Latest news for 17 October 2025

SAUDI ARABIA

Protection.

Riyadh is reportedly close to securing a defence pact with the US ahead of the Crown Prince’s White House visit next month. Details are TBC, but word is the Saudis want something like Qatar’s new NATO-like US guarantee from last month. (FT $)

Comment: You could argue this reflects regional doubts around US commitment, as US partners effectively seek reassurance. But it also suggests Gulf states still clearly see the US as the only power capable of defending them, if not always willing.

UNITED STATES

Another indictment.

The US justice department has indicted former Trump 1.0 national security advisor John Bolton on 18 criminal counts related to mishandling of classified information. (Al Jazeera)

Comment: The charges (which Bolton rejects as political) apparently relate to him emailing classified info to relatives for his memoirs (which ended up highly critical of Trump). Word is the alleged details emerged during an earlier federal investigation into Iran’s hack of Bolton’s same address. What is it with DC and emails?

UNITED KINGDOM

Out of the shadows.

The UK’s MI5 (domestic intelligence) chief has used his annual address to warn that London now faces “multiple overlapping threats on an unprecedented scale” from both terror groups and states (particularly China, Russia, and Iran). (SCMP $)

Comment: His blunt words on China (‘a daily threat’) come just as PM Starmer grapples with why a China-linked UK espionage case against two Brits suddenly collapsed last month. Interestingly, Starmer just released his government’s court testimony that was similarly blunt about China, pushing back on claims that maybe his team was responsible for the case fail. We explored UK-China ties yesterday.

HUNGARY

Alaska 2.0?

Following another lengthy phone call with Putin, President Trump has announced he’ll have a second summit with his Russian counterpart, this time in Hungary “within two weeks or so.” (Trump’s Truth Social).

Comment: Lots of questions here, like a) how Putin would even get to Hungary (he’d have to cross not only NATO members, but nations bound to execute his ICC arrest warrant); b) whether Putin will show more interest in peace than he did in Alaska, and c) whether Trump has forced him to show any more interest yet. To the contrary, it might just be another ploy to string DC along while Putin keeps attacking.

LAOS

Redirection.

Laos has announced plans to cut power to crypto miners by early 2026, instead redirecting that juice to higher value exploits like metal refining and energy sales to Vietnam and Singapore. The Southeast Asian nation, rich in cheap hydropower, became a crypto hub after a 2021 policy pivot. (Reuters)

CANADA

Say what now?

Hackers have briefly taken over the announcements and flight information screens at four airports (Windsor, Kelowna, and Victoria in Canada, plus Harrisburg PA in the US), broadcasting pro-Hamas and anti-Trump messages. (NYT)

Comment: This was ultimately just a nuisance, but still a vivid hint of what capitals mean when they warn of vulnerable critical infrastructure.

KENYA

Memorial turns bloody.

Police have fired tear gas in clashes that’ve left at least three dead, as thousands of mourners gathered to see the body of Kenya’s revered former prime minister, Raila Odinga. He died in India on Wednesday. (BBC)