🛂 One Dead, 25 Missing as Migrant Boat Sinks Near Crete
A migrant boat sank in the Mediterranean off the Greek island of Gavdos, near Crete, leaving at least one person dead and 25 missing.
At least 51 people were rescued as a search operation continues. The 320km stretch of sea between Libya and the islands of Crete and Gavdos has become a frequently used route for asylum seekers heading to Greece.
🇬🇧 UK Lawmakers Demand New Law to Govern AI Rights Risks
A cross-party committee of MPs and peers has called for new legislation to address artificial intelligence threats to human rights and privacy, warning that existing laws are insufficient.
The committee identified specific human rights risks not covered by current statutes, noting AI is "moving with such speed and complexity that its impact is hard to accurately predict."
The call signals growing parliamentary pressure on the government to move beyond voluntary frameworks and introduce binding AI regulation.
🇨🇳 China Shows H-6N Bomber Armed With Nuclear-Capable Missile
China's People's Liberation Army released footage last month showing its H-6N strategic bomber carrying a nuclear-capable Jing Lei-1 air-launched ballistic missile, offering a rare public display of its airborne nuclear strike capability.
The footage aired on state broadcaster CCTV to mark the PLA's 99th anniversary, filmed during a joint anti-ship exercise. The H-6N is the most advanced variant of China's only strategic bomber and is designed to enhance nuclear deterrence and second-strike capability.
The disclosure signals China's intent to demonstrate a credible airborne leg of its nuclear triad at a time of heightened strategic competition with the United States.
UAE and Iranian leaders held direct talks at the BRICS summit — their first meeting since the outbreak of the Gaza war — despite severely strained relations between the two Gulf states.
The meeting comes after the UAE suspended trade and financial dealings with Iran in August, and follows Abu Dhabi's blunt assessment that restoring trust with Tehran "is a mountain to climb" in the wake of Iranian attacks on Gulf countries.
The talks mark a rare moment of direct engagement, though no agreements or joint statements were reported from the encounter.
🛂 US Alien Terrorist Court Used for First Time in 29 Years
A secretive federal court created in 1996 but never previously used has deported its first subject — Nazira Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident, to Afghanistan.
Haji Zada conceded to being an "alien terrorist" under the court's proceedings. The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established nearly three decades ago as a mechanism to remove legal residents on national security grounds using classified evidence.
The case marks a significant shift in how the US government may pursue deportations of legal residents it designates as security threats, bypassing standard immigration courts.
📊 US-China Full Decoupling Could Benefit Third Countries, Study Finds
Chinese researchers have modelled a complete economic decoupling between the US and China, finding it could unexpectedly benefit most other nations.
Using a quantitative trade model, two Guangdong-based economists found that a total severance of trade ties between the world's two largest economies would redirect trade flows toward third countries, generating economic gains for many of them.
The findings add an analytical dimension to the ongoing US-China trade war, suggesting that nations outside the bilateral conflict may stand to gain as supply chains and trade routes are restructured.
🇨🇳 China Accuses US of Using Taiwan as "Cannon Fodder"
China's state broadcaster CCTV warned Friday that the US and Taiwanese "separatists" are putting the island in greater danger, after Washington's de facto ambassador said Taiwan need not win a war outright — only make any landing operation too costly to attempt.
Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, told the Taipei Security Dialogue on Wednesday that Taiwan "doesn't need to demonstrate that it can win a war outright." Beijing responded by accusing Washington of seeking to use Taiwan as expendable cover against the mainland.
The exchange underscores deepening tensions over Taiwan's defence posture as US officials push the island toward an asymmetric deterrence strategy.