Geopolitics & Policy
Geopolitics & Policy news — Friday 16 October 2026
17 stories from 5 sources, every one in English. Each links to its publisher.
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China warns EU not to ‘fantasise’ on trade approach as Brussels confirms new ‘kill switch’
South China Morning Post Tech
Beijing warned Brussels not to “fantasise” that taking a hard line will force it into concessions, as the bloc confirmed plans for a gung-ho new kill switch that will allow Brussels to “immediately” kick China out of the single market…
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Oregon teen gunman was tackled by ‘heroic’ teacher then shot by students’ father
South China Morning Post Tech
A teacher threw her phone at the teenage gunman who killed four people at an Oregon junior school, then tackled and fought with him – probably saving lives before he was shot by a father who followed him into the building, police said…
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs moved to new prison after reports of luxury lifestyle behind bars
South China Morning Post Tech
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been moved to a federal prison in Pennsylvania after reports that the hip-hop mogul was living the high life and was injured in a fight at his New Jersey lock-up, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. The…
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Paraguay’s tech minister defies Beijing sanctions, says Taiwan ties ‘not up for negotiation’
South China Morning Post Tech
Paraguay’s technology minister said on Thursday that sanctions imposed on him by Beijing over his country’s ties with Taiwan would only accelerate joint projects with the island. Gustavo Villate, who heads the Ministry of Information and…
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From hospital, Pope Leo pushes Putin for ceasefire in contested Ukraine city
South China Morning Post Tech
Pope Leo spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday, calling for a ceasefire in a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine, as he recovers in hospital from a lung cancer operation. The Vatican said that Pope Leo…
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Elon Musk unveils Tesla’s ‘flying’ car
South China Morning Post Tech
Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled what he described as a “flying” car, equipped with thrusters, during a live-streamed event at his SpaceX rocket company’s facility on Thursday. Technical and regulatory challenges have so far prevented the…
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Zelensky asks EU for extra $79 billion to sustain Ukraine’s war effort
South China Morning Post Tech
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday asked European Union leaders to provide Kyiv an extra 70 billion euros (US$79 billion) in funding next year to help it keep fighting Russia. “The war will cost 155 billion euros next year…
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Nobel Peace Prize: the message behind Navi Pillay’s win
South China Morning Post Tech
The awarding of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay matters for reasons that go well beyond the laureate herself. The award does three things at once. First, it restores credibility to the prize…
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The Daily Roundup
The Wire China
October 16th, 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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Why a Chinese AI Lab’s Product Lead Thinks AGI is “Inevitable”
ChinaTalk
Richard Bian is the head of product operations for Ant Ling , the foundational LLM at Ant. If you don’t know Ant , they most famously make Alipay, which makes your money and your world run when you’re in China and sometimes beyond. Richard…
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European leaders back Zelensky as Ukraine-US ties fray over Trump’s Russia sanctions lift
South China Morning Post Tech
European leaders on Friday rallied around Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as Kyiv’s ties with US President Donald Trump have nosedived and worries grow that US leader is increasingly siding with Russia. Relations between Kyiv and Washington…
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China’s Strategic Reassessment of India
War on the Rocks
As China and India have improved their relations in recent months, many observers have attributed this improvement to the end of U.S. strategic altruism toward India. Indeed, in the past year, China has watched India lose its balance and…
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Exercise Tarang Shakti: A Mirror to India’s Multipronged Engagements
The exercise reflects two trends: the Indian military’s deepening interoperability with key partner nations, and India’s multi-vector foreign policy.
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Trump rebukes Zelensky, calls Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries a ‘disgrace’
South China Morning Post Tech
Ukraine’s resumption of strikes on Russian refineries is a “disgrace” that keeps global energy prices elevated, US President Donald Trump told the Newsmax news outlet in an interview aired on Thursday. Ukraine struck a Russian oil…
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China maps Israeli spoofing with flight data; new US press secretary: SCMP’s 7 highlights
South China Morning Post Tech
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting…
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Chilling details emerge of mass shooting plot targeting US Hindu temple
South China Morning Post Tech
Illinois authorities believe a 19-year-old man charged with planning a mass shooting at a Hindu temple in suburban Chicago entered the building’s car park on Sunday, hours before police arrested him near his home after receiving a tip…
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Myanmar Establishes New Committee to Advance Normalization With ASEAN
The creation of the body, which comes ahead of next month's ASEAN Summit in Manila, is intended to “regain the country’s original role and rights” in the bloc.