Meloni Named in ICC Complaint Over Gaza
Trump Threatens to Invoke Insurrection Act
Israel Marks Two Years Since 7 October Attack
Israel Intercepts Another Gaza Aid Flotilla
India’s Conservation Gains, Heat Risks Persist
Pentagon Nominee Backs ‘Brass-Tack’ AUKUS Review
Myanmar Airstrike Kills Dozens at Festival
Physics Nobel Honours Quantum Circuit Pioneers
White House Memo Challenges Back Pay Guarantee
Gold Tops $4,000 as Shutdown Drives Haven Rush
On this day ….
On this day in 1948, surgeons in Stockholm implanted the first fully internal pacemaker, an experiment that blended post-war engineering with medicine. It marked the dawn of modern bioelectronics, proving that technology could extend not only productivity but human life itself.
Today’s debates on wearable health data, AI diagnostics and neural implants trace back to that moment when circuitry entered the body.
The pacemaker’s quiet pulse anticipated a future in which medicine and machines would merge—an early sign of both human ingenuity and the ethical complexity it continues to generate.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has confirmed that she and two senior ministers have been accused of “complicity in genocide” in a complaint filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The case alleges that Italy’s continued supply of weapons to Israel amounts to support for crimes committed in Gaza. Meloni said Defence Minister Guido Crosetto and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani were also named, and that the head of defence group Leonardo “might” be included.
She told state broadcaster RAI she was “amazed” by the accusation, insisting that Italy has not authorised new arms deliveries to Israel since the October 7 attacks.
The complaint, signed by about 50 lawyers and academics, urges the ICC to consider whether Italy’s role in weapons transfers constitutes complicity in genocide. It follows mass protests across Italy against Israel’s offensive, with dockworkers threatening strikes and demonstrators calling Meloni an “accomplice to genocide.”
Sources: Al Jazeera, Times of Israel
Hundreds of Texas National Guard troops have assembled outside Chicago as Donald Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces to Democratic-led cities. The president said he might use the law, last invoked during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, to bypass court rulings blocking troop deployments.
A judge has temporarily halted a dispatch to Portland, while another allowed deployment to Chicago, where federal agents are targeting illegal immigration. Trump said troops are needed to protect federal property and reduce crime.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker accused Trump of using service members as political props and trying to provoke unrest to justify militarisation. Illinois and Chicago have sued to block the orders. Critics, including a retired National Guard general, warned the move has no precedent and risks expanding presidential power beyond constitutional limits.
Sources: Reuters, South China Morning Post
Israel held subdued commemorations for the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, as indirect talks between Israel and Hamas continued in Egypt. Families organised the main memorial in Tel Aviv, while the government postponed its official ceremony until 16 October after the High Holidays. Hostage families pressed for a deal, with Israel believing about 20 captives are still alive and the remains of 28 others are held in Gaza.
Fighting in Gaza continued. The Gaza health ministry reports more than 67,000 Palestinians killed, and experts say parts of the enclave face famine amid severe shortages.
The war has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population. Inside Israel, divisions persist over the government’s handling of the conflict and the failure to secure a ceasefire that would free the remaining hostages.
Sources: Associated Press, New York Times
The Israeli military has intercepted several boats from the Gaza Freedom Flotilla as they attempted to reach the enclave with humanitarian aid. The flotilla said the vessels were attacked early on Tuesday about 220km off Gaza’s coast, with one boat,
The Conscience, carrying 93 journalists, doctors and activists. Israel’s foreign ministry confirmed the raid, describing it as a “futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade”, and said all passengers were safe, would be taken to an Israeli port and deported.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said its convoy carried more than $110,000 worth of medical and nutritional supplies for Gaza’s hospitals. The interception follows a similar operation days earlier, when Israel detained about 450 activists from another flotilla. That episode triggered international criticism and protests after detainees alleged mistreatment by Israeli forces.
Sources: Al Jazeera, The Guardian
India has expanded formal protection and recorded notable species recoveries alongside wider afforestation efforts. The protected-area network now spans 1,022 sites over 178,640 sq km, or 5.43% of the country, and Ramsar-listed wetlands have risen to 91 by mid-2025. Recent legal updates include the 2022 Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act. Tiger numbers have increased by over 30% in a decade to 3,682 — around 70% of the global wild population.
Yet cities face intensifying heat. In New Delhi, experts highlight the urban heat island effect and argue for near-term fixes: reflective “cool roofs” can lower local temperatures by up to 4°C, while adding urban forests can reduce surface temperatures by as much as 13°C.
Advocates also urge redirecting climate finance toward short-lived pollutants, which they say drive nearly half of global warming but receive about 5% of funding.
Sources: Hindustan Times, South China Morning Post
US defence nominee John Noh told senators the Pentagon’s review of AUKUS is a “brass-tack, common-sense” check on affordability and alignment with President Donald Trump’s agenda. He said there are “commonsense things” the US, Australia and the UK can do to strengthen the submarine pact and make it more sustainable, but declined specifics while the review continues. He did not pre-empt recommendations from senior defence leaders.
Committee members voiced frustration, with chair Roger Wicker calling the review a “distressing surprise” for Australia. Noh cited constraints in the US submarine industrial base, saying production must rise from about 1.2 Virginia-class boats a year to 2.33 to meet targets and deliver on AUKUS. He said findings are due by the US autumn. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to discuss the pact with Trump in Washington on 20 October.
Sources: ABC News, Bloomberg
At least 40 people, including children, were killed when Myanmar’s military carried out airstrikes on a Buddhist festival and anti-junta protest in Chaung-U township on 6 October. Witnesses said bombs were dropped from motorised paragliders onto a crowd of hundreds gathered for the Thadingyut full moon festival, leaving bodies and debris scattered across the site. Around 80 others were wounded, and funerals were held the following day.
Amnesty International condemned the attack as evidence of an “intensifying and brutal campaign” by the junta, saying civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection. The rights group urged ASEAN to increase pressure on the military government ahead of regional meetings later this month. The junta, which seized power in 2021, is now besieging rebel-held areas as it prepares for elections in December that critics and the UN have dismissed as a “fraud”.
Sources: Straits Times, Al Jazeera
John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.”
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award in Stockholm, with the 11 million Swedish kronor prize to be shared equally. Clarke works at the University of California, Berkeley; Devoret at Yale University and UC Santa Barbara; and Martinis at UC Santa Barbara.
Their landmark experiments in 1984–85 used superconducting circuits with Josephson junctions to show quantum tunnelling and discrete energy levels in a system large enough to handle.
The work demonstrated quantum behaviour on a macroscopic scale and has provided foundations for today’s quantum technologies, including superconducting qubits now used to build powerful quantum chips.
Sources: BBC, Nobel Org
A draft White House memo argues furloughed federal workers are not automatically entitled to back pay after the week-long shutdown, reinterpreting a 2019 law widely seen as guaranteeing compensation. The Office of Management and Budget says payments require explicit appropriations in legislation ending the lapse. Roughly 750,000 employees have been furloughed. President Donald Trump said whether workers get back pay “depends on who we’re talking about.”
The analysis contradicts earlier guidance that suggested automatic back pay, and a White House FAQ was recently edited to remove that claim. Lawmakers are weighing a seven-week stopgap that maintains current funding but lacks back-pay language.
Reactions were mixed: the House speaker signalled the memo could change expectations, while the Senate majority leader said back pay has been standard practice. The memo’s author, OMB’s general counsel, framed the stance as requiring Congress to expressly set aside funds.
Sources: Axios, Washington Post
Gold futures rose above $4,000 per troy ounce for the first time, as investors sought safety during the continuing US government shutdown. New York spot gold had previously closed at $3,960.60 on Monday. By late Tuesday, futures traded around $4,003, placing year-to-date gains near 50%. Silver futures have climbed nearly 60% this year, trading under $48.
Prices have been buoyed by uncertainty from tariffs and the prospect of lower interest rates. The Federal Reserve cut its key rate by a quarter-point last month and projected two further cuts this year, increasing gold’s appeal versus interest-bearing assets.
A weaker US dollar has also supported the move. In Asia trade, spot bullion climbed as high as $4,026.69 and was $4,025.86 at 1 p.m. in Singapore, underscoring the breadth of the rally.