Recent Discoveries and Significant Events Across the Globe
This article provides an overview of recent discoveries and noteworthy events, ranging from scientific revelations to global issues impacting various regions. Below are the highlights from several prominent domains, including climate, international relations, and economic trends.
Hidden Near-Earth Asteroid Discovered Lurking in The Sun’s Glare ScienceAlert (Chuck L)
Bad Gums Tied to Big Brain Risks MedPage Today
How mRNA Vaccines Can Help Fight Cancer Eric Topol (Robin K)
Climate and Environment
🔥 🥵 HEAT RECORDS SMASHED across parts of Australia – temperatures soared an incredible 14–15°C above average, shattering October records in parts of Sydney.
Add to that extreme fire danger, fueled by hot, powerful winds.
This is what climate change looks like. pic.twitter.com/WH6Vx989XT
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) October 22, 2025
Catastrophe Bonds’ Huge Market Gains Put Reinsurers on Backfoot Insurance Journal
Scottish megafarms fuel another rise in deadly ammonia emissions National Scot
Global Use of Coal Hit Record High in 2024 Guardian
International Relations: Focus on China
This will backfire spectacularly
End results – the world will remove US software and parts from their Products BOM (Bill of Materials) https://t.co/IuAoaHJUcR— David Lee (@DavidLe76335983) October 22, 2025
This is easily the most suicidal idea the Trump administration has cooked up in its trade war, and that’s a high bar.
In effect, this would make American technology radioactive: any company touching US software (Microsoft, AWS, etc.) becomes ineligible to do business with the… https://t.co/YyGcWhazVr
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) October 23, 2025
China’s Rare Earth Refining at 5N (99.999%) Purity Is the Moat the U.S. Can’t Cross
By any strategic measure, China’s grip on the rare earth supply chain is not just dominant—it’s nearly unassailable. With 83% of global rare earth refining capacity and 92% of the world’s magnet… pic.twitter.com/YPYNwlAzik
— Ignis Rex (@Ignis_Rex) October 22, 2025
China’s Rare Earth Magnets Exports Slump as Market Fears Crunch OilPrice
Nexperia crisis: how US-China tensions disrupt a global chip supply chain South China Morning Post
US-China now in a ‘very different kind of trade war’, experts warn Aljazeera
Korean Peninsula Developments
North Korea test-fires multiple ballistic missiles as APEC summit nears Aljazeera
African Affairs
Egypt underscores Red Sea sovereignty amid Ethiopia-Eritrea tensions Arab Weekly
Somalia faces ‘food catastrophe’ after aid cuts Independent
Civilians in Sudan’s al-Fashir cower from drones as siege worsens hunger Jerusalem Post
Latin American Insights
Exclusive: Congress needs to hear more about Venezuela operation, GOP senator says Axios
Trump’s Corrupt Argentina Bailout Daniel Larison
Trump, Colombia leader trade threats as US strikes boats in Pacific Le Monde
How a ‘dark fleet’ of tankers helped a Mexican cartel build a fuel-smuggling empire Reuters (Robin K)
European Challenges
EU Declares War On Its Own Members Simplicius
“Europe’s latest intelligence fakes.” Floutist
French debt is not the only ticking time bomb OMFIF
The Louvre Heist Was a Colonial Wake-Up Call Hyperallergic (Micael T)
Insights from the UK
Highest September borrowing since 2020 and debt interest payments surge ahead of budget Sky
Debt warning as homeowners juggle multiple credit cards WhatMortgage
Middle East Tensions
Israeli forces shut down the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron, occupied West Bank, detaining staff and seizing equipment while providing no explanation or timeline for the closure of the charity supporting over 6,000 orphans.
🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/mSvn1Zelw0 pic.twitter.com/CrR1rx2ZIR
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 21, 2025
Gaza health crisis will last for ‘generations’, WHO chief warns BBC
What Netanyahu’s Quest for a ‘Greater Israel’ Looks Like in Southern Syria Zeteo
‘The Era of International Mediation is Over’ — Israel & US attempt to Impose a New ‘Reality’ on Gaza, Syria & Lebanon Conflicts Forum
New Cold War Dynamics
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says he did not want ‘wasted’ meeting with Putin after talks cancelled Independent
US imposes sanctions on Russian oil over Putin’s ‘refusal’ to end war in Ukraine Guardian (Kevin W)
Oil jumps 3% after Trump administration sanctions big Russian oil companies CNBC (Kevin W)
Do click through:
The Russian Ratchet.
Big headlines get all the attention, but it’s often more important as an analyst to ask yourself what isn’t happening. Because the most significant event in Ukraine in 2025 was something that didn’t happen.
The AFU failed to launch a counteroffensive.⬇️… pic.twitter.com/o9wm61MroN
— Armchair Warlord (@ArmchairW) October 22, 2025
🇬🇧🇺🇦 Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that most of Ukraine is currently safe and suggested sending Western troops there. He wrote about this in an article for the Daily Mail newspaper.
“Under no circumstances will these troops be involved in combat operations. Their… pic.twitter.com/Uxu4RVfDL1
— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) October 11, 2025
Brussels hasn’t yet confiscated Russian assets, but Zelensky is already setting conditions TopWar (Robin K)
Gripen is built to fight the Russians Expressen via machine translation (Micael T)
US offers nuclear energy companies access to weapons-grade plutonium Financial Times
Oligarchs West vs East Julian Macfarlane
Watch for Signs of Imperial Collapse
Forever Again Aurelien
Emerging Political Dynamics in the U.S.
Beef producers hit back after Trump rips high prices The Hill
American Farmers Slam Trump’s “Betrayal” With Argentina Beef Deal New Republic (resilc)
All the signs Donald Trump has no intention of ever leaving the White House Mirror (resilc)
“No Kings” Is About More Than Trump Ken Klippenstein. resilc: “Not enough weapons to fight it though”
U.S. Buys a Token Barrel to Refill the Strategic Reserve OilPrice (Kevin W)
Report: Trump administration mulling transfer of special ed from Education Department Iowa Capital Dispatch (Robin K)
‘Awkward Moment’: Dr. Oz Interrupts Trump at Oval Office MedPage Today
Immigration Concerns
What we know about the federal immigration raid in Chinatown Gothamist
Military-Style Immigration Sweep Hits NYC as Masked Federal Agents Arrest Canal Street Vendors The City
Government Shutdown Impacts
States across the US warn millions will lose food stamp benefits in a week due to government shutdown Independent
The Supreme Court Landscape
Bonus 184: The Costs of a Quiescent Congress Steve Vladeck
Democratic Party Insights
Karine Jean-Pierre Writes History’s Most Incoherent Memoir Matt Taibbi
Media and Press Freedom
Judge Orders Tech CEOs to Testify in Case Using Algorithmic Design Rules as a New Avenue for Indirect Online Censorship Pressure Reclaim the Net
Judge rules in favor of teacher facing dismissal for Kirk-related posts Iowa Capital Dispatch (Robin K)
Economic Trends
Bubble-talk is breaking out everywhere Financial Times
Stock market concentration has reached 1800s levels:
Information Technology & Communications stocks now reflect a record 45% of total US market cap.
This percentage has DOUBLED over the last 10 years.
Tech is now larger than Energy & Materials, which together accounted for… pic.twitter.com/0brcaq7y7p
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 21, 2025
ECB’s Lane flags dollar risk for banks amid tariff turmoil Reuters
Technological Developments in AI
Five signs that Generative AI is losing traction Gary Marcus
The Special Forces of Demand: How Nvidia Manufactures Demand Through Neoclouds
Let me present to you the Special Forces for Demand of Nvidia – the Neoclouds.
Jensen, a veteran of the dot-com era, knew exactly what he had to take care of and control in order to maintain Nvidia’s… pic.twitter.com/AuKYeLiimF
— Kakashii (@kakashiii111) October 21, 2025
Reddit Sues Perplexity For Scraping Data To Train AI System Reuters
AI Assistants Misrepresent News Content 45% of the Time BBC
Data centers turn to old jet engines to power AI’s soaring energy demands Interesting Engineering
Financial Speculations
Welcome to the casino economy Unherd
Pop-Up Database Siphoned Crypto From Conservatives to Doxx Charlie Kirk Critics, Then Went Dark DropSite
Amazon brain drain finally sent AWS down the spout The Register
I can’t freaking believe it’s come to this, but here’s a visual representation of this ridiculous structure
– bottom: actual portfolio companies, purchased by PE Funds I and II (with respective LPs)
– a secondaries fund comes along, buys LP interest in Funds I and II from some… https://t.co/PCAvGi2733 pic.twitter.com/oExH3Yxrwo
— Leyla (@LeylaKuni) October 22, 2025
Class Disparities
The cost of health insurance for a family jumps to $27,000 STAT
AARP, P4AD blast bill extending drugmakers’ exemption from Medicare negotiation The Hill
Americans can’t afford their cars anymore, and Wall Street is worried Telegraph
Affirmation of Life
Antidote of the day (via):
Hopeful Moments
A bonus:
They don’t steal, they survive.
Every morning, the butcher leaves a box of bones outside his shop. Not for profit, not for attention, but for the ones with no home, no bowl, no guarantee of a next meal.
One by one, they come. Each takes just a piece, carefully, almost politely,… pic.twitter.com/9tBQUoYLCA
— Pawzazzle (@Pawzazzle) October 22, 2025
A second bonus:
They way he did a backflip to come back 😭pic.twitter.com/uzLM1jISX3
— Antidepressant Content (@depressionlesss) October 22, 2025
And a third:
POV: your kindness changed their whole world ♥️ pic.twitter.com/6aAXctYx2k
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) October 22, 2025
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
