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Philippine leader comes to Washington, UK turns to sanctions to cut migration, Ukraine bids to stymie anti-corruption body

​US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C., USA, on July 21, 2025.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C., USA, on July 21, 2025.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Philippine leader visits Trump in search of a trade deal

Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. meets US President Donald Trump today to talk trade and security, under threat of 20% tariffs from the US come Aug. 1. Bongbong does have a little leverage, though, given his country’s critical position in the South China Sea. Outside of China itself and a few small Japanese islands, the Philippines is the closest country to Taiwan, and has often confronted Beijing over territorial disputes. The Philippines is also the US’s oldest ally in the Pacific. Will this count for something when it comes to tariff negotiations?


United Kingdom turns to sanctions in latest bid to halt migrant flows

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has struggled to stop the flow of small boats bringing asylum seekers to the UK, so he’s turning to a new strategy: sanctioning human traffickers. The idea – which Foreign Secretary David Lammy dubbed as “the first of its kind” – is to target the problem at its root by punishing gang leaders, fake passport dealers, and other groups involved in people smuggling. Downing Street will roll out the full plan on Wednesday. Will the threat of sanctions really be enough to deter profit-seeking criminal organizations or desperate people seeking refuge in the UK?

Ukraine’s government to boost control over anti-corruption investigators

Ukraine’s parliament has approved President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plan to increase presidential control over the country’s independent anti-corruption investigators. Supporters of the bill say it will prevent domestic opposition forces from using investigations to undermine the political authority of a wartime president and his ministers. Critics say the government wants to avoid legitimate scrutiny of its actions. Ukraine’s G7 allies have already expressed “serious concerns.” Ukraine has been under martial law, which gives the president expanded powers, since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

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Tensions boil between Ethiopia and Eritrea, UK’s Labour Party notches win, Lula’s chances slim in Brazil

Members of the Ethiopian Federal Police (EFP) patrol after Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) army retreated from the regional capital near the Tigray Martyrs monument in Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, October 8, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.

Ethiopia claims “all-out invasion” by EritreaEthiopia has told the UN that troops from neighboring Eritrea penetrated at least 60 meters across the border as long-standing tensions between the two East African countries threaten to boil over again. At issue is access to the Red Sea, which Ethiopia lost when Eritrea became independent after 30 [...]
Alleged members of Mara Salvatrucha gang, also known as MS-13, attend an open hearing in a mass trial, after 486 alleged gang members were charged with more than 47,000 crimes committed between 2012 and 2022, according to prosecutors, at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, El Salvador, April 23, 2026.

Alleged members of Mara Salvatrucha gang, also known as MS-13, attend an open hearing in a mass trial, after 486 alleged gang members were charged with more than 47,000 crimes committed between 2012 and 2022, according to prosecutors, at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, El Salvador, April 23, 2026.

REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Mass trials begin in El SalvadorOver the past four years, Salvadoran authorities have used a state of emergency to arrest more than 90,000 people on suspicion of gang activity, putting many of them in maximum security prisons. Now, en masse, they are having their days in court in trials that human rights activists say are riddled with violations [...]
​A line of riot police with protective shields faces a burning barricade as thick smoke rises in a Paris street during a high school student demonstration on October 6 2026.The scene documents the police deployment and a fire during a protest linked to public education

A line of riot police with protective shields faces a burning barricade as thick smoke rises in a Paris street during a high school student demonstration on October 6 2026.

Djoudi Hamani / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
Student protests bring France to a haltStudent protests in France continue to grow this week, with more than 250,000 students taking to the streets across 40 cities. More than 6,500 people have been arrested as demonstrations have intensified. Students are protesting what they say is chronic underfunding and crumbling infrastructure in France’s [...]
Kenya's Minister of Health, Aden Duale, holds a press conference announcing the first case of Ebola in the country, in Nairobi, Kenya, October 6, 2026.

Kenya's Minister of Health, Aden Duale, holds a press conference announcing the first case of Ebola in the country, in Nairobi, Kenya, October 6, 2026.

REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi
Ebola makes it way to KenyaKenya confirmed its first ever death from Ebola on Tuesday after a Kenyan citizen returned to the country from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC has been fighting the second deadliest outbreak of the virus on record, with over 4,000 people killed since the outbreak began in May. Ebola is a contentious issue in [...]