21 October 2025
Holland
The Dutch military intelligence and security service has confirmed that it has scaled back its intelligence sharing with the United States regarding Russia. This is due to a concern of intelligence being politicized in the United States and overall trust with the Trump administration. Earlier this year, there were concerns about the viability of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing (which Holland is not part of), because Trump threatened its existence.
Japan
Sanae Takaichi has been elected as Japan’s first female prime minister by parliament, making her the first woman to hold the office. The 64-year-old won a clear majority on Tuesday – 237 votes in the powerful Lower House and another 125 in the Upper House – as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). A staunch conservative and admirer of the late former British PM Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi takes over at a challenging economic moment as Japan grapples with rising cost-of-living and a frustrated public.
France
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has begun his five-year jail sentence for conspiring to fund his election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Not since World War II, Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945, has any French ex-leader gone behind bars. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Santé prison, where he will occupy a small cell in the jail’s isolation wing.
Australia-US
Yesterday, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with US President Donald Trump at the White House. The meeting was friendly, with the leaders discussing the close relationship between the two countries, focusing on the military relationship and AUKUS submarines. The two leaders also signed a critical minerals deal, including for refining capacity worth $8.5bn of “ready-to-go” projects. There was one awkward moment when Trump told the Australian ambassador, Kevin Rudd, that he “didn’t like him either” when a reporter asked Trump about Rudd’s previous comments about him.
United States
The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has laid off over 1,400 employees, leaving only 400 working, without pay, at the agency responsible for overseeing the nuclear stockpile. The NNSA also examines potential international proliferation of nuclear materials. Currently, there are around 1.4 million federal employees on unpaid leave or working without pay.
Social Media Wires
Bread lines not yet, but a sidewalk market of spoiled grocery items in Russia
Indian Prime Minister Modi was aboard the INS Vikrant
Feature Photo: “Susquehanna Steam Electric Station” – Wikimedia Commons, 2025
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