Sunday, 19 October 2025

Trump vows to keep 'massive' tariffs on India until Russian oil imports cease: currently 50% (LINK) — ground.news: 34 media reports (LINK) 19 October 2025

Trump calls Colombia's Petro an 'illegal drug dealer' and announces an end to US aid to the country (LINK) — ground.news: 410 media reports (LINK) 19 October 2025

Belarus security chief seeks dialogue with Ukraine to help achieve a settlement of Ukraine's war with Russia (LINK) 19 October 2025

Trump says he has 'unquestioned power' to send troops to S.F. (LINK) 19 October 2025

Fact-checking Trump's claim that each boat strike off Venezuela's coast saves 25,000 lives: math doesn't make sense (LINK) 19 October 2025

National Guard troops are leaving Washington two months after deployment (LINK) 19 October 2025

— Information the White House didn't cite: violent crime in Washington reached a 30-year low in 2024. This downward trend continued in the first half of 2024, with an additional decline of 26 percent in violent crime and 13 percent in homicides year over year. In the four weeks before the executive order took effect, violent crimes committed with a firearm dropped from 97 to 65. In early August, residents reported about seven violent crimes to the police per day; the average dropped to 5 or 6 in mid-August, but was back up to seven by the end of September.

Pete Hegseth's tie causes diplomatic spat: accused of wearing a pro-Russian tie to meet Volodymyr Zelensky on 17 October: white, blue and red striped tie matches the Russian flag (LINK) 19 October 2025

— Tass, the Russian state-owned news agency, said Mr Hegseth "stood out" from his colleagues by wearing a "tie in the colours of the Russian tricolor". "Hegseth's tie, featuring bold white, blue, and red stripes arranged in the same order as on the Russian national flag, stood out among the otherwise restrained attire of the US delegation," it wrote. "Trump and the other officials opted for plain, solid-colored ties."

Heather Cox Richardson: No Kings: maybe 8.2m: "Trump posts AI video showing him literally dumping sh*t on America" (LINK) 19 October 2025

Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after Gaza strikes (LINK) — ground.news: 25 media reports (LINK) 19 October 2025

Times of Israel: Hamas claims it has no connection to Rafah incident, denies violating ceasefire: the operatives there are not following orders (LINK) 19 October 2025

Israel strikes Gaza as both IDF and Hamas accuse each other of breaching ceasefire (LINK) 19 October 2025

US says Hamas is planning 'imminent' attack on civilians (LINK) 19 October 2025

— As part of the agreement, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Tel Aviv football derby cancelled after 'violent riots', as club describes 'brutal police violence' (LINK) — ground.news: 45 media reports (LINK) 19 October 2025

Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivian presidency with 54.5% of the vote, ending nearly 20 years of leftist rule (LINK) — ground.news: 193 media reports (LINK) 19 October 2025

Louvre closed for day after thieves rob crown jewels in 7-minute heist (LINK) — ground.news: 821 media reports (LINK) 19 October 2025

Crypto markets surge as Trump confirms October 31 summit with Xi Jinping (LINK) 19 October 2025

Geneva schools kick out Swiss kids living in France (LINK) 19 October 2025

— Around 115,000 people work in Geneva but live across the border, where the cost of living is cheaper. French municipalities fuming at having to absorb more than 2,000 extra kids into their classrooms. While some are French, 80 percent of those affected are Swiss. The financial consequences for France are estimated at around 60 million euros in schooling and infrastructure costs, plus another 15 million euros a year thereafter.

13 best countries to escape the U.S. — cheap living, easy visas, great healthcare (LINK) 19 October 2025

CNN tied multiple fraud reports to one single crypto ATM machine (LINK) 19 October 2025

Scientists explain why we love being scared: 12 research-backed reasons (LINK) 19 October 2025

Victims of the Pompeii volcano were not who we've been told, according to DNA study (LINK) 19 October 2025

— "Sisters", "father", and "family" labels originally assigned to Pompeii's victims, based on nothing more than the physical appearance and placement of those famous plaster molds, are now replaced with proper descriptions derived from hard science data.

Saturday, 18 October 2025

Fox News: second 'No Kings' protests against Trump draw crowds across U.S. (LINK) — ground.news: 231 media reports (LINK) 18 October 2025

— "They say they're referring to me as a king. I’m not a king," Trump said in a Fox News interview.

Guardian: Millions of Americans protest Trump on No Kings day — (LINK)

Feds repeatedly use tear gas, pepper spray on crowd of hundreds outside Portland ICE (LINK) 18 October 2025

Trump denies Ukraine Tomahawk missiles, urges both sides to 'stop the war immediately' (LINK) 18 October 2025

Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to immediate ceasefire after peace talks in Doha: more than a week of fighting has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds (LINK) — ground.news: 117 media reports (LINK) 18 October 2025

Border crossing to stay closed, Israel says, as US alleges Hamas ceasefire violation (LINK) — ground.news: 131 media reports (LINK) 18 October 2025

Iran hangs man accused of spying for Israel after the Supreme Court of Iran upheld the sentence and a pardon was denied (LINK) — ground.news: 44 media reports (LINK) 18 October 2025

— The official judiciary news agency Mizan said the defendant began contacts with Israeli intelligence and was arrested four months later.

US Embassy issues warning to Americans in Trinidad and Tobago as tensions with Venezuela escalate (LINK) — ground.news: 51 media reports (LINK) 18 October 2025

President Donald Trump says two surviving "narcoterrorists" from a semi-submersible vessel destroyed by the US military in the Caribbean will be sent to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia (LINK) 18 October 2025

Venezuela's Maduro ordered new military exercises on 15 October after U.S. military blews up alleged drug boat in Caribbean — (LINK)

U.S. Homeland Security buying 2 private jets costing $172 million Kristi Noem's and DHS leaders' use amid government shutdown, reports say (LINK) — ground.news: 13 media reports (LINK) 18 October 2025

— Agency documents show the Department of Homeland Security said the jet buys were "a matter of safety" because the existing Coast Guard jet is over 20 years old, while the United States Coast Guard requested a $50 million Gulfstream V earlier this year.

People who lost their jobs to AI open up about their experiences: "They automated my job for less than $1,000 a year. Now, I bartend and drive school buses to make ends meet." (LINK) 18 October 2025

DNA evidence uncovers surprising origins of native Americans: in addition to previously described ancestral sources in Siberia, Australo-Melanesia, and Southeast Asia, northern coastal China also contributed to the gene pool of native Americans (LINK) 18 October 2025

German media bias distortingly focuses on crime by foreigners (LINK) 18 October 2025

If you've got fake 'free' Android Mobdro Pro IP TV + VPN installed on your phone, you're cooked (LINK) 18 October 2025

Friday, 17 October 2025

US and Saudi Arabia block a global fee on shipping emissions as IMO meeting ends without new regulations (LINK) — ground.news: 131 media reports (LINK) 17 October 2025

New Humanitarian: Gaza's uneasy truce, underwhelming UN80 reforms, and a changing of the guard in Madagascar (LINK) 17 October 2025

Chinese Communist Party expels nine top generals in anti-corruption crackdown: biggest purge since Mao era (LINK) — ground.news: 104 media reports (LINK) 17 October 2025

Anchorage coordinates to help over 1,000 Western Alaska evacuees as mayor declares civil emergency (LINK) 17 October 2025

Zelenskyy holds out hope Trump will still provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles (LINK) — ground.news: 14 media reports (LINK) 17 October 2025

Protesters clash with police as Bangladesh's political parties agree to pathway for reform (LINK) — ground.news: 27 media reports (LINK) 17 October 2025

US sanctions former Haitian security head, gang leader for aiding gang coalition (LINK) — ground.news: 23 media reports (LINK) 17 October 2025

IOC regrets Indonesian decision to block entry for Israeli gymnasts (LINK) — ground.news: 35 media reports (LINK) 17 October 2025

— The International Olympic Committee condemned Indonesia's actions, stating that it violates the principles of the Olympic Charter and is responsible for ensuring participation without discrimination.

Scandal-plagued Prince Andrew gives up British royal titles including Duke of York after 'discussion with king' (LINK) 17 October 2025

— Andrew will also give up use of his honours as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, meaning his only remaining title will be that of prince, which cannot be removed as he was born the son of a queen. Technically, Andrew will retain the dukedom, which can only be removed by an act of parliament, but he will not use it. The title, in effect, remains extant but inactive, like the HRH (His Royal Highness) honorific. Allegations about Andrew concern his relationship with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and recent details of his relationship with a prominent figure involved in a China spying case. It has also been reported that Andrew held meetings in 2018 and 2019 with Cai Qi, a member of China’s ruling politburo. Cai was suspected of being the recipient of sensitive information allegedly passed to China by two British nationals accused of spying for Beijing. The case against Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash was recently dropped by the CPS and both have denied wrongdoing. Andrew has already been stripped of his military titles and charity affiliations and banned from using his HRH honorific. His statement noted: "As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me."

Al Jazeera: Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,331 (LINK) 17 October 2025

— Russian war correspondent Ivan Zuyev has been killed by a Ukrainian drone strike while on assignment on the front line of the war in southern Ukraine's Zaporizhia region, his publication, state news agency RIA said. Zuyev's colleague, Yuri Voitkevich, was seriously wounded in the attack.

— Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces carried out a massive overnight strike on Ukrainian gas infrastructure, which supports Kyiv’s military, in retaliation for what it said were Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Pakistan, Afghanistan extend ceasefire as Doha talks set to begin, sources say (LINK) — ground.news: 25 media reports (LINK) 17 October 2025

Trump signs order hitting medium and heavy trucks with 25 per cent tariff on Nov. 1 (LINK) — ground.news: 112 media reports (LINK) 17 October 2025

— The Trump administration will provide a credit for vehicle manufacturers who import some parts into the U.S. so they can make the vehicle in the U.S., in order to offset the tariffs, one of the senior administration officials said.

Trump administration furloughs nuclear weapons agency staff due to shutdown (LINK) 17 October 2025

DHS keeps paying 70,000 law enforcement officials amid shutdown using reconciliation funds: many employees at national security and law enforcement agencies will apparently keep working without pay (LINK) 17 October 2025

Former U.S. Rep. George Santos released from prison after President Trump commutes sentence in federal fraud case (LINK) 17 October 2025

— The ex-lawmaker's lawyer says Santos was released from prison Friday night. He served roughly 84 days of an 87-month term. The Republican was ousted from office and sentenced to 7 years in prison for fraud and identity theft earlier this year. Trump announced the commutation on his social media platform Truth Social, calling the former lawmaker who lied about his credentials and used campaign donations to pay for lavish expenses "somewhat of a 'rogue'." The president said "at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN! George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!"

Ivory Coast: 50 protesters sentenced to three years in prison (LINK) — ground.news: 12 media reports (LINK) 17 October 2025

Small U.S. businesses are being crushed by Trump's tariffs, and economists say it's a warning for the economy (LINK) 17 October 2025

— The higher costs have hit smaller companies harder because they have fewer levers to pull than their larger competitors. Their margins are slimmer, their supply chains less diverse and their negotiating power with vendors dampened by the smaller sizes of their orders.

5th Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipation Summit (LINK) 17 October 2025

— One of the highlights of the summit was a discussion on the rapid development of neurotechnologies generally, and the brain computer interface (BCI) technologies in particular. GESDA decided to start gathering a core group of philanthropic foundations, banks, medical institutions and interested companies, as well international organizations, to help ensure that BCI technologies will be beneficial to all.

Trump admin cancels more than $11 billion in mostly blue state projects (LINK) 17 October 2025

Court extends restraining order to shield more feds from shutdown RIFs (LINK) 17 October 2025

— Some agencies made clear that they believed the restraining order did not apply to members of collective bargaining units that agencies stopped recognizing in the aftermath of President Trump's March executive order that aimed to end union representation across wide swaths of the government. Judge disagreed.

Picasso painting insured for $650,000 vanishes on the way to Spanish museum (LINK) 17 October 2025

Over 50% of new online articles are being cranked out by AI (LINK) 17 October 2025

— The news was broken when Graphite published a study showing that AI-written articles surpassed human-written articles by a small margin in November 2024. "The proportion of AI-generated articles has remained relatively stable over the last 12 months. We hypothesize that this is because practitioners found that AI-generated articles do not perform well in search..."

Futurism: "We should also take the judgments of AI detectors with a grain of salt, since their reliability is up for question. In its own testing of Surfer's accuracy, Graphite had the detector analyze a sample of AI-generated articles and another sample of human articles, finding that it labeled human-written articles as AI-made 4.2 percent of the time — a common problem with these tools — but only mistook AI-written articles as human 0.6 percent of the time. — (LINK)

Valendas in Grisons joins exclusive Swiss list of World Tourism Organization/UN Tourism's 10 'Best Tourism Villages' (LINK) 17 October 2025

— UN Tourism honoured Valendas for its commitment to the global sustainable development of tourism and for its various initiatives to preserve, promote and enhance the cultural heritage and natural resources. Alongside Valendas, the municipality of Evolène (Valais) has been selected to participate in the “Best Tourism Villages” upgrade programme for villages with great potential but which do not fully meet the criteria.

— The locations that can already boast the title of "Best Tourism Villages" in Switzerland are Andermatt (canton Uri), Gruyères (Fribourg), Morcote (Ticino), Morat (Fribourg), Romoos (Lucerne), Saas-Fee (Valais), Saint-Ursanne (Jura), Splügen (Graubünden/Grisons) and Valposchiavo (Graubünden/Grisons).

Two Swiss installations win European solar awards: climate-friendly positive-energy "Alte Schmitte" building complex in Güttingen, canton Thurgau, and the Stanserhorn funicular railway in Nidwalden (LINK) 17 October 2025

— The two projects had set new standards in sustainable construction and climate-friendly mobility, said the Swiss Solar Agency in a press release. Alte Schmitte produces around 400% of its own energy needs,the first positive-energy site in Switzerland to successfully integrate heritage-friendly solar architecture. The Stanserhorn funicular was singled out for its innovative energy concept and its systematic use of solar energy in public transport. The Stanserhorn funicular has an energy surplus of 131%.

Much delayed "Alpes" outlet shopping centre in Bellegarde to go ahead after 2.5 year halt (LINK) 17 October 2025

Thursday, 16 October 2025

CO2 from wildfires increases by 9% as climate crisis supercharges infernos (LINK) 16 October 2025

As Israeli forces withdraw after ceasefire, Hamas tightens its grip on the streets of Gaza: clashes with armed gangs (LINK) 16 October 2025

Swiss scientists issue warning after discovering 'enormous' natural phenomenon: Globa warming 'is the main cause for the acceleration' (LINK) 16 October 2025

— Researchers from the monitoring group GLAMOS and the Swiss Academy of Sciences say that Switzerland's glaciers lost 3% of their total volume this year. As ABC News reports, that means Switzerland, home to more glaciers than any other European country, has now lost one-quarter of its ice mass over the past decade. "Glacial melting in Switzerland was once again enormous in 2025," the scientists said in a statement. Switzerland has already lost more than 1,000 small glaciers, scientists say, and that melting ice has a major impact on tourism, hydropower, agriculture, and more throughout Europe.

The food giant Nestlé has announced that it plans to sack 6% of its global workforce in an effort to save CHF 1bn. In all 16,000 will lose their jobs. The company’s sales are down — turnover has dropped 2% over the last year (LINK) 16 October 2025

Geneva doubles down on ending cross-border school student access (LINK) 16 October 2025

— The Socialist Party put forward a motion that all students in the school system should be able to finish their studies — that means the phase out could last for as long as the next 15 years. But that's been rejected by the Education Committee.

Geneva seizes and destroys dozens of e-scooters (LINK) 16 October 2025

— Some were clocked at over 30 kilometres per hour, well above the 20 limit. Those vehicles were seized and destroyed, and their owners fined several hundred francs.

Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton turned MAGA critic indicted on eight counts of transmission of national defence information and 10 counts of retention of national defence information (LINK) 16 October 2025

— He's the third prominent Trump adversary to face criminal charges in recent weeks, following former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Major US insurer Northeast Insurance collapses under weight of Child Victims Act claims (LINK) 16 October 2025

US Treasury Secretary Bessent says US bought pesos again: currency tumbled 5.2 percent> (LINK) — ground.news: 10 media reports (LINK) 16 October 2025

US military seized survivors after Caribbean drone strike on suspected drug smuggling boat (LINK) — ground.news: 150 media reports (LINK) 16 October 2025

— Trump says military struck a 'drug-carrying submarine'.

— CNN: The US military has carried out at least six strikes to date on six separate boats in the Caribbean, but Thursday's was not made public by the administration — unlike the previous five strikes — and appeared to be the first time an attack had not instantly killed everyone on board. (LINK)

ProPublica: more than 170 U.S. citizens have been held by immigration agents. They've been kicked, dragged and detained for days (LINK) 16 October 2025

Trump issues warning to Hamas as tensions grow over release of deceased hostages (LINK) 16 October 2025

— In a stark warning, President Donald Trump said if Hamas keeps killing people in Gaza, "we will have no choice but to go in and kill them."

Israeli Poll: Netanyahu’s approval ratings at all-time high (LINK) 16 October 2025

Only nine of the 28 dead Israeli hostages have been returned, with Hamas saying it needs time and specialized equipment to recover the others from the ruins of Gaza (LINK) 16 October 2025

JD Vance brushes off racist texts in Republican group chat as 'what kids do' (LINK) 16 October 2025

Eric Trump sets to tokenize trump family real estate (LINK) 16 October 2025

JD Vance brushes off racist texts in Republican group chat as 'what kids do' (LINK) 16 October 2025

Diane Keaton died of pneumonia, her family confirms: "Any donations in her memory to a local food bank or an animal shelter would be a wonderful and much appreciated tribute to her," her family said (LINK) 16 October 2025

The 10 worst cities to live in, ranked according to expats: Budapest, New York, Toronto, Rome, Kuala Lumpur, Vancouver, Milan, Nairobi, Dublin, Istanbul (LINK) 16 October 2025

Wednesday, 15 October 2025

PassBlue: The UN needs a major reset. A Charter Review could make it happen (LINK) 15 October 2025

Trump authorizes CIA operations in Venezuela, says mulling land attack (LINK) 15 October 2025

Venezuela's Maduro orders new military exercises after U.S. military blows up another alleged drug boat in Caribbean — (LINK)

Israel receives remains of 2 more hostages as military says another body was not that of a hostage (LINK) 15 October 2025

U.S. federal judge suspends Trump's planned layoffs of federal workers during government shutdown, calling them unlawful (LINK) 15 October 2025

Border Czar Tom Homan denies taking $50,000 from undercover FBI agents: 'I'm not enriching myself' (LINK) 15 October 2025

Major U.S. airports refuse to show DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's video blaming Democrats for the government shutdown (LINK) 15 October 2025

U.S. military starts getting paid from odd source as shutdown hits Day 15 and rest of federal workers go without (LINK) 15 October 2025

— Politico reported that an Office of Management and Budget official said the money would come from its research and development pot. About $8 billion is being moved from accounts focused on research, development, testing and evaluation efforts.

German researchers find highly effective HIV antibody: can prevent infections and neutralize the virus in the laboratory (LINK) 15 October 2025

Researchers issue warning after making troubling discovery on expedition to Antarctica: third-lowest level of winter sea ice since satellite tracking began nearly 50 years ago (LINK) 15 October 2025

Pennsylvania man wrongfully imprisoned for more than 40 years faces deportation after ICE arrest (LINK) 15 October 2025

— Speaking to USA Today, Vedam's lawyer Ava Benach said: "Subu has lived in the US since he was a nine-month-old infant when he and his family arrived as lawful permanent residents of the United States … He was still a lawful permanent resident, and his application for citizenship had been accepted, when he was arrested in 1982."

Tuesday, 14 October 2025

Israel limits aid into Gaza in dispute over hostage remains — (LINK)

Al Jazeera: Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,329 (LINK) 14 October 2025

Russian drones and artillery attacked WFP trucks in Kherson region, officials say (LINK) 14 October 2025

— No one was reported killed or injured.

Israelis and Palestinians celebrate hostage and detainee releases as key truce issues remain (LINK) 14 October 2025

Zelensky strips tainted Odesa Mayor Trukhanov of Ukrainian citizenship, effectively pushes him out of office (LINK) 14 October 2025

How Russia laundered a lie about Ukraine through Congress: story claiming that Zelensky's associates funnel $50 million a month in embezzled funds to companies in Dubai (LINK) 14 October 2025

Google to invest $15 billion to build AI data center hub in India; largest outside of the U.S. (LINK) 14 October 2025

OpenAI forms advisory council on wellbeing and AI (LINK) 14 October 2025

How to use AI to guide your holiday plans — by a tourism expert (LINK) 14 October 2025

In bid to save shipyards, US set to charge fees on Chinese ships from today (LINK) — ground.news: 54 media reports (LINK) 14 October 2025

— The move announced by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in April triggered reciprocal measures from Beijing, which will impose similar costs on U.S. ships starting the same day.

Elon Musk is making cybertruck sales look better by selling a huge number to himself (LINK) 14 October 2025

— Futurism: Musk has started selling unsold Cybertruck inventory to his own companies, as Electrek reports; SpaceX has taken delivery of hundreds of the trucks and is expected to receive thousands more. Carriers were also seen delivering trucks to Musk’s AI startup xAI's offices. The carmaker's pickup truck has flopped hard, not even selling 20,000 units this year. The company only sold 5,385 Cybertrucks in the third quarter of 2025, down a whopping 63 percent compared to the same period last year, and a mere 16,000 overall so far this year. The truck has been recalled eight times for sometimes-glaring design issues. It's been criticized for having a less-than-stellar range, especially given its premium price. Resale values have cratered, making it a poor long-term investment.

US revokes visas for 6 foreigners deemed by U.S. officials to have made derisive comments or made light of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last month (LINK) 14 October 2025

— The announcement came as President Donald Trump was posthumously awarding him the highest US civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Supreme Court rebuffs Alex Jones' effort to overturn $1.4 billion Sandy Hook judgment (LINK) 14 October 2025

— CNN: As is almost always the case, the high court did not explain its decision to deny the appeal.

Smarter operations at Geneva Airport transforms passenger journeys (LINK) 14 October 2025

— The new system covers everything from managing aircraft movements and parking stands to planning check-in counters, boarding gates, and baggage belts, as well as sharing flight information across screens and mobile apps. Passengers are also feeling the benefits of self-service bag drop, first deployed at the end of 2023 and now enhanced with new features that make check-in faster and more intuitive. With all counters available for self-service, queues are significantly reduced, something already valued by travellers, whose satisfaction was increased by 70%. This upgrade is helping to cut wait times and improve satisfaction at one of Europe's busiest mid-sized hubs.

Monday, 13 October 2025

Madagascar's president leaves country on French military plane after Gen Z protests: Report (LINK) — ground.news: 229 media reports (LINK) 13 October 2025

Cuban dissident José Daniel Ferrer leaves island for US exile after imprisonment (LINK) — ground.news: 105 media reports (LINK) 13 October 2025

— He was part of a group of 75 opposition figures imprisoned in 2003 and released on condition of leaving Cuba, but he refused and founded his organization instead.

Venezuela announces closure of its embassies in Norway and Australia, opening new ones in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe as part of a foreign service restructuring (LINK) — ground.news: 69 media reports (LINK) 13 October 2025

Spread of drug-resistant superbugs surging, WHO warns: nearly 40% of antibiotics became ineffective between 2018 and 2023: one in six bacterial infections confirmed by laboratories in 2023 no longer responded to standard antibiotic treatments (LINK) — ground.news: 76 media reports (LINK) 13 October 2025

"Nobel" economics prize goes to 3 researchers for explaining innovation-driven economic growth (LINK) 13 October 2025

Aid cuts and elections: How the humanitarian rollback has caused "chaos" in Cameroon: "At the level of programme activity, it was catastrophic" (LINK) 13 October 2025

Pakistan and Afghanistan border closure extends into second day after deadly clashes (LINK) — ground.news: 18 media reports (LINK) 13 October 2025

— Conflicting tallies emerged from Afghanistan officials and Pakistan's military, with Afghanistan officials claiming 58 Pakistani soldiers killed and Pakistan's military reporting 23 soldiers lost and more than 200 'Taliban and affiliated terrorists' killed. About 1,500 Afghan nationals were briefly allowed to walk home from Chaman border crossing, government officer said

France 24: Main takeaways of Trump's speech to the Israeli parliament: his statements were clearly meant to suggest that the ceasefire his administration helped broker could spark a deeper, lasting peace around a volatile region (LINK) 13 October 2025

— During an unexpected detour in his speech, Trump called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he described as "one of the greatest" wartime leaders. Netanyahu faces corruption and fraud charges, and several hearings have been postponed during the conflict with Hamas. The Republican president also used the opportunity to settle political scores and thank his supporters, criticising Democratic predecessors and praising a top donor, Miriam Adelson, in the audience.

Politifact: Fact-checking Donald Trump's speech in Israel (LINK) 13 October 2025

— He told the Knesset, Israel's parliament, "This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God." H repeated talking point about solving eight wars is exaggerated. Trump had a hand in ceasefires that have recently eased conflicts between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. But these were mostly incremental accords, and some leaders dispute the extent of Trump's role.

— Politicfact: The U.S. was involved in a temporary peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, but violence in the region has continued, with hundreds of civilians killed since the deal’s June signing. After Trump helped broker a deal between Cambodia and Thailand, the countries have accused each other of ceasefire violations that have led to violent skirmishes. A long-running standoff between Egypt and Ethiopia over an Ethiopian dam on the Nile remains unresolved, and it is closer to a diplomatic dispute than a military clash. In the case of Kosovo and Serbia, there is little evidence a potential war was brewing.

— "We dropped 14 bombs on Iran's key nuclear facilities, totally, as I said originally, obliterating them. That's been confirmed." It is impossible to know.

October 10 tragedy, the day Bitcoin's "digital gold* myth went up in smoke (LINK) 13 October 2025

— "Nasdaq and the S&P500 dropped more than 3%, while Bitcoin lost over $10,000 in value within minutes. But real gold did exactly what a safe haven is supposed to do: hold the line. The yellow metal touched a record high above $4,000 an ounce, calmly absorbing the geopolitical shock. Crypto? It didn’t hedge the chaos. It became the chaos."

The world's first climate tipping point, irreversible planetary changes, has been crossed, scientists say: hard to reverse loss of warm-water coral reefs (LINK) 13 October 2025

— Time: "Scientists have found as many as 25 major tipping points, including the Amazon rain forest transforming from a lush forest that stores carbon emissions to a dry savannah, and the permanent melting of polar sea ice whereby the dark open water absorbs more heat compared to white snow, encouraging further melting."

Climate tipping points sound scary, especially for ice sheets and oceans — here's why there’s still room for optimism — (LINK)

— "Climate models that predict collapses are less accurate when forecasting interactions between multiple tipping points. Some interactions can push systems out of balance, while others pull an ecosystem closer to equilibrium. Other changes driven by rising global temperatures, like melting permafrost, likely don't meet the criteria for tipping points because they aren’t self-sustaining. Permafrost could refreeze if temperatures drop again."

— Climate scientist Timothy Lenton first identified climate tipping points in 2008. In 2022, he and his team revisited temperature collapse ranges, integrating over a decade of additional data and more sophisticated computer models.

New study ranks Washington, D.C. as second greenest city in U.S. (LINK) 13 October 2025

Trump plan to invite Netanyahu to Gaza summit aborted after Erdogan warning (LINK) 13 October 2025

— Turkish president threatened to pull out of Sharm el-Sheikh conference unless Israeli PM's attendance ruled out

Dow gains almost 600 points after US-China trade showdown hits the pause button (LINK) 13 October 2025

JPMorgan targets critical minerals with $1.5 trillion security initiative (LINK) 13 October 2025

Heather Cox Richardson: Trump's new Columbus Day (LINK) 13 October 2025

JD Vance trashes 'fake story' about Qatari Air Force facility in Idaho — just two days after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made an announcement about the facility on Friday (LINK) 12 October 2025

— "Today, we’re announcing a letter of acceptance in building a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho,"s declared Hegseth at a press conference also featuring his Qatari counterpart, Minister of Defense Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

"Trump is letting Qatar build a military facility in the U.S." — and MAGA Is Not Happy (LINK) 12 October 2025