10 Things Global News - 22nd October 2025
Interesting and important news from around the world
Trump Delays Putin Meeting as Ceasefire Push Falters
Ukraine Strikes Russian Chemical Plant With Storm Shadows
Ecuador Frees Survivor of US Sub Strike
North Korea Fires Missiles Ahead of APEC Summit
Court Overturns Uribe Witness-Tampering Conviction
Over One Million Return to Khartoum Amid Fragile Recovery
Louvre Heist Thieves Steal Royal Jewels Worth €88 Million
OpenAI Launches Atlas, An AI-Centred Web Browser
Gold, Silver Post Biggest Drop in Years
Sarkozy Begins Five-Year Prison Term in Paris
On this day …
On this day in 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced the discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba and imposed a naval blockade to prevent further deliveries, thus starting the Cuban missile crisis.
The revelation shattered the fragile logic of Mutually Assured Destruction, which had depended on distance and balance to deter a first strike.
For thirteen days, the world stood on the edge of nuclear war until Moscow agreed to withdraw its missiles in exchange for U.S. concessions in Turkey.
The crisis exposed how quickly deterrence can fail — a warning that resonates again as today’s nuclear powers test the boundaries of proximity, provocation, and restraint.
President Donald Trump has postponed a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow rejected his call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. The decision followed a phone call between the two leaders and a separate meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which underscored the gap between Kyiv and Moscow’s positions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Trump’s ceasefire proposal contradicted understandings reached at their August summit in Alaska, where Trump agreed to pursue a direct peace deal instead of a truce. Russia reiterated its demands for Ukraine to cede more territory and accept limits on its military and NATO ties.
European leaders issued a joint statement backing Trump’s ceasefire plan and urging Washington to stand firm. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is due to meet Trump this week as diplomacy intensifies in Washington.
Sources: Washington Post, Reuters
Ukraine’s military says it launched a large-scale strike using UK-made Storm Shadow missiles against the Bryansk Chemical Plant in Russia, calling it a successful hit that penetrated air defences. The operation, carried out by the Air Force with other branches, is still being assessed, and Moscow has not commented. Kyiv describes the facility as a key part of Russia’s military-industrial complex that produces gunpowder, explosives and rocket-fuel components.
The strike came as European leaders vowed to ramp up pressure on Russia’s economy and defence industry. Ukraine has previously used Storm Shadows against targets in Bryansk and elsewhere, and the missiles are designed for low-altitude, long-range strikes.
On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelensky argued that Ukraine’s deep-strike capabilities may hold the key to peace, after U.S. plans for a Trump-Putin summit were put on hold amid disagreements over a ceasefire along current front lines.
Sources: Kyiv Independent, BBC
Ecuador has released a man who survived a US military strike on a suspected drug-trafficking submersible after prosecutors found no basis to charge him. The United States has deployed warships in the Caribbean since August to target suspected smuggling vessels; the operations have killed at least 32 people. President Donald Trump has described those aboard as “terrorists” and said the craft struck last week was carrying fentanyl and other drugs.
The survivor was repatriated to Ecuador and freed after prosecutors said there was no report of a crime against him. A second survivor, returned to Colombia, has been hospitalised with brain trauma and is expected to face prosecution there.
The Trump administration has framed the strikes as part of a campaign against cartels, but legal specialists and a senior US lawmaker have questioned their legality and demanded scrutiny, as Washington expands its military posture in the region.
Sources: The Guardian, New York Times
North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday, its first such launch in months and a week before world leaders gather in South Korea for the APEC summit. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said multiple projectiles, believed to be short-range ballistic missiles, were detected at about 8:10 a.m. from the Junghwa area of North Hwanghae Province and flew roughly 350km.
The launch comes under South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, and as the military coordinates closely with the United States and Japan. Pyongyang recently showcased what it called its “most powerful” Hwasong-20 ICBM at a parade attended by senior Chinese and Russian figures.
While North Korea has indicated openness to future talks — with Kim Jong Un saying he has “fond memories” of prior summits — it rejects relinquishing its nuclear arsenal. President Donald Trump has said he hopes to meet Kim, possibly this year.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Le Monde
A Colombian appeals court has overturned the conviction of former president Álvaro Uribe for witness tampering and related offences, ruling that the case was not proven beyond reasonable doubt. Judges cited insufficient evidence, illegally conducted wiretaps and methodological errors by the trial court in annulling the August verdict, which had marked the first criminal conviction of a former Colombian head of state.
Uribe thanked his lawyers and said he had told the truth. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had earlier denounced the conviction, welcomed the reversal. Senator Iván Cepeda, whose allegations helped trigger the case, said he would appeal to the Supreme Court.
President Gustavo Petro criticised the ruling, arguing it obscures the history of paramilitary ties in Colombian politics, and wrote that Donald Trump would now seek sanctions against him. Separate investigations involving Uribe remain open, according to officials and prior filings referenced in court proceedings.
Sources: RFI, Times of India
More than one million people have returned to Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, in the past ten months despite insecurity and collapsing services, according to the International Organization for Migration. The movement, recorded between November 2024 and September 2025, marks a significant return of families displaced by more than two years of war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces.
The IOM described the influx as both “a sign of resilience and a warning,” noting that many returnees are living in damaged homes or overcrowded shelters with limited access to water, healthcare, and protection. Around 3.8 million people originally fled the Khartoum region, with current returns representing only a quarter of those displaced.
The agency warned that diseases such as cholera, dengue, and malaria are spreading, and urged the international community to expand recovery assistance to help rebuild essential services.
Sources: UN News, Anadolu Agency
French prosecutors say jewellery stolen from the Louvre in a daring daylight robbery is worth €88 million, or just over $100 million. The eight pieces, which include royal necklaces, earrings and a tiara worn by Empress Eugénie, were taken from the museum’s Apollo Gallery on Sunday morning in under eight minutes.
A pair of earrings once belonging to Queen Marie-Amelie missing from The Louvre - The Louvre
Four masked thieves used a truck-mounted lift to reach a balcony, cut through a glass window, and entered the gallery before fleeing on scooters. Investigators later found a damaged crown along the escape route. Paris’s prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, said the jewels’ real loss is historical rather than financial, warning that the items could be destroyed if broken apart or melted down.
President Emmanuel Macron called the theft an attack on France’s heritage, as authorities tighten security at cultural institutions and expand the investigation team.
Sources: New York Times, BBC
OpenAI has launched Atlas, a web browser built around ChatGPT and now available on Apple laptops, with versions coming to Windows, iOS and Android. The browser introduces a sidebar for users to summarise page content, compare products and analyse on-site data, and can edit highlighted text. A preview “Agent Mode” for some premium accounts can complete tasks from start to finish, such as researching and shopping.
OpenAI positions Atlas against established players as AI becomes a common route to information. An analyst cautioned that competing with a dominant browser will be difficult. OpenAI says users control privacy settings: browsing data is initially opted out of training, and “browser memories” can store facts and insights unless disabled.
The company frames Atlas as a chance to rethink how people navigate the web, with a chatbot interface taking centre stage over the traditional URL bar.
Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian
Gold and silver posted their steepest selloff in years as investors took profits after a record-breaking rally. Spot gold fell as much as 6.3% and silver 8.7%, with gold down about 5% to roughly $4,125 by late afternoon. Analysts described a technical correction after trend-driven gains, with profit-taking amplified by a stronger dollar.
The decline follows a surge to fresh records in the past week, fuelled by bets on a large US Federal Reserve rate cut and a “debasement” trade away from sovereign debt and currencies. Liquidity factors compounded the move, including India’s Diwali shutdown and earlier tightness in the silver market. A lack of positioning data amid a US government shutdown has also left traders flying blind. Despite the pullback, inflows into physically backed gold ETFs jumped last week, and several analysts said longer-term drivers remain intact even as volatility persists.
Sources: Bloomberg, Forbes
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy began a five-year prison term on Tuesday after his conviction for conspiring to seek Libyan funding for his 2007 campaign. Escorted by a police convoy to La Santé prison, he became the first former head of state jailed in France in more than half a century. He has appealed the verdict, but a court provision means he is not free pending appeal. Prison authorities said he will be held in solitary confinement for safety.
The ruling has intensified political debate. One of Sarkozy’s lawyers called the incarceration a “shame,” while President Emmanuel Macron condemned online attacks on judges but did not comment on the verdict. Supporters criticised immediate detention; Justice Ministry data show that in 2023, 89% of those sentenced to more than two years were incarcerated immediately.
Sarkozy posted that he is innocent and will continue to denounce what he calls a judicial scandal. His appeal is expected before March, with a separate early-release request filed.
This article comes at the perfect time, especially with the Cuban missile crisis parallel. It really makes one think. Could you expand on what you see as the primary variables that make deterrence so fragile in todays geopolitical landscape, perhaps with respect to the current US-Russia dynamic? It's a complex equation.