Even before U.S. Senator JD Vance’s arrival, reports in Israeli media described tough conversations between Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning that the U.S. administration will not tolerate Israel unilaterally breaking the ceasefire.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

The U.S brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza is holding, after Hamas agreed to release all remaining Israeli hostages.

Middle East Conflict

US Vice President and officials have expressed strong support for the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, though their messaging is reportedly disconnected from the situation on the ground. While Israel has not fully met its commitments regarding the opening of crossings and aid deliveries to Gaza, American officials are maintaining pressure to ensure the ceasefire holds and that negotiations progress to the next phase.

The upcoming phase is expected to focus on reconstruction, Palestinian governance, and the establishment of a multinational stabilization force. Israel has objected to the inclusion of certain countries, notably Turkey, in this force. US officials, including J.D. Vance, have stated that the US will not compel Israel to take actions against its will. Notably, Palestinians have not been included in these discussions, raising concerns about their agency in the process.

‘Internal Israeli politics’ roiled by tough-talking Trump officials

A lot of positive messaging from the U.S. Vice President and U.S. officials about the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a lot of messaging that is quite disconnected from the reality on the ground, and the messaging coming out of Israel about alleged Hamas infractions. The crossings are not open the way they should be, and the number of trucks coming into Gaza is also not what Israel had committed to doing. But nonetheless, American officials are keeping up the pressure, making very clear that their intent on making sure the ceasefire holds, and that talks move on to phase two. Now, phase two involves reconstruction, Palestinian governance, the formation of a stabilization force that will involve many countries. Israel already objecting to the membership of at least one country, Turkey in specific, and J.D. Vance saying that the United States is not going to force Israel to do anything it doesn't want. Absent from all of that is discussion about Palestinians and Palestinian agency. No Palestinians are involved in all that talk. But so far, the Americans seem intent on making sure that Israel is pushed in that direction despite attempts to find a way out, an exit, of that ceasefire. Noradi Al-Jazeera, Amman.

Colombia’s top court overturned former President Alvaro Uribe’s convictions for fraud and bribery, citing “structural deficiencies” and insufficient evidence. The decision opens the door for further appeals in the high-profile case.

Bogotá

Colombia court quashes former president Uribe’s conviction

AccuWeather forecasters are warning that the western Caribbean could face extreme impacts from Tropical Storm Melissa as the storm will barely move for nearly a week.

Santo Domingo

Tropical Storm Melissa expected to stall, potentially deadly

A French government minister insisted the security system at the Louvre was working as it was supposed to when burglars easily made off with $102 million worth of jewels. The Paris prosecutor says 100 investigators are on the case.

Paris

Fallout grows in France over Louvre crown jewels heist

Vice President JD Vance visited Israel, calling for patience as the fragile ceasefire, in place for 11 days, continues to hold amid ongoing tensions between Israel and Hamas.

In visit to Israel, Vance urges patience as fragile ceasefire holds

A planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Tuesday, as Moscow's rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine cast a cloud over attempts at negotiation.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Russian demands on Ukraine jeopardize Putin-Trump summit

A posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain's Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her as a teenager, went on sale in London on Tuesday (October 21, 2025), days after the disgraced prince gave up his Duke of York title.

London

More scrutiny piles on Prince Andrew as new Giuffre book released

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began his five-year prison sentence in Paris on Tuesday (October 21) for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, in a stunning downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.

France's Sarkozy begins five-year prison sentence in Paris

US Vice-President JD Vance visits Israel amid concerns that the US-brokered peace deal between the country and Hamas will not hold. The Trump administration has redoubled its efforts to cement the fragile Gaza peace agreement after Israel accused Hamas of stalling the hand-over of hostages' bodies and deadly violence flared up in the territory days before.

Jerusalem

U.S. Vice-President Vance visits Israel as Gaza ceasefire falters

Amazon.com cloud service returned to normal operations on Monday (October 20) afternoon, the company said, after an internet outage that caused global turmoil among thousands of sites.

Amazon says AWS cloud service back to normal after outage

Japan's parliament has elected the country's first female leader. Sanae Takaichi, 64, of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is seen as a hardline conservative who supports traditional gender roles and hawkish foreign policy.

Tokyo

Sanae Takaichi elected Japan's first female prime minister

Three days after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine “could still win” its war with Russia, but added, “I don’t think they will,” raising new questions about Washington’s support for Kyiv.

Washington

Trump doubts Ukraine will win war against Russia

Former FBI Director James Comey is asking a judge to dismiss the criminal charges against him, claiming the prosecution is vindictive and unlawful.

Ex-FBI director James Comey seeks to toss indictment

An appeals court panel is allowing the White House to federalize and deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon.

Portland

Appeals court rules Trump can deploy National Guard to Portland

U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a rare earths and critical minerals agreement aimed at ensuring a steady supply of the materials at a time when China is trying to tighten control over global supply.

Washington County

U.S. and Australia boost rare earths supply with new agreement

A global outage hit Amazon Web Services (AWS), disrupting platforms like Amazon Prime, Fortnite, Alexa, Snapchat, and Duolingo. The issue, caused by increased error rates, took about three hours to mostly resolve.

AWS outage mostly resolved after hours-long global disruption

Centrist Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidential runoff, defeating conservative rival Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, as the country's worst economic crisis in a generation helped propel the end of nearly two decades of leftist rule.

La Paz

Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivian presidency

After 10 years in prison without charge, a Lebanese judge has ordered the release of Hannibal Gadhafi, son of the late Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi. But it’s on condition that he pays $11 million bail, something his lawyers say they will contest.

Beirut

Lebanon orders Hannibal Gadhafi’s release after 10 years

A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway and collided with a security patrol car before both fell into the sea early Monday, killing the two people in the car, authorities said.

Kowloon

Two killed after cargo plane veers off runway in Hong Kong

Thieves wielding power tools have struck at the famed Louvre Museum in Paris, stealing priceless jewels in a brazen heist that took just four minutes, according to the government. The thieves struck after the museum had already opened its doors to the public, with a major investigation now underway.

‘Priceless’ jewels stolen from France’s Louvre Museum in four-minute heist

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is ending aid to Colombia after the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, accused the U.S. of ‘murder’ when it struck a small boat within Colombian territorial waters in September.

Trump ending aid to Colombia after 'murder' accusation

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire is under pressure, as the Israeli military carries out strikes on southern Gaza and accuses Hamas of opening fire on its forces. Meanwhile, Israel alleges Hamas is stalling on returning the remains of deceased hostages.

Israel, Hamas clash in major test of U.S.-backed ceasefire

The National Guard could soon be on Chicago’s streets after US President Donald Trump took his case to the country’s highest court - the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.  The President says the city is a war zone - and is in the midst of a rebellion, as residents protest his migrant deportation policy.

Chicago

Supreme Court to decide on sending the National Guard to Chicago

China's second-highest ranking general and eight other senior officials have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and the military on suspicion of serious misconduct linked to corruption.

Beijing

China expels nine senior officials from Communist Party

The United States is sending the two survivors of a Thursday (October 18) strike in the Caribbean to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador to be detained and prosecuted, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday.

U.S. will repatriate survivors of Caribbean strike, Trump says

The two sides have agreed to hold follow-up talks in Qatar to establish conditions and a framework for lasting peace, bringing an end to a week of deadly cross border skirmishes, which have killed dozens of people.

Doha

Afghanistan, Pakistan agree to immediate ceasefire, Qatar says

France's world-famous Louvre museum in Paris was forced to close on Sunday after thieves broke into Apollo Gallery and stole valuable crown jewels.

Jewels of 'inestimable' value stolen from Louvre in major heist

U.S. President Donald Trump's critics took to the streets Saturday, with millions nationwide participating in "No Kings" rallies, protesting Trump's demonstrations of power.

Anti-Trump "No Kings" protests held across U.S.

The Trump administration is awaiting word from the Supreme Court after asking it to allow the immediate deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. A lower court blocked the move.

Tensions rising in Portland, Oregon over immigration tactics

President Trump posted a video of a U.S. military strike on a submersible suspected of smuggling drugs. Two people were killed in the strike but the survivors were brought to a Navy ship. Trump says the U.S. will send the them back to their home countries for prosecution.

Trump says survivors of U.S. drug submersible will be sent home

The U.S. State Department issued a warning that Hamas appeared to be planning an attack 'against Palestinian civilians,' warning that such an attack would 'constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement'.

‘Internal Israeli politics’ roiled by tough-talking Trump officials

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