Daily flyovers
Latest news for 24 October 2025
Quick hits of consequential news from all corners of the world.
- 01
CANADA
US suspends trade talks.
President Trump has again suspended trade talks with Canada over an anti-tariff advertisement run by the province of Ontario, featuring edited footage of President Reagan dunking on tariffs. (Independent)
Comment: Canada’s Carney had just stabilised his rapport with Trump, in hopes of stabilising Canada’s trade ties with the US. The joys of a federal system.
- 02
IRELAND
And the president is…
Irish voters head to the polls today (Friday) to elect their 10th president (a mostly ceremonial role). Left-leaning independent parliamentarian Catherine Connolly, known partly for her criticism of NATO / the EU, looks set to win. (Irish Times)
- 03
CHINA
Not at that price.
There are industry reports that China’s state oil giants like PetroChina, Sinpec, CNOOC, and Zhenhua are already halting their seaborne Russian oil purchases amid this week’s latest US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, with India’s majors likely to follow suit. (The Straits Times)
Comment: Putin is claiming these US sanctions “will not significantly impact our economic wellbeing”, but this week’s 7% price spike disagrees. There’s a degree of delusion and bluster, but it also reflects hopes his oil keeps reaching buyers via intermediaries.
- 04
LITHUANIA
High flying.
Vilnius has hauled in a local Russian diplomat to protest after two of the Kremlin’s fighter jets entered Lithuanian (aka NATO) airspace for 18 seconds yesterday (Thursday). The SU-30 jets crossed over from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, prompting NATO to scramble Spanish Eurofighter Typhoons. (France24)
Comment: Kazakhstan also tightened its airspace yesterday after a drone of "unknown origin" exploded near its border with Russia.
- 05
MALAYSIA
Come one, come all.
The annual ASEAN summit of Southeast Asian leaders kicks off in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, with word it might be a tad more consequential than usual: President Trump is set to witness Cambodia and Thailand signing their peace accord. Other high-profile leaders like India’s Modi, Russia’s Putin, and Myanmar’s junta leader (Hlaing) are skipping the summit. (Anadolu Agency) And speaking of Sunday…
- 06
ARGENTINA
Will he? Won’t he?
It’s not every day the world holds its breath for mid-term elections in Argentina, but we’ll be watching this Sunday as voters decide whether President Milei gets enough seats to defend his veto, lock in Trump’s $20B-40B currency swap, and continue his austerity project aimed at ending Argentina’s default cycle. (Reuters)
Comment: Interestingly, Milei is scheduled to meet JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon, who’s in town for a conference. A photo op with that kind of Wall St star-power might offer a dash of pre-election credibility for his tough economic program, as polls suggest Sunday could come down to the wire.
- 07
NIGER
Taken.
Someone has kidnapped a US missionary just a few blocks from Niger’s presidential palace, with local diplomats reporting he’s been taken to the western Tillaberi region where jihadis are known to operate. (Al Jazeera)