- Thursday, 23 October 2025
Reuters
Trump floats $5 million 'gold card' as a route to US citizenship
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated the idea of replacing a visa program for foreign investors with a so-called "gold card" that could be bought for $5 million as a route to American citizenship. Trump told reporters he will replace the "EB-5" immigrant investor visa program, which allows foreign investors of large sums of money that create or preserve U.S. jobs to become permanent residents, with a so-called "gold card."
Germans start voting, polls suggest shift to right
Germans were voting in a national election on Sunday that is expected to see Friedrich Merz's conservatives regain power and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) score its best ever result as Europe's ailing economic powerhouse lurches rightwards. Merz's CDU/CSU bloc has consistently led polls but is unlikely to win a majority given Germany's fragmented political landscape, forcing it to sound out coalition partners.
Bangladesh asks India to stop former PM Hasina from making 'false statements'
Bangladesh has asked India to stop ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from making "false and fabricated" comments while she is in the country, its foreign ministry said. Hasina fled to India last year following violent protests that killed more than 1,000 people.
India offers middle-class tax relief to support growth; targets narrower budget gap
India plans to cut personal income tax rates to boost middle-class spending power, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday, as she announced an annual budget that also sought to increase private investment to strengthen growth. The world's fifth-largest economy is expected to post its slowest growth in four years next year amid frail urban demand and weak private investment, while stubbornly high food inflation has dented disposable incomes.
Trump: Nothing Canada, Mexico or China can do to delay Feb 1 tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would impose hefty new tariffs of 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10% on imports from China, and nothing could be done by the three countries to forestall them.
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'Most, if not all on board killed', 30 bodies recovered in Washington jet-helicopter collision
NBC's Washington affiliate News4 reported that more than 30 bodies had been recovered from the river. U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, from where the flight was travelling, suggested most if not all those on board had been killed."It's really hard when you lose probably over 60 Kansans simultaneously," he told a press conference at Reagan Airport in the U.S. capital early on Thursday.
Alibaba releases AI model, says surpasses DeepSeek
Chinese tech company Alibaba (9988.HK), on Wednesday released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model that it claimed surpassed the highly-acclaimed DeepSeek-V3. The unusual timing of the Qwen 2.5-Max's release, on the first day of the Lunar New Year when most Chinese people are off work and with their families, points to the pressure Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's meteoric rise in the past three weeks has placed on not just overseas rivals, but also its domestic competition.
Nepal increases Mount Everest climbing fee to $15,000
Nepal will increase the permit fees for climbing Mount Everest by more than 35%, making the world’s tallest peak more expensive for mountaineers for the first time in nearly a decade, officials said on Wednesday.
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Triumphant Trump returns to White House, launching new era of upheaval
The ceremony will take place at noon (1700 GMT) inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, four years after a mob of Trump supporters breached the symbol of American democracy in an unsuccessful effort to forestall the Republican Trump's 2020 defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. The swearing-in was moved indoors for the first time in 40 years due to the extreme cold.
Israeli PM says ceasefire will not start until Hamas releases hostage list
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Gaza's ceasefire, due to start at 0630 GMT on Sunday, will not begin until the Palestinian militant group Hamas provides a list of hostages to be released. Netanyahu's announcement comes one hour before the ceasefire deadline. Hostages were expected to be released within hours of the start of the ceasefire, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.
Passenger plane crashes in Kazakhstan
A passenger plane crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday and initial reports suggested there were survivors, the Central Asian country's Emergencies Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said emergency services were trying to put out a fire at the crash site.
Trump aims to deport all immigrants in the US illegally
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump aims to deport all immigrants in the U.S. illegally over his four-year term but wants a deal to protect so-called "Dreamer" immigrants, he said in an interview that aired on Sunday on NBC News's “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”
South Korea President Yoon banned from foreign travel as leadership crisis deepens
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been banned from leaving the country over a failed attempt at imposing martial law, a justice ministry official said on Monday, amid growing calls for him to step down and a deepening leadership crisis.
Syrian rebels topple President Assad, prime minister calls for free elections
Syrian rebels announced on state television on Sunday that they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad, eliminating a 50-year family dynasty in a lightning offensive that raised fears of a new wave of instability in the Middle East gripped by war. Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that Assad's regime had ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters.
South Korea's Yoon apologises for martial law but does not resign ahead of impeachment vote
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologised on Saturday for his attempt to impose martial law this week but did not resign, defying intense pressure to step down even from some in his ruling party and only hours ahead of a planned impeachment vote.
