NATO presses Greece and Spain to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine for winter
Ukraine says it needs up to 360 interceptors before winter. US stocks have fallen below 1,700, leaving European allies as the main potential source.
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China frees up 550 billion yuan in unused local debt to plug budget gaps
Local governments can now draw on existing borrowing room without seeking fresh approval from the national legislature. Around 40% of an estimated 1.4 trillion yuan in unused quota will be released, split between general budgets and infrastructure projects in Q4 2026.
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Two school knife attacks in Poland killed one and injured 11 before false warnings of further violence spread online
A 19-year-old wounded nine people in Ostrołęka and a 15-year-old killed a caretaker in Leszczydół-Nowiny on consecutive days. Poland's defence minister said Russia tried to exploit the attacks with a disinformation campaign, though authorities found no foreign involvement in either.
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Amazon lets AI agents spend money autonomously before refund rules are settled
Bedrock AgentCore Payments, built with Coinbase and Stripe, allows software to make stablecoin purchases within preset budgets — no human approval required before each transaction. Who bears the loss when an agent pays correctly but the buyer wants a refund remains unresolved.
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Trump envoys warn Ukraine over refinery strikes after eight hours of talks in Miami
Witkoff and Kushner told Kyiv that US intelligence sharing could be at risk if the attacks continued. Zelensky said he would only halt them if Russia stopped striking Ukrainian power plants — and called a US decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports 'not fair and not honest'.
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Japan opens its first centralised intelligence agency since World War II
The National Intelligence Bureau opened in Tokyo on 31 July with around 700 staff and a remit to coordinate information across government agencies. A separate foreign intelligence service is also in preparation.
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EU strikes financial supervision deal but waters down central oversight
Finance ministers agreed to expand ESMA's powers over major market operators, but scaled back the original plan. Deutsche Börse stays under German supervision, and the number of trading venues under direct EU oversight falls from 12 to 8.
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Federal Reserve raises rates again as inflation stays above its 2% target
Policymakers unanimously lifted the federal funds rate to 3.75%–4% on 16 September, reversing cuts made since 2024. Officials remain divided over whether further tightening will be needed. Mortgage rates have already climbed to 6.95%, their highest since January 2025.
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Exxon scientists privately doubted the climate solutions their company was selling to the public
Newly filed documents show internal researchers questioned algae biofuels and carbon capture while Exxon promoted them. The US Supreme Court heard arguments in October 2026 in a Boulder case that could shape the fate of nearly 60 similar climate lawsuits.
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EU vote could end regular safety checks on pesticides already on the market
The Omnibus X package would scrap reviews every 10 to 15 years, leaving pesticides authorised by default unless regulators move to ban them. Scientists, doctors and families affected by pesticide-related illness warn the change could delay removing harmful products when new evidence emerges.
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Lumentum sells out optical-component capacity through early 2029
The company cannot meet roughly 70% of demand for some products into next year. Chinese export controls on the key raw material add a further squeeze to supply that could take until 2029 or 2030 to ease.
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Trump opens US market to Russian diesel, defying his own sanctions law
The US Treasury has suspended sanctions on Russian diesel exports until 7 April after Trump agreed to take 300,000 tonnes immediately, with millions more to follow. Zelensky called the deal a gift to Putin that would prolong the war.
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Taiwan sets record $34.5 billion defence budget to deter war with China
President Lai Ching-te made the announcement on National Day, saying the 2027 budget is meant to deter aggression, not provoke it. China continues to conduct near-daily military patrols and grey-zone operations around the island.
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COP29 ends without a deal on how to move the world away from fossil fuels
A text meant to put the Dubai pledge into practice was dropped after island states and Latin American nations said it had been watered down. The question goes back to negotiators when they meet in June.
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Binance gave VIP treatment to account that received more than $10m from IRGC-linked wallets
The account belonged to a Tajik businessman whose preferential status required senior sign-off before it could be closed. It was part of a wider network that moved about $850 million through Binance — now the subject of a fresh US federal probe.
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Former Ukrainian soldier goes on trial in Hamburg over Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
Serhii K., a former special forces officer, is accused of commanding the 2022 attack that ruptured three of the four pipeline strings beneath the Baltic Sea. He and Ukraine deny involvement.
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Waymo closes $5 billion loan to push its robotaxi service into 20 cities
The debt financing, Waymo's first, grew from an initial target of more than $3 billion and was led by PIMCO, Blackstone and Sixth Street. The company is targeting 1 million paid rides a week worldwide by the end of 2026.
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Europe's rivers hit their lowest flows in over 30 years in summer 2026
The Rhine, Danube, Po, Loire, Rhône and Seine all reached record lows at the same time, forcing nuclear plant shutdowns and halting cargo transport. Copernicus called it the worst summer for river flows since its records began in 1992.
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More than 20,000 students killed as Gaza's war wipes out nearly three years of schooling
All twelve of Gaza's universities have been bombed and nearly 98% of school buildings damaged. Around 700,000 children have missed almost three years of formal in-person education.
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Cryptocurrency worth $86 million drained from Ledger wallets bought through one Malaysian reseller
Hundreds of customers in Southeast Asia who bought hardware wallets from CryptoBilis lost funds across Bitcoin, Ethereum and TRON. Ledger has asked the reseller to halt sales and told recent buyers to move their funds immediately.
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US Treasury secretary says America will seize $1 billion of Iranian cryptocurrency this week
Scott Bessent made the announcement at the Newsmax Policy Summit on Thursday, saying authorities know where the assets are. The move extends a sanctions campaign that has already frozen hundreds of millions in Iranian crypto holdings.
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Trump's 20-plus trade deals look more like press releases than results
The administration struck deals with more than 20 partners in 2025, but several never materialised or remained non-binding. Their combined share of US exports fell from 44% to 42% in the year that followed.
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AI data centre building boom is making the Fed's inflation fight harder
Construction spending on data centres hit an annual rate of $85 billion in August, driving up demand for labour, materials and chips. The Fed's problem is that AI investment appears largely immune to higher interest rates.
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Ethiopian forces retake Mekelle as Tigray war drags in its neighbours
Federal troops have entered the Tigray capital after nearly two weeks of fighting, collapsing the 2022 Pretoria ceasefire that ended a war in which around 600,000 people died. Ethiopia has now severed diplomatic ties with Eritrea and expelled an Egyptian diplomat, accusing both countries — along with Sudan — of backing the rebels. All three deny it.
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Amazon kills off Fire tablets and launches Alexa Android range starting at $229.99
The new Alexa Tablet 8, 11 and 12 Pro all run standard Android with full Google Play Store access — a clean break from Amazon's proprietary Fire OS. They ship in the US, Mexico and Canada from 14 October.
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Zelensky urges US lawmakers to enforce Russia sanctions as Trump's diesel deal hands Moscow new revenue
Ukraine's president met a bipartisan Congressional delegation in Kyiv, under an active air raid alert, to push for the Lindsey Graham sanctions law and faster joint Patriot interceptor production. He warned that easing sanctions without a lasting de-escalation deal would be an obvious weakness that would prolong the war.
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Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of all-out invasion after troops advance 60 kilometres into Tigray
Ethiopian drone strikes hit Eritrean soldiers and equipment in Adigrat as both governments accuse the other of breaking their 2022 peace deal. Eritrea has severed diplomatic ties and denied backing the TPLF, accusing Ethiopia of using the conflict to seize its Red Sea port of Assab.
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European bond yields hit their highest level in more than a decade, heaping pressure on Italy and France
Ten-year eurozone yields reached nearly 4% in September, with France's bond yields at their highest since 2008. Italy, whose public debt is projected near 139% of GDP, is the most exposed — and both governments are now weighing painful cuts against the risk of stalling their economies.
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Trump says Iran talks are under way but demands it curb uranium enrichment
The US president told a Washington summit that productive discussions with Tehran are progressing. But his administration insists Iran must make a meaningful cut to enrichment capacity and halt production of highly enriched uranium — conditions Iran's president has called futile to negotiate over.
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NASA calls for private space stations to replace the ISS by 2030
The agency has issued a 360-page request for proposals, its third change of approach this year. It plans to select at least two contractors, with a final decision intended for April.
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Super Micro contractor pleads guilty over $2.5bn Nvidia server exports to China
Ting-Wei "Willy" Sun admitted to helping route restricted Nvidia A100 and H100 servers through Southeast Asian intermediaries to conceal Chinese end customers. A co-founder of Super Micro has denied the charge; a third defendant remains a fugitive.
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Six EU states push Brussels to tax energy companies' war profits
Germany, Spain and four others have asked Ireland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, to consider a bloc-wide windfall levy. Energy executives warn the move could end voluntary consumer protections like capped fuel prices.
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UN envoy warns Security Council that Yemen is edging toward full-scale war
Hans Grundberg pointed to military build-ups and threats along frontlines as signs the fragile pause in fighting is collapsing. The Houthis have attacked more than 80 merchant ships since the Gaza war began, and a cholera outbreak has grown to more than 147,000 cases with funding covering only a quarter of them.
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Trump sanctions the ICC and threatens to shut it down
The measures freeze the court's US assets and give American companies six months to cut ties with it. The EU says it may use a blocking mechanism to shield European firms from having to comply.
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American Express fined $350 million as $13 billion in suspected money laundering went undetected
US regulators found the company's anti-money-laundering controls were so weak that suspected trade-based activity slipped through undetected for ten years. The Federal Reserve also issued a cease-and-desist order against American Express and its travel services subsidiary.
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Malware hid its command address inside a poem on GitHub and hit 3,000 servers
The PoeLLM malware read four marked words from a poem posted to GitHub and mapped them to a command-and-control address — meaning attackers could redirect it just by editing the verse. Lumen's Black Lotus Labs, which named the campaign Canto Incognito, says more than 3,000 servers have been infected since April 2026, mostly in the US and Western Europe.
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Kushner and Witkoff push sale of Lukoil's $20 billion foreign assets after Kremlin meeting
Putin asked Trump's envoys to help broker the deal when they met at the Kremlin on 5 September. Todd Boehly is leading the buyer consortium, which includes UAE investors and the US development finance agency.
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US report says Kenyan officials helped send more than 1,000 men to fight for Russia
Recruits were promised civilian jobs in security or construction, then forced into military service. Kenya says 84 of its nationals involved in the conflict are dead or missing.
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California says Amazon pressed brands to raise prices at rival retailers
Emails involving Levi's, Hanes and Scotts Miracle-Gro sit at the centre of the state's price-fixing claim. Amazon says its conduct is pro-competitive and saves customers money.
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US consumer confidence drops to a five-month low as inflation fears mount
The University of Michigan's sentiment index fell to 53.6 in early October, down 24 percent over the past year. The sharpest declines were among lower-income households, and the current conditions index hit a record low of 44.7.
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Trump threatens to end the ICC as US sanctions block its American assets
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would dismantle the court if it did not drop cases Washington sees as a threat to US sovereignty. The ICC's deputy prosecutor said its investigations and prosecutions would continue regardless.
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Eurozone rules out rescue as French borrowing costs hit 2012 crisis levels
French 10-year yields reached 4.74%, the widest spread over German debt since the depths of the eurozone crisis. The ECB has tools to intervene, but their conditions include sound public finances — which France does not currently meet.
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US Supreme Court weighs whether Boulder can sue oil companies for climate damages
The justices heard arguments in Suncor v. Boulder, a case brought after the 2021 Marshall Fire destroyed over 1,000 homes. The companies warn a ruling for Boulder could trigger 90,000 similar lawsuits across the country.
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Oil flows resume through Hormuz but Brent crude is still $27 above its pre-war price
Trump confirmed the strait is open and the East-West pipeline has recovered about half its capacity. But on 1 October, Brent was $99-100 a barrel against $72.50 before the crisis, and European gas was more than double its pre-war level.
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Anti-immigration unrest leaves 24 vehicles torched in Soweto and Durban
Protesters looted foreign-owned shops and besieged a refugee centre, fired up by false claims that a court ruling would give undocumented migrants automatic legal status. The South African government said on Friday it would change how it complies with the ruling.
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Google gives its new Gemini agent its own email address and company identity
The AI system is designed to work as a persistent member of a team rather than respond to one-off prompts. It gets its own Workspace account, calendar and directory listing, with access limited to what teammates choose to share with it.
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Brazil's inflation hits 4.5% ceiling just weeks before presidential runoff
Electricity prices jumped 7.42% in September after a one-off discount from the Itaipu hydroelectric plant faded, pushing the 12-month consumer price index to the top of the central bank's target band. The timing hands Flávio Bolsonaro fresh ammunition, as the cost of living has been his sharpest line of attack against President Lula.
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Germany blocks COSCO's bid to take over Hamburg logistics firm on security grounds
Berlin cited Zippel's role in defence and NATO logistics, and fears that Chinese ownership would deepen Germany's strategic dependence on Beijing. COSCO already holds a stake in a Hamburg container terminal.
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France freezes wages and pensions in budget that must survive a divided parliament
The plan aims to cut the deficit from 5.4% of output to 5% by 2027, but France's fiscal watchdog calls the effort limited. Student protests over school conditions are adding to the pressure on Lecornu's government.
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Armenia has not ruled out Russia building its next nuclear power plant, Pashinyan says
The prime minister says the choice will come down to price, quality and construction time, with a decision on technology due by the end of 2027. Armenia has also signed a civil nuclear deal with the US and reviewed proposals from about a dozen companies.
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France and Germany record their worst-ever PISA scores as results fall across OECD
Average scores in reading, mathematics and science across OECD countries have hit their lowest point since 2015. Covid, screen time and weaker teaching of core skills are among the explanations, though the report does not weigh their relative effect.
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St. Louis Fed chief says US rates may need to keep rising for six to nine months
Alberto Musalem said persistent demand and supply shocks have kept inflation too high for too long. Traders still expect the Fed to hold rates steady in October, but see nearly 70% odds of another increase in December.
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Meta shuts ByteDance and TikTok ads off its platforms in seven countries
The ban, which took effect on October 8, covers ByteDance's own promotions and any third-party campaigns linking to TikTok. Meta said it has no obligation to run ads for a competitor trying to pull users away from its apps.
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US launches sweeping sanctions campaign against the International Criminal Court
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measures will ban transactions with the court and could punish companies that provide services to it. The ICC said the sanctions are intended to obstruct an independent judicial body, and that its work will continue.
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Taliban marks five years in power, but factional rifts run deep
Hibatullah Akhundzada presents a unified Islamic state, but power is split between ISI-aligned factions, regional warlords and hardline clerics. Armed opposition groups have launched attacks across the country, though none has managed to seriously threaten Taliban control.
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US Senate Democrat demands records on Cantor Fitzgerald's Tether stake and what Howard Lutnick earned
Senator Richard Blumenthal has sent Cantor Fitzgerald's chairman 13 requests covering the firm's stake in and custody work for Tether. He alleges the stake rose from $600 million to $10 billion since Trump returned to office, and that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick received more than $250 million in the same period.
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Russia and China block US push to expand Sudan's arms embargo beyond Darfur
The UN Security Council unanimously renewed its Darfur embargo until 11 December, but a US proposal to extend restrictions across Sudan failed. Russia, which backs the Sudanese government, flatly refused to let the council even hint at widening the measures.
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The hidden costs of France's farmed salmon start thousands of miles away
France wants to farm 20,000 tonnes of salmon by 2030. A five-year investigation by The Outlaw Ocean Project found that the fishmeal feeding those fish has left a trail of pollution, worker deaths and protests across 64 countries.
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EU finance ministers agree to give European markets watchdog direct oversight powers
The deal would see ESMA supervise stock exchanges, clearing houses and crypto providers directly, rather than simply coordinating national regulators. Germany secured an exemption for Deutsche Boerse, and a final text still needs to clear the European Parliament.
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Aid to Africa falls by over 25 percent, with women's health programmes hit hardest
Global donor aid dropped 23 percent in 2025 — the steepest annual fall on record — and Africa bore more than its share. Women and children are losing access to health services as US cuts gut HIV and maternal health programmes across the continent.
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Italy leads EU probe into Microsoft gaming studios over virtual currencies
Regulators in Italy, Norway and Denmark are examining whether Activision Blizzard, King and Mojang broke EU consumer-protection rules. The inquiry focuses on in-game currencies, dark patterns and parental controls, with minors among those at risk.
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Trump launches sweeping economic campaign against Iran six months into the war
The Treasury's Operation Economic Outcast promises new financial measures week after week. But with Trump's approval at 33 percent and support for the war at 36 percent, the White House is still searching for a path to victory.
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Russia says no plans for Ukraine peace talks, a month after agreeing to meet
Moscow has shown little urgency to commit to a trilateral meeting with Ukraine and the US, first agreed in early September. The Kremlin continues to reject a ceasefire and demands Kyiv surrender the partially occupied Donbas.
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England review warns of rising risk of ADHD and autism misdiagnosis as waiting lists hit 560,000
An independent review says diagnoses have risen sharply over 25 years while the number of people who actually have the conditions appears broadly stable. The Government plans tougher rules on private providers, who now carry out more than half of NHS-funded ADHD assessments.
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USA Today and 13 affiliated papers sue OpenAI for more than $250 million over AI training
The publishers say OpenAI used reporting from 19 of their titles without permission to train its AI models. They want every GPT model built on their content destroyed, alongside damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work.
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Syria's new rulers pool Assad-era assets in a $50 billion fund that answers only to the president
The Syrian Sovereignty Fund holds factories, banks and real estate seized from figures linked to the former regime, and employs over 40,000 workers. It has signed a $7 billion deal with a UAE developer — but publishes nothing about its finances or management.
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Battery storage now cheaper than gas turbines in all 43 markets assessed, Wood Mackenzie says
Storage costs have fallen 93% since 2010, tipping the economics against the gas peaking plants grids rely on during high-demand periods. Wood Mackenzie expects the gap to keep widening.
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Germany has pulled out of the joint future combat tank programme, France says
France's top general confirmed Germany's departure from the Main Ground Combat System, a project launched in 2017 to replace both countries' ageing tanks by 2040–2045. It is the second Franco-German defence programme to collapse this year, following the failure of the SCAF aircraft project in June.
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Israel resumes construction of its fortification line inside Syrian territory
Excavation restarted on October 4 in Quneitra, where Syrian accounts say Israeli forces have moved up to 1,000 meters into Syrian land. Syria called the work a flagrant breach of the 1974 disengagement agreement; Turkey said Israel was trying to create facts on the ground.
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NATO presses ahead with annual nuclear exercise despite Russian warnings
Seventeen member countries took part in the Steadfast Noon drill, hosted by Italy and held far from Russia. The alliance told Moscow in advance, stressing the exercise was routine and posed no threat.
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More than 400 US hospitals have closed since 2010, with a net loss of 24,000 beds
Closures rose 4 percent year over year while openings fell by 3 percent, leaving 216 fewer hospitals than 15 years ago. Safety-net facilities, which serve uninsured and vulnerable patients, were among the hardest hit.
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Iraqi man detained in Turkey linked by FBI to thwarted Paris bombing plot
Teenagers recruited via Snapchat were stopped trying to plant a device near Bank of America offices in March. The FBI says the alleged organiser may have been behind 18 similar actions across Europe.
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Former US officials warn Taiwan arms sales are being used as a bargaining chip with Beijing
A $14 billion arms sale pre-notified to Congress has stalled with no sign of progress. Former officials say using weapons transfers as leverage marks a fundamental break from longstanding US policy.
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US seizes hacking tools used by China-backed group to target power grids and airports
Microscan and FishHub, operated by a Chinese firm the FBI links to Flax Typhoon, were used to scan targets including a US power company and airports in Japan and Poland. Officials say both tools have been rendered inoperable.
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Burnham invites Germany to join the next-generation fighter programme
The UK prime minister made the offer to Chancellor Merz in Berlin as the two countries ratified a new defence treaty. Germany is weighing its options after its rival fighter project with France and Spain collapsed in June.
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Indonesian wildfire smoke shuts schools across Malaysia as Singapore chokes on world's worst air
Singapore ranked the most polluted city on earth on Wednesday, with Kuala Lumpur close behind. Malaysia closed schools in five states and two federal territories, and Indonesia recorded nearly 175,000 respiratory infections linked to the fires between July and September.
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UK mortgage rates hit multi-year highs as global bond market selloff bites
The average five-year fixed rate has reached 5.95%, its highest since October 2023. Up to 700,000 households whose deals expire by end of 2026 could see their annual mortgage bill rise by as much as £5,000.
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Ireland tries to bridge a €2tn EU budget divide as rich states push for deep cuts
Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and three other wealthy member states have called for reductions of hundreds of billions of euros. The European Parliament wants a bigger budget and protected funding for farming and regional development — putting the two sides far apart.
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Cuba has suffered 12 nationwide blackouts since 2024, with no end in sight
A fuel shortage worsened by a US oil embargo has left millions without electricity for days at a time. The island imported $156.8 million in US fuel in the first seven months of 2026, even as blackouts lasting 60 hours hit outlying provinces.
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Saudi Arabia seeks long-term oil contracts to bypass Hormuz
Talks with Asian customers over alternative delivery routes must conclude by year-end, though pricing, freight and eligible volumes are unresolved. The push comes after a drone attack on 13 September knocked out the East-West Pipeline, Saudi Arabia's main overland route around the strait.
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US sanctions 17 tankers it says make up most of Iran's remaining shadow fleet
Treasury says the ships moved Iranian crude, gas and chemicals to China, India and Pakistan despite existing sanctions. The action forms part of Operation Economic Outcast, Washington's ongoing pressure campaign against Tehran's oil revenues.
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Fruits and vegetables are half as nutritious as they were in the 1960s, researchers say
Decades of farming for yield have stripped staple foods of key minerals and vitamins. More than 2 billion people now have micronutrient deficiencies despite eating enough calories — a condition researchers call hidden hunger.
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US envoy tells investors they are overpricing the risk of war over Taiwan
Michael DeSombre called Xi Jinping a 'very rational actor' who would back down if military action looked like it would fail or carry major consequences. His remarks came before a planned Trump–Xi meeting on 30 October and amid reports of an unprecedented military vessel sighting off Taiwan's coast.
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US national debt hits $40 trillion as annual deficit reaches $2 trillion
The debt milestone arrived four years ahead of pre-pandemic forecasts. Interest payments hit a record $1.1 trillion for the year, and the Congressional Budget Office's February projection of $39.4 trillion was made before the US went to war with Iran.
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Jon Rahm set to leave LIV Golf after rejecting restructuring terms
The former world No. 1 told a bankruptcy court the proposed LIV 2.0 terms were unacceptable. His team and the league hope to finalise a separation agreement by 5 November.
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China nominates Song Li to lead WHO as Beijing steps up to fill US funding gap
Song Li would be the first person from mainland China to head the agency if elected. China has raised its assessed contribution by 57% and now holds the highest rate among remaining member states.
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Pakistan sends forces to Saudi Arabia without a parliamentary vote
Islamabad agreed to the rapid deployment at an emergency meeting in Riyadh, invoking a joint defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey for the first time. It is a sharp reversal of the restraint parliament imposed in 2015, when it voted to keep Pakistan out of the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
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Tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz hit a weekly record as the crisis enters its eighth month
Nine attacks were recorded in a single week, the highest since the closure began in February — though Reuters sources put the toll at 12. Tanker movements are 98% below pre-war levels and diplomacy has so far produced nothing.
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Solar Orbiter traces a magnetic switchback in the solar wind back to the Sun's surface
Rare charged oxygen and carbon particles inside the structure carried a 'smoking gun' fingerprint of their origin. The find adds to efforts to understand space weather that can disrupt GPS, satellite communications and electrical grids.
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Samsung Wallet will let US Galaxy users send USDC abroad from late October
The service covers 82 million compatible devices in the US. Recipients can be paid out in local currency across more than 60 countries, with Borderless.xyz handling the conversions.
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China's military militia spotted off Taiwan's east coast for first time
A fishing boat linked to the People's Liberation Army's maritime militia was detected near Hualien in mid-August, alongside a coast guard cutter and a research vessel. Taiwan regards the waters as critical for supply routes from allies in any future conflict.
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Ripple moves into Wall Street's leveraged ETF financing business
The crypto firm has renamed its $1.25 billion acquisition Hidden Road as Ripple Prime, putting it in direct competition with banks in the business of financing and clearing trades. The US leveraged-ETF market it is targeting holds more than $256 billion in assets across 593 funds.
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Chevron and Shell shut in nine Gulf sites as Tropical Storm Isaias nears US coast
BP is also evacuating workers from offshore platforms. The Gulf's offshore fields account for about 15% of US oil production, and forecasters say the storm could strengthen into a hurricane by the weekend.
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Burnham says Brexit did more harm than good and floats a new referendum
The British prime minister told the Labour Party conference Britain should consider all options, from closer EU ties to rejoining outright. France's finance minister responded immediately: "Come back, anytime."
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UN says Africa pays $74.5 billion a year for inaccurate credit ratings
The African Union has responded by launching its own ratings agency, AfCRA, designed to challenge Moody's, S&P and Fitch. The UN says Africa's actual default rate is far below what its ratings imply, while the continent pays the world's highest cost of capital.
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Maduro and his wife expected to face torture charges over detained Americans
US prosecutors plan to add allegations that the pair played a role in the wrongful detention and torture of more than a dozen US citizens held in Venezuelan prisons. The new charges would widen an existing drug and weapons case against them.
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Middle East oil exports back to pre-war levels as producers find ways around Hormuz
At least 16.5 million barrels a day left the region in September, matching pre-war averages. Producers have rerouted 40% of Gulf exports away from the strait — double the pre-war share — through pipelines, offshore loading and Red Sea routes.
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Baltic states move to choke off Russian grain transit through their ports
Estonia has banned Russian and Belarusian grain from its ports, while Latvia is considering raising transit fees to 300% of their current level. Lithuania wants to take the fight EU-wide, but says lab tests to verify grain origins take longer than a ship's stay in port.
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Nous Research raises $90 million to bring its open-source Hermes AI agent to businesses
The three-year-old company closed a Series B at a $1.5 billion valuation, with Nvidia, Microsoft and Y Combinator among the backers. Hermes Agent has been cloned 24 million times since February; Nous expects to top $100 million in revenue before the end of 2026.
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Trump administration opens direct talks with Myanmar's coup leader, ending years of isolation
The highest-level US contact since the 2021 coup aimed to free an American businessman and shut down scam centres targeting Americans. Broader talks on rare-earth minerals may follow, even as Min Aung Hlaing remains under US sanctions for abuses linked to the Rohingya genocide.
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