World News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image of a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv on X on Sunday, October 25, two days before Israel votes in its election on October 27. The post carried statements by commentator Yuval Blumberg warning of an "existential threat" from Iran, and Netanyahu said in it that Israel has two more years of US President Donald Trump in office to deal with that threat.

The Federal Reserve will announce an interest rate decision this Wednesday in the US. Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon are scheduled to report quarterly results during a week where one-third of S&P 500 companies provide earnings. Nick Giorgi of Alpine Macro says investors are scrutinizing AI spending, while LSEG IBES data expects S&P 500 third-quarter earnings to rise over 32%.

The European Union and India plan to sign a Free Trade Agreement in Brussels on December 17 or 18 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit. Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič proposed a fast-track approval using the English text to avoid translation delays of over a year. The pact, finalized politically on January 27, 2026, would create a zone covering 25% of global GDP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Reserve Bank of India's Rs 169-crore data centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. He stated that modern wars target economies and required the protection of the banking system from cyber terrorists. Modi claimed that after 2014, formal banking services expanded to street vendors and small entrepreneurs who were previously denied facilities.

The Kremlin announced Friday that a Russian diesel tanker set sail for the United States following an agreement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Kpler reports the vessel is headed to New York for a November 7 arrival, marking the first such delivery since July 2023. Alexander Novak stated the shipment contains 40,000 tons, which represents about 7% of daily U.S. diesel consumption. Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the decision weak, noting it follows a sanctions package Trump previously signed but later paused.

Ukrainian officials and expert Dmitri Alperovitch reported on Friday that SpaceX continues to throttle Starshield services in Ukraine. Since October 14, speed limits have caused drones traveling over 100 mph to lose connections, which Alperovitch says limits strikes on Russian logistics. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed restrictions remain despite claims from Donald Trump that service was restored.

House Democrats led by Reps. Sam Liccardo, Ro Khanna, and Jimmy Panetta wrote to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Friday demanding an investigation into Starlink service interruptions in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials told CNN that restrictions on the military-grade Starshield service remained active, hindering drone operations and Russian attack interceptions. The lawmakers stated they will scrutinize federal funding for Elon Musk's businesses if they win the Nov. 3 midterm election.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced on Thursday that the group rescued 14 Indian nationals near Bab el-Mandeb after a boat attack off Jabal Zuqar island. India's Ministry of External Affairs reported one Indian death and three injuries following strikes on Dammam airport and the Shaybah oil field. Saudi Aramco instructed Dhahran headquarters staff to work remotely as Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index fell 2.5%.

J. Benjamin Greenberg sued Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial in a Washington federal court on Thursday. The plaintiff alleges the president violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause through a $500 million stake purchase by an entity backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan and a $2 billion stablecoin buy by an Abu Dhabi fund. Greenberg claims these payments harmed Circle Internet Group Inc. investors, while the White House calls the suit politically motivated.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is urging exporters and MSMEs to utilize opportunities under the recently implemented India-New Zealand free trade agreement. Sanjay Budhia of the CII stated that New Zealand can serve as a gateway to Pacific Island and Oceania markets. He advised exporters to engage with buyers and leverage schemes like the Export Promotion Mission.

Donald Trump suggests a strategy to make data centers more popular in communities: pay a 'dividend'. Trump observed that data centers, which require significant resources like water and power, have become controversial in some areas. He proposes that companies should provide financial incentives to local communities, a move that could potentially ease tensions and gain public support. This strategy aligns with the Trump administration's focus on rapid AI development and addressing voter sentiment.

The Office for National Statistics reported that UK Consumer Price Index inflation rose to 3.5% in September, up from 3.1% in August. Economists believe the acceleration was driven by higher fuel and energy costs. This figure is the highest since October last year and exceeded the 3.4% expectation of most economists.

The growth forecast of Indian economy has been raised to 7.1% for 2026-27 from 6.7% projected in August but mounting inflationary pressures pose risks to the outlook, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in the minutes of the central bank’s latest policy meeting. Amidst the turbulent global backdrop, the Indian economy has shown remarkable resilience. Growth for the full year 2026-27 is now projected at 7.1 per cent, 40 bps higher than the projection of 6.7 per cent in August.

Open-source maintainers say roughly one in four incoming pull requests is low-quality AI-generated content, and that figure climbs to 31 percent on larger projects, according to a new Linux Foundation survey.

US President Donald Trump suggested that companies operating data centers pay a community dividend to build local support, according to a post on Truth Social. He also said large data centers must generate their own power and return or sell surplus to the community or grid. Trump's comments come as data centers across the US face resistance from local communities concerned about water and electricity demands, with Pew Research Center reporting more than 3,000 operational data centers.

Manchester City's Abu Dhabi owners agreed to pay Manchester Council £750,000 a year for stadium naming rights in 2011, months before a naming rights deal with Etihad Airways worth an estimated £10m a year, The i Paper reported. The Etihad sponsorship forms a key part of how the club was found to have breached Premier League financial regulations between 2009-10 and 2017-18.

Roiled by protests, France has drawn long looks from abroad at the state of its republic - both its divisive internal politics and economic decision-making.Mostly peaceful, if obstructive, school blockades by students this month morphed Saturday into wider upheaval and pockets of violence by youths over issues such as the rising cost of living -- which isn't exclusive to France.Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank, said France is not Greece - an allusion to the 2009 financial crisis that jolted the

In a July ‌memo made public Monday, DHS told federal agencies to monitor flows of traffic in and out of government websites to address potential risks from DeepSeek US banning Chinese AI DeepSeek from government agency IT systems left The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment [File] REUTERS REUTERS https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/da0d3i/article71603296.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/2026-10-19T115057Z_857358559_RC2B6OAS34TQ_RTRMADP_3_TECH-AI.JPG Dado Ruvic Deepseek logo and a keyboard in this

The conflict has highlighted the world's heavy reliance on the strategic waterway, through which ‌a fifth of global oil and liquefied ​natural gas trade previously passed Investment in alternative logistics routes ​in the Gulf to mitigate the impact of the Iran war could make the Strait of Hormuz "redundant" in the next five years, HSBC Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said on Tuesday.