Latest news for 30 October 2025

NETHERLANDS

A centrist surprise.

Yesterday’s election is still too close to call, but initial results suggest the left-centrist D66 party has made gains against immigration firebrand Geert Wilders. So 38-year-old D66 leader Rob Jetten might be the next Dutch PM. (EuroNews)

Comment: This could suggest the reversal of a multi-year hollowing out of the political centre. If Jetten can restore political stability at home, we might see a revival in Dutch engagement across the EU and NATO.

JAMAICA

Path of destruction.

Hurricane Melissa is now headed towards Bermuda as a Category-2, after leaving at least 30 dead across Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and beyond. (NBC)

Comment: We wrote about the geopolitics of natural disasters here.

SUDAN

Atrocities.

As we foreshadowed, the notorious ‘RSF’ paramilitary has now marked its siege-based capture of Darfur’s El Fasher city by ramping up atrocities against indigenous non-Arab locals. There are now fears of another ‘Geneina’ (the Darfur city where the RSF killed as many as 15,000 civilians in 2023). (DW)

VENEZUELA

Pilot plot.

AP journalists have revealed the US once tried to turn Nicolás Maduro’s personal pilot against him, in hopes he’d divert a flight and deliver the despot into US custody. (AP)

Comment: The plot (initiated under Biden) mirrors last year’s capture of Sinaloa Cartel boss ‘El Mayo’. The decision to leak the details now likely stems from the fact the pilot ultimately refused, and publicising the plot would still fuel Maduro’s paranoia.

ROMANIA

Departure gate.

The US will soon cut its troop numbers in NATO’s eastern flank, with Bucharest’s defence ministry revealing ~1,000 of the 1,700 Romania-stationed US troops will remain. (BBC)

Comment: It’s about the US ‘re-balancing’ to better deter China, and the US says its NATO commitments remain unchanged (there are still ~100,000 US personnel in Europe). But any force reduction will rattle a continent already fretting at Putin’s longer-term ambitions.

PAKISTAN

Talks fail.

Istanbul peace talks between neighbours / frenemies Pakistan and the Taliban have broken down, with the Pakistanis still accusing Afghanistan’s rulers of harbouring terrorists. (Al Jazeera)

Comment: We explored their recent flare-up here, including the irony of Pakistan’s own ties with those same groups helping the Taliban re-take power in the first place.

VIETNAM

Journalist stopped.

The BBC says Vietnamese authorities have questioned and stopped one of its reporters leaving the country. The ruling Communist Party maintains a strong grip on the press, and even banned an edition of The Economist earlier this year because it featured an unflattering portrayal of a top leader. (The Guardian)

Comment: It’s a reminder that while Vietnam is booming and offers the West ways to diversify away from China, it’s not exactly ✌️like-minded✌️.