Latest news for 23 October 2025

ISRAEL

World Court weighs in.

Following a UN General Assembly request in December, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued a non-binding opinion declaring Israel has a legal obligation to facilitate aid into Palestinian territories, and rejecting Israel’s reports that the main UN agency (UNRWA) is compromised. Israel says it’s already meeting its aid obligations, and has dismissed the court’s UNRWA ruling as political. (BBC)

RUSSIA

Finally.

Hours after President Trump postponed his summit with Putin (who wasn’t showing any new flexibility), DC has now followed London’s move in slapping new sanctions on Russia’s top two oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil. The EU just adopted its 19th sanctions package on Russia too. (AFP)

Comment: Trump is denying a WSJ report that he’s also lifted restrictions on Ukrainian deep-strikes in Russia — but interestingly, there’s been at least one such strike this week, which makes us wonder if Trump’s public denials are just preserving space for dialogue with Putin. Anyway, the immediate 3% spike in oil prices reflects (among other things) industry assessments that these new US sanctions will gut India’s imports of Russian crude, only weeks after Modi pledged to double down. Money talks.

NORTH KOREA

Welcome fireworks.

Pyongyang has tested a series of ballistic missiles, its first such move since May. (EuroNews)

Comment: Why now? We’re just days out from South Korea’s big Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, with Trump, Xi, and other regional leaders all due in town. So it’s a flex of Kim’s latest capabilities, a bit of posturing to steal South Korea’s thunder, and a push for leverage to get recognition as a nuclear state.

HAITI

Security Council wants elections.

UN Security Council members are pushing Haiti’s transitional government to make good on its promise to hold an election by February 2026. (AP)

Comment: It’ll be difficult to pull off, given ~90% of the capital is still controlled by armed gangs.

SINGAPORE

Drone mothership.

The Singaporean navy has launched its biggest warship to date, a kind of multirole drone mothership supporting a broader fleet of drones. (The War Zone)

Comment: There are some impressively Singaporean things about this new Victory class warship: first, with a bit of design input from Sweden and Denmark, it only took 12 months to build (a timely rebuke to Western overruns); and second, it only needs 100 crew (critical given Singapore’s small population).

UNITED STATES

More strikes.

US forces have hit another alleged narco-boat, but this time in international waters off Colombia’s Pacific (rather than Venezuela’s Caribbean) coast. (Independent)

Comment: Obvious legal and ethical questions aside, the geography at least makes more sense given most US-bound drugs go via Pacific rather than Caribbean routes. But it might also be a flex aimed at Colombia given President Petro’s increasingly rancorous ties with Trump.

TURKEY

Second-hand jets.

President Erdogan is on a charm offensive to convince Eurofighter members Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain to approve him buying 24 pre-loved Typhoon jets from Qatar and Oman (where he’s visiting this week). It’s part of Turkey’s efforts to beef up its air power after Israel’s recent flexes against Iran, Qatar, and Syria. (Reuters)

Comment: Turkey is already taking export orders for its own home-grown fifth-generation fighter jet (the Kaan), which is due for mass production in 2028 — so this sudden interim Eurofighter proposal suggests a sense of strategic urgency in Ankara.