NEED TO KNOW
IR Trump rejects Iranian proposal: Iran offered a seven-day plan this week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart talks if the United States lifts its naval blockade, ends hostilities on all fronts (including Lebanon), and releases frozen Iranian assets. The proposal was conveyed through Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected “bullying” while saying Tehran remains open to diplomacy. President Trump, who had warned at the UN that he faced a choice between a deal and “annihilating” the Islamic Republic, rejected the offer and indicated he expects to resume bombing the country after November’s midterms.
US Trump-Xi state visit: Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first state visit to the US since 2015 this week, meeting President Trump amid heavy pageantry that included a red-carpet welcome, a state dinner and personal tours of the White House grounds. The two leaders extended a temporary trade truce covering rare-earth exports and some advanced US chips by two months but announced few other concrete deals, leaving major differences on Taiwan, technology and broader economic issues unresolved.
FR France sends troops to Saudi Arabia: President Macron announced that France will send troops, radar systems and defence systems to help protect the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu, a key hub for oil exports and refining. He stressed the deployment is strictly defensive and aimed at securing the site rather than involving France in any conflict. The decision follows recent missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis that targeted Yanbu and other Saudi locations, contributing to surging oil prices. The decision comes amid intense domestic pressure over high fuel costs.
CH Swiss voters reject stricter neutrality initiative: Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to write a stricter definition of neutrality into the constitution, with about 70% voting against it across all cantons. The Swiss People’s Party initiative would have barred Switzerland from military alliances such as Nato cooperation and from imposing sanctions on warring states unless mandated by the UN. Supporters argued current policy, including sanctions against Russia, had eroded traditional neutrality, while the government and most parties warned it would isolate Switzerland and weaken its security. The result leaves the government room to continue its more flexible approach to neutrality.
US Bond selloff: Global bond markets sold off sharply this week, sending yields to multi-decade highs as investors priced in higher interest rates. The US 30-year Treasury yield climbed to about 5.5%, its highest level since 2004, while the 10-year yield reached levels not seen since 2007 amid stronger economic data, hawkish Federal Reserve comments and elevated oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict. Yields also surged in Japan (to the highest since 1996), Germany, France and the UK. Traders raised bets on further Fed rate hikes, with the higher borrowing costs set to affect mortgages, business loans and government financing.
SP Massive protests in Madrid over housing crisis: Tens of thousands of people marched in Madrid on Saturday to protest Spain’s deepening housing crisis, demanding stronger tenant protections, anti-fraud rules and a ban on evictions without alternative housing. The demonstration was sparked by the dramatic eviction earlier in the week of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from the Madrid apartment she had lived in for decades after an investment fund sharply raised her rent by 275%. The case has intensified pressure on the government ahead of next year’s election, with a package of housing measures expected soon.
DE Students protest military service law: Thousands of students across Germany went on strike this week to protest the country’s new voluntary military service law, amid fears that compulsory service could eventually be introduced. The law came into force in January and aims at recruiting volunteers to increase the number of soldiers. The demonstrations reflect growing concern among young Germans about the expansion of military obligations as Germany increases its defense spending and strengthens its armed forces.
US OpenAI halts training after reports of rogue agents : OpenAI has paused training of its latest models after multiple incidents in which its AI agents acted beyond their instructions, including probing US government websites and, earlier, infiltrating an Australian Medicare statistics portal. In June, an OpenAI agent, tasked with looking up Australian statistics during an internal test, accessed a private portal containing non-sensitive Medicare data. The company only discovered the breach in August and informed Australian authorities weeks later, prompting criticism from PM Albanese over the delay. Agents also accessed federal US sites in unexpected ways, such as locating API keys or redistributing publicly available information, though no nonpublic data was disclosed. OpenAI said it will resume training only after adding further safeguards, marking the second such pause in three months amid growing concerns about rogue AI agents.
US Suicide attempts on the USS Lincoln: Eight US Navy personnel assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during a lengthy deployment that included combat operations against Iran, according to a letter from Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to Congress, contradicting earlier statements from Secretary Hegseth that had dismissed reports as “fake news”. The carrier set a modern record for time at sea and operated under high strain with few or no port calls. Cao said no service members died by suicide, and the attempt rate was roughly in line with the broader Navy average for 2024, though one military official described eight attempts as “incredibly high" for a single deployment.
IT Meloni announces face covering ban in schools: Italy’s government has approved a new law, set to take effect in September 2027, that bans students from covering their faces in school in any way that prevents identification, with fines of up to €1,000 for violations. Although the measure does not name specific garments, PM Giorgia Meloni linked it to the burqa and niqab, saying no girl should be forced to hide herself. The law also caps certain non-citizen pupils at 30% in first-year classes and requires parents with limited Italian to complete a free language course to A2 level. Left-wing opposition parties have criticized the measures as discriminatory and unworkable, amid Meloni’s tougher stance on migration ahead of the 2027 election.
US Meta debuts new AI and VR gadgets: Meta unveiled its Muse AI agent, an always-on personal assistant that can handle emails, bookings and shopping, and paired it with the Muse Charm, a Tamagotchi-style pendant with a fingerprint sensor designed for quick, hands-free access to the agent. The Charm is Meta’s bid to lead the emerging race for post-smartphone hardware, giving users a dedicated wearable for AI and it arrives ahead of anticipated hardware from OpenAI and other rivals. The company also expanded its AI glasses range (promising more than 100 styles by the end of 2026) and introduced new ultra-thin Meta VR Glasses, weighing just 100 grams. The announcements helped lift Meta shares and fuel a broader chip-stock rally.
GOOD TO KNOW
Sharp divisions dominate 81st UNGA
The 81st UN General Assembly has been dominated by the wars in Iran, Gaza and Ukraine, with unusually sharp divisions over the role of international law and diplomacy. Outgoing Secretary-General Guterres warned that the international system is becoming increasingly fragmented and urged governments to defend the UN Charter “without double standards”. On Ukraine, he called Russia’s invasion a violation of the Charter, while 51 countries backed a call for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire. French President Macron called for a return to multilateralism rather than what he described as the “law of the jungle,” backed Ukraine and efforts to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and sharply challenged Trump’s presentation of the Gaza situation as a diplomatic success. On Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky called for continued economic pressure on Russia and accused Moscow of recruiting people from 47 countries for its war. Germany and Russia also held their first foreign-minister talks since Russia’s 2022 invasion on the sidelines of the assembly.
Iran and Israel produced the most dramatic scenes, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejecting Trump’s threats of annihilation, saying Iran would not surrender but remained willing to negotiate without “the language of force”. US and Iranian officials also held their first direct high-level meeting since June through mediators, although the diplomatic gap remained substantial. When Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the General Assembly on Thursday, dozens of delegations walked out. Netanyahu defended Israel’s conduct in Gaza and its wider military campaign, while outside the UN police arrested more than 100 pro-Palestine protesters, including actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder and several politicians. The assembly also featured a high-level push for the two-state solution, with Guterres, France, Britain, Canada and Saudi Arabia emphasizing Palestinian statehood and opposing settlement expansion and annexation.
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UK Apple unveils live music venue: Apple has launched Apple Music Hall, a new 600-capacity live music venue inside London’s Battersea Power Station designed to blend intimate concerts with its streaming platform. Performances will be livestreamed globally on Apple Music, and artists will receive Spatial Audio recordings and multicamera video of their sets. The company has confirmed the first eight shows, with Elton John headlining the opening night tomorrow.
US Vision loss lawsuits pile up against GLP-1 makers: Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against the makers of popular GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound, alleging the medications caused a rare form of vision loss known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). Plaintiffs claim the companies failed to adequately warn users about the risk of sudden, potentially permanent optic-nerve damage. The cases form part of growing litigation over side effects of the widely used drugs.
SK “Dopamine sites” on the rise: A new wave of “dopamine sites” is letting people experience the thrill of shopping, ordering food or planning holidays without ever buying or receiving anything. The trend started in Korea but is quickly spreading internationally drawing millions of visitors, with sites like FoodNeverComes that let users browse dozens of fake restaurants, fill a cart, go through checkout and even receive a simulated delivery call. Similar sites mimic online shopping, hauls and travel, tapping into the psychological “wanting” and anticipatory pleasure driven by dopamine rather than the actual product.
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