum Vote
Uganda has emerged as the latest country to sign a controversial deportation deal with the United States, agreeing to temporarily host third-country nationals expelled under President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. The agreement, confirmed by Kampala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs...