Melissa closing in on catastrophic landfall in Jamaica as maximum category 5 hurricane (160mph/260kmh winds: strongest storm on record to hit the country( (LINK) 27 October 2025

— Up to 40in/over 1m of rain, 13ft/4m of storm surge expected, causing "extensive infrastructure damage" and cutting off communities. Melissa has already killed three people in Haiti and one person in the Dominican Republic but doubled in strength over the weekend.

BBC: The Jamaican government has ordered evacuations for parts of the capital, Kingston, and the entire island has been classed as "threatened". — (LINK)


Donald Trump has warned Vladimir Putin that the US "has a nuclear submarine off your shore" as he condemned a Russian cruise missile test as "inappropriate" (LINK) 27 October 2025

— Putin said Russia had successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, a nuclear-capable weapon Moscow says can pierce any defence shield, in a move that has infuriated Washington. Moscow said the Burevestnik had flown for 14,000km.


US and China agree framework of trade deal ahead of Trump-Xi meeting: US trade secretary says the two will sign a deal on TikTok, while hinting at agreement on rare earths and tariffs (LINK) 26 October 2025

Bessent: U.S. 'addressed' soybean farmers’ concern with China — (LINK)


Trump oversees signing of 'historic' Thailand-Cambodia 'peace deal' (LINK) 26 October 2025

— After the ceremony, Thailand's foreign minister refused to call it a peace agreement, telling the BBC "I would call it a pathway to peace" instead. Trump calls the agreement "a monumental step". But looking at the details, it isn't much of leap foward, the BBC's South East Asia correspondent writes


Fears Gaza 'temporary' ceasefire line could become permanent new border (LINK) 26 October 2025


Venezuela's Maduro says the US is fabricating a war and seeks to revoke citizenship of opponent (LINK) — ground.news: 80 media reports (LINK) 26 October 2025

— Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez stated that opposition leader Leopoldo López's nationality is being revoked for his support of U.S. military actions. López responded that revoking his nationality is unconstitutional, asserting that no Venezuelan can lose their nationality and emphasizing his call for freedom.


East Timor, Asia's youngest nation, becomes ASEAN's 11th member: first expansion in 26 years (LINK) — ground.news: 84 media reports (LINK) 26 October 2025


UN News: 65 nations sign first UN Treaty to fight cybercrime: milestone for digital cooperation (LINK) 25 October 2025

— Adopted by the General Assembly in December 2024 after five years of negotiation, the Convention against Cybercrime establishes the first universal framework for investigating and prosecuting offences committed online — from ransomware and financial fraud to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. The signing ceremony was hosted by Viet Nam in collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It will enter into force 90 days after the 40th State deposits its ratification. Global cybercrime costs are projected to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, according to industry experts.

UN agreement on cybercrime criticized over risks to cybersecurity researchers: they could face criminal charges for performing their legitimate work (LINK) 24 October 2025


Al Jazeera: Russia-Ukraine war: list of key events, day 1,340 (LINK) 26 October 2025

— Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in the early hours of Sunday, striking residential buildings, killing at least three and wounding at least 29 people, including six children, according to Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on X accused Moscow of trying to "create a humanitarian catastrophe" in her country amid the winter season. The Russian attacks on Saturday targeted "critical infrastructure", the energy grid, a railroad and residential areas in the Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and other regions, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha wrote in a separate post on X.

Zelensky hails 'historic' Swedish Gripen deal as Ukraine secures 150 fighter jets starting in 2026 (LINK) 25 October 2025

Governor of Russia's Belgorod says Ukrainian strike damaged a dam (LINK) 25 October 2025


Trump says he's increasing tariffs on Canada by 10% after Ontario's ad citing Reagan's anti-tariff speech (LINK) 25 October 2025


Top China official says peaceful 'reunification' with Taiwan is best path forward, warning China would not tolerate activities promoting Taiwanese independence (LINK) — ground.news: 11 media reports (LINK) 25 October 2025

— Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said China was repeating the "same old message" and that China's real aim was to "annex" Taiwan. "The experience of Hong Kong has also demonstrated that 'one country, two systems' ultimately amounts to authoritarian rule by the Chinese Communist Party," the council said.


Left-leaning independent Catherine Connolly wins Irish presidential election (LINK) 25 October 2025


Israel says it conducted 'targeted strike' on Islamic Jihad militant in Gaza about to launch attack (LINK) — ground.news: ?? media reports (LINK) 25 October 2025


Louvre Heist: two arrested, one preparing to board a flight at Charles de Gaulle Airport (LINK) — ground.news: 36 media reports (LINK) 25 October 2025


Most Swiss cantons expect budget deficits in 2026: austerity programmes are either already underway or planned. In others such as Zurich and Bern, tax cuts are foreseen. Canton Zug is expecting the highest revenue surplus: "The largest shares of cantonal expenditure are for education, social affairs and health" (LINK) 24 October 2025

— The budget for canton Geneva is in the red with a deficit of CHF409.4 million. Among the measures proposed to curb the rise in costs is the suspension of the annuity (regular payment) for civil servants.


UNCTAD: 16th conference gathered delegations in Geneva from 170 countries — an all-time record in UNCTAD’s 60-year history — and adopted the "Geneva Consensus for a Just and Sustainable Economic Order" and a political declaration, reaffirming the organization's central role in advancing multilateral cooperation. (LINK) 23 October 2025

— New partnerships and funding pledges were announced to advance action on debt relief, the digital economy, investment and supply chain resilience, proving that multilateralism remains alive, relevant and capable of delivering results. The Government of Switzerland announced new funding of 4 million Swiss francs to bolster UNCTAD's work on e-commerce and the digital economy for developing economies.

Charities using AI-generated photos of starving children to raise money (LINK) 21 October 2025