“A powerful car bomb blast outside the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps in the southwestern city of Quetta has killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 30 others, authorities said. The explosion, swiftly followed by heavy gunfire, tore through the vicinity of Zarghoon Road in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, on Tuesday. … Local authorities said the attack was a suicide bombing and multiple attackers were killed. Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari issued a strong condemnation over the attack, saying, ‘The misguided extremists were acting on India’s agenda.’ He did not give details. India has not yet responded to the allegation.” (09/30/25)
“Europe’s economy is holding up better than expected in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariffs — in part because the European Union didn’t retaliate with self-defeating tariffs of its own, the head of the European Central Bank said Tuesday. Christine Lagarde said the impact of Trump’s trade war on growth and inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency had also been softened by a stronger euro and by conclusion of a trade deal with Trump. The deal capped tariffs at 15% and took away uncertainty that threatened to delay or disrupt business investment. ‘A year ago, most would have assumed that U.S. tariffs … would trigger a major adverse shock to the euro area economy,’ Large said in a speech delivered at a central banking conference in Helsinki, Finland. ‘Yet some of these assumptions have not been borne out.'” (09/30/25)
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law on Monday that will force major AI companies to reveal their safety protocols — marking the end of a lobbying battle with big tech companies like ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Meta and setting the groundwork for a potential national standard. The proposal was the second attempt by the author, ambitious San Francisco Democrat and state Sen. Scott Wiener, to pass such legislation after Newsom vetoed a broader measure last year that set off an international debate. It is already being watched in Congress and other states as an example to follow as lawmakers seek to rein in an emerging technology that has been embraced by the Trump administration in the race against China, but which has also prompted concerns for its potential to create harms.” (09/29/25)
“President Donald Trump secured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s backing on Monday for a U.S.-sponsored peace proposal to end a nearly two-year-old war in Gaza, but questions loomed over whether Hamas would accept the plan. … The White House released a 20-point document that called for an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas disarmament and a transitional government led by an international body. … ‘Hamas hasn’t yet received the plan officially, nothing beyond media publication,’ a Hamas official told Reuters. But an official briefed on the talks later said Qatar and Egypt shared the document with Hamas, which told mediators they will review it ‘in good faith’ and then respond.” (09/30/25)
“Congressional leaders left a meeting with President Trump on Monday saying they’d made no progress toward a deal that would prevent a shutdown on Wednesday, increasing the odds the government’s lights will turn off in less than 48 hours. … Each side said little was accomplished at the White House on Monday — and insisted the other party was to blame.” (09/29/25)
“Vladimir Putin has called up more than 100,000 Russian men for military service in what amounts to the biggest autumn conscription since 2016. The Russian president wants to recruit 135,000 men aged 18-30 from October to December to routine service, which typically involves a year at a military base inside Russia. Though military service is not necessarily a call to fight in Ukraine – which is known as mobilisation – there have been reports of conscripted men being sent to the front line. Similarly, conscripts who complete military training face a higher likelihood of battlefield deployment.” (09/29/25)
“YouTube agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump after he was suspended by social media platforms following the January 6, 2021, insurrection. This makes Alphabet-owned YouTube the last of the three Big Tech social media companies sued by Trump — which included Meta and then Twitter, now called X — to settle over his removal from their platforms. YouTube will pay $22 million to settle the claims made by Trump to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall, which is ‘dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the National Mall, to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom,’ according to a court document. The social media company will also pay $2.5 million to settle with other plaintiffs, such as the nonprofit American Conservative Union.” (09/29/25)
“The federal government announced a $400-million financial support for Algoma Steel under its large enterprise tariff relief scheme, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said on Monday. The loan will ‘help Algoma Steel Inc. continue operations, transition to a business model less reliant on the United States, and limit disruption to its workforce,’ the government said in a statement. The Ontario government will also provide a support of $100 million, it said. … The loan is a part of a $10-billion financing facility announced in March for large companies to help them fight the tariffs and counter-measures. It complements a slew of other tariff-related measures that the federal government has announced for the Canadian steel industry.” (09/29/25)
“Switzerland has agreed with the US that it will not manipulate its currency, in a rare joint statement widely seen as a ‘green light’ for further intervention by the country’s central bank to restrain a rise in the franc. The Swiss National Bank and the US Treasury on Monday issued a declaration formally aligning their views on foreign exchange matters, with both countries promising not to ‘target exchange rates for competitive purposes.’ The statement also recognised that market interventions are a valid tool for addressing currency volatility or ‘disorderly’ moves in exchange rates.” (09/29/25)
“Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani refused to denounce Hamas after he was asked to back Israeli Prime Minister [and long-time funder/sponsor of Hamas] Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to wipe out the terrorists and secure the release of all remaining hostages. Mamdani stopped short of condemning the militant group after Netanyahu used his defiant address to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday to declare that Israel must ‘finish the job’ in its war against Hamas. ‘I am not going to echo the words of Benjamin Netanyahu,’ the mayoral nominee told reporters when asked point-blank later Friday if he agreed with the Israeli PM’s stance that Hamas is a terrorist group that needs to be destroyed. ‘I can, however, share my own words and say them right here, which is that my politics is built on a universality.'” (09/29/25)
