Geopolitics & Policy
Geopolitics & Policy news — Thursday 08 October 2026
40 stories from 5 sources, every one in English. Each links to its publisher.
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Flavio Bolsonaro says he would work with China and US as Brazil’s president
South China Morning Post Tech
Flavio Bolsonaro said he would work with the US and China if he becomes Brazil’s president, after a surprise election performance left him poised to join a wave of conservative leaders pushing Latin America closer to Washington. “I’m not…
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US Has Opened Direct Talks With Myanmar Government, Report Claims
The outreach, which marks a significant shift in U.S. policy, is aimed at curbing online scamming operations and gaining access to the country's rare earth deposits.
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US to live stream firing squad execution of military base shooter Nidal Hasan
South China Morning Post Tech
The US will live-stream the US Army’s coming firing squad execution of a gunman who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in 2009, the Pentagon said, in what would be an unprecedented broadcast of a US execution. Nidal Hasan, a…
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After failed US execution, Christa Pike is walking but mentally ‘foggy’, lawyer says
South China Morning Post Tech
Christa Pike has begun walking and eating again at a hospital a week after surviving Tennessee’s attempt to execute her with lethal drugs, her lawyers said Thursday. Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital as the state sought to…
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Venezuela’s Maduro and wife Flores tortured US citizens to stay in power: US prosecutors
South China Morning Post Tech
US prosecutors on Thursday charged ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores with conspiring to torture political opponents and American citizens, adding to the drug trafficking case the couple already faced…
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The long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln returns home to San Diego from Middle East
South China Morning Post Tech
Thousands of emotional reunions unfolded Thursday as the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose lengthy deployment in the Gulf supporting President Donald Trump’s war on Iran sparked fears for its crew’s welfare, arrived back in its home port…
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A Raid on a Gay Bar Risks Taiwan’s LGBTQ-Friendly Reputation
An attorney says authorities overstepped legal bounds, and activists warn of discrimination ahead of Asia's largest Pride event.
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German official killed, another injured during firearms inspection
South China Morning Post Tech
Police have arrested a 60-year-old man suspected of shooting dead two local government employees during a routine firearms inspection in the southern German state of Bavaria, police said early on Friday. The suspect was slightly wounded by…
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Royal Navy sailor appears in London court on charges of spying for Russia
South China Morning Post Tech
A UK Royal Navy sailor appeared in a London court on Thursday to face charges of spying for Russia. Teddy Young, 24, has been charged with two offences under the National Security Act, including preparing to disclose protected information…
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Trump says US will not attack Iran before November’s midterm elections
South China Morning Post Tech
US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the US would “not be attacking Iran” before November’s midterm elections, citing what he said were “productive discussions” with the Islamic Republic. The president’s comments on…
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Trump misnames Muslim senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed ‘Mohammed’
South China Morning Post Tech
A Muslim candidate for US Senate accused Donald Trump of “struggling” on Thursday after the president misnamed him “Mohammed” on social media amid increasingly bitter exchanges between the two men. Trump attacked the left-wing Democratic…
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UK Ministry of Defence patrols arrest 2 Latvians near RAF base
South China Morning Post Tech
British counterterrorism police are investigating after two Latvian men were arrested inside a Royal Air Force base used by US personnel, authorities said on Thursday. The arrests come weeks after a suspected plot targeting another British…
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US suspends Microsoft, major IT firms from green card programme
South China Morning Post Tech
The US government is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and several large IT firms from a programme that allows skilled foreign workers to gain permanent residency, senior US officials have announced, citing alleged fraud, and as part of an…
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UK police accept ex-prince Andrew search warrants must be ‘legally quashed’
South China Morning Post Tech
British police on Thursday said that search warrants they secured to search properties linked to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had been issued unlawfully and must be quashed, but that the investigation into King Charles’ younger brother was…
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UK signals ‘openness’ to Germany joining GCAP fighter jet programme
South China Morning Post Tech
The United Kingdom is “open” to Germany joining an international coalition to build the next generation of fighter jets, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced. Speaking in Berlin on Thursday, during his first visit to the…
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One Year On, China’s K Visa Remains an Opaque Promise
China’s flagship talent visa can be found in the official application system, but most of the specifics on who can apply, and how to do so, are still missing.
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Investigation Finds That Former High-Ranking Uzbek Security Official Acquired UAE Citizenship
According to an OCCRP and Ozodlik investigation, Otabek Umarov, the Uzbek president’s son-in-law, obtained Emirati citizenship in 2023, while he was deputy head of the Presidential Security Service.
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1 dead in Poland’s second school knife attack in 2 days, amid ‘copycat’ fears
South China Morning Post Tech
A 15-year-old former pupil killed one employee and injured two others at a Polish primary school on Thursday wearing a helmet-mounted camera, the second school stabbing in two days, possibly in response to an internet challenge…
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The Afghan Taliban’s Growing Drone War Against Pakistan
For Pakistan, the most worrying possibility is small, relatively cheap drone systems falling into the hands of terrorist groups.
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The Daily Roundup
The Wire China
October 8th, 2026 | Welcome to The Wire’s daily news roundup. Each day, our staff gathers the top China business, finance, and economics headlines from a selection of the world’s leading news organizations. The post The Daily Roundup…
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Beyond Deference: India’s Bangladesh Reckoning
A course correction is needed in New Delhi.
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It’s time for China to offer more than statements on Hormuz
South China Morning Post Tech
Two summits in five months between US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping have produced shared language but not an open Strait of Hormuz. After the May meeting in Beijing, there was little sign the two sides agreed on how to…
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Afghanistan and the BLA’s Evolving Capabilities
Reported discussions in Kandahar point to a possible expansion of the BLA’s external support networks as the group comes under pressure in Pakistan.
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At least 33 dead in Russian bomb blast in east Ukraine stronghold
South China Morning Post Tech
A Russian bomb attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed at least 33 people, authorities said on Thursday, describing it as a targeted strike on civilians in the key stronghold sought by Moscow. Another 18 people were…
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Canada’s Anne Carson wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature
South China Morning Post Tech
The winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature is Canada’s Anne Carson, an essayist and classicist who brings a modern twist to mysticism and antiquity in her writings about love, desire and despair. The 76-year-old won “for her bold…
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The Spice Trader vs. the Tariffs
ChinaTalk
ChinaTalk’s people-suing-the-US-government-over-tariffs series continues. Last time we brought you the grumpy toymaker . Today we have Ethan Frisch, longtime friend of ChinaTalk and co-founder of Burlap & Barrel , finest purveyor of spices…
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French school blockades continue despite PM’s pledge to act
South China Morning Post Tech
Pupils barricaded a secondary school in northeastern Paris with rubbish bins on Thursday before police moved in with tear gas, as France’s nationwide protests showed few signs of ending. The Helene Boucher high school has been a flashpoint…
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What ‘Beyond Advocacy’ Means for India’s Role in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
India’s possible role as a facilitator will be driven by its own economic interests, rather than any need to increase its political heft on the global stage.
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Ten Wartime Technologies at America’s 250th
War on the Rocks
For America’s 250th anniversary, Cogs of War ran ten essays on innovations forged in wartime that subsequently diffused throughout the civilian economy, or had a lasting impact on society, governance, and Americans’ relationship with…
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Achieving Breakthrough: Maneuver Warfare in the Face of Robotic Mass
War on the Rocks
In 1914, European armies entered a war with forces designed to move. Within months, they were digging themselves into the earth. Fires from newly introduced machine guns and heavy artillery made movement across exposed ground a proposition…
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Britain downscales and renames Jerusalem consulate after Israel orders closure
South China Morning Post Tech
Britain and Israel announced on Thursday that the nearly 200-year-old British diplomatic mission in Jerusalem would stay open at a smaller scale and with a new name, in a compromise after Israel ordered the consulate shut in a sanctions…
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Gen Z Women Take to the Streets Over Spate of Rapes in India’s Capital
Urban Indian women are refusing to be cowed down or slut shamed or policed for their attire or forced to stay indoors in the evenings to ensure their safety.
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Anwar is Bargaining Myanmar Lives For Political Gain – And He Will Lose
Min Aung Hlaing should not be trusted to resolve a refugee crisis that is a direct result of his own past policies.
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In a Diplomatic Shift, Malaysian PM Hosts Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing
While the talks focused on the repatriation of refugees, Anwar also appeared to endorse Myanmar's reintegration into ASEAN.
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Naked, gilded Trump statue goes on display at EU Parliament
South China Morning Post Tech
A gilded statue of US President Donald Trump naked went on display in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg on Tuesday. Danish artist Jens Galschiot is exhibiting the satirical statue, titled “Orange Plague” and also known as…
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As China and the EU begin crunch trade talks, optimism is in short supply
South China Morning Post Tech
As China and the European Union began a fresh round of trade talks in Beijing on Thursday, observers on both sides appeared to agree on one thing: a big breakthrough was unlikely. Chinese firms based in Europe said they hoped the talks…
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Workers, mostly Indian, building US consulate in Milan agree to record settlement
South China Morning Post Tech
Foreign workers building the vast new US consulate compound in Milan signed agreements at a Milan hotel Wednesday securing payouts averaging €45,000 (US$50,400) each for alleged labour abuses while working for an American construction…
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Houthi strikes on Saudi airports leave 3 dead, dozens wounded
South China Morning Post Tech
Saudi authorities said Wednesday three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom’s international airports, including in the capital Riyadh, after Yemen’s Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubs. The Iran-backed…
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Beyond the summit: how US-China relations could still unravel
South China Morning Post Tech
This year’s Chinese National Day reception in Washington felt noticeably jollier than those I have attended in recent years. The mood was more relaxed and Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng’s opening speech was upbeat. He even joked about the…
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How Indonesians Are Being Recruited Into the Russian Army
So far, Jakarta is yet to come to grips with problem that has arisen alongside President Prabowo Subianto’s efforts to build a closer relationship with Russia.