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Today's reading time is 5 minutes. - Miko Santos
MUST READS
1. 🇵🇰Islamabad Court Bombing Kills 12 as Pakistan Faces Surge in Militant Violence
A suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a district court in Islamabad on Tuesday, killing 12 people and wounding 27 in an attack that underscores Pakistan’s deteriorating security situation. The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the bombing that targeted a police vehicle outside the court gates during peak hours when the area was crowded with visitors. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, whose severed head was discovered at the scene, though confusion emerged as a senior commander within the group disavowed the claim.
The Islamabad bombing coincided with a separate overnight assault on an army-run college in Wana, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where militants attempted to take cadets hostage before security forces foiled the attack. The coordinated violence reflects an alarming escalation in militant activity across Pakistan, occurring amid stalled peace talks with Afghanistan and ongoing tensions over Kabul’s alleged harboring of Pakistani Taliban fighters. The attacks mark the latest chapter in Pakistan’s struggle against resurgent insurgency, with militant violence surging since the Afghan Taliban’s 2021 takeover in Kabul emboldened the TTP and its splinter groups.
2. 🇹🇭Thailand Halts Cambodia Peace Deal After Landmine Blast Injures Four Soldiers
Thailand suspended a peace agreement with Cambodia just weeks after US President Donald Trump presided over the ceremonial signing, following a landmine explosion that injured four Thai soldiers near the disputed border on Monday. Supreme Commander Gen. Ukris Boontanondha announced Thailand was “halting all agreements until Cambodia clearly and sincerely demonstrates that it will not be ‘hostile,’” while Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul declared that implementation of the October peace declaration must be “considered halted until there is clarity.” Thailand accused Cambodia of laying fresh landmines after discovering removed barbed wire fencing on November 9, with one soldier losing his right leg in the blast during what the Royal Thai Army described as a routine patrol.
Cambodia categorically denied the allegations, stating it has not deployed new landmines and remains committed to implementing the peace accord signed in Malaysia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that most minefields from Cambodia’s civil wars of the 1970s and 1980s remain uncleared due to difficult terrain and the un-demarcated border status. The collapse of the agreement—which Trump touted as a major diplomatic victory—raises questions about the tentative release of 18 Cambodian prisoners of war and casts doubt on efforts to resolve the territorial dispute that sparked a five-day conflict in July, killing dozens and displacing approximately 200,000 people on both sides of the border.
3. 🇬🇧 Chinese ‘Cryptoqueen’ Gets 11 Years for $9 Billion Bitcoin Laundering Scheme
A Chinese woman known as the “cryptoqueen” has been sentenced to over 11 years in prison by a British court for orchestrating one of the largest money laundering operations in UK history, involving $9 billion worth of Bitcoin. Zhimin Qian, 47, pleaded guilty in September to possessing and transferring criminal property after British authorities seized more than 61,000 bitcoin—currently valued at over $6 billion—in what ranks among the largest cryptocurrency seizures ever recorded. Judge Sally-Ann Hales told the weeping defendant at Southwark Crown Court that she was “the architect of this offending from its inception to its conclusion” and that her motive was “pure greed.”
Qian masterminded an investment fraud between 2014 and 2017 that victimized approximately 128,000 people in China, who collectively invested roughly 40 billion renminbi ($8.6 billion), with about 6 billion siphoned off through the Ponzi scheme. After fleeing China through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia, she arrived in London using a St Kitts and Nevis passport and moved into a mansion in the upmarket Hampstead area, where she lived lavishly while attempting to convert bitcoin purchased with fraud proceeds into cash. Her associate, 46-year-old Seng Hok Ling, also pleaded guilty in September to transferring criminal property, specifically cryptocurrency, in connection with the scheme that resulted in over 80 convictions in China.
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4. 🇨🇦 G7 Foreign Ministers Convene in Canada as Trump Trade Tensions Strain Alliance Relations
Top diplomats from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies are meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario this week as tensions escalate between the United States and traditional allies over defense spending, trade policies, and President Donald Trump’s foreign policy initiatives. Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand is hosting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio alongside counterparts from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan for discussions focused on advancing Middle East peace, supporting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and addressing Trump’s demands that NATO members spend 5% of GDP on defense. The meeting comes as strained US-Canada relations continue following Trump’s tariff impositions on Canadian imports and his abrupt termination of trade talks after Ontario ran an anti-tariff advertisement.
The two-day gathering includes foreign ministers from Australia, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, and Ukraine, with critical priorities including long-term stability in Gaza and humanitarian support for Ukraine as winter approaches. Britain announced it would contribute £13 million ($17 million) to repair Ukraine’s power, heating, and water infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney apologized for the Ontario advertisement and expressed readiness to resume trade negotiations, while Anand emphasized that “the relationship has to continue across a range of issues” despite ongoing tensions. The meeting highlights divisions within the G7 over recognizing Palestinian statehood, approaches to Russia sanctions, and Trump’s transactional approach to international diplomacy.
5. 🇬🇧 Turkish Military Plane Crashes in Georgia Killing Personnel Returning From Azerbaijan
A Turkish military C-130 cargo plane crashed in eastern Georgia on Tuesday with 20 Turkish personnel aboard, including flight crew members returning from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Harrowing video footage captured the aircraft spiraling and trailing white smoke before striking the ground approximately five kilometers from Georgia’s border with Azerbaijan, erupting in a massive plume of black smoke. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed casualties during remarks in Ankara, offering condolences for “our martyrs” without providing specific numbers, while search and rescue teams worked to reach the remote crash site in the Sighnaghi municipality of Georgia’s Kakheti region.
The aircraft disappeared from radar “a few minutes” after entering Georgian airspace without transmitting a distress signal, according to Georgia’s air navigation service. Georgian authorities launched an investigation under criminal code provisions covering air transport incidents and loss of life, while Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev contacted Erdogan to express condolences for “the tragic news of the loss of servicemen.” US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack extended solidarity with Turkish allies, and Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the C-130 Hercules widely used by air forces worldwide, pledged support for the investigation into the cause of the crash.
Check this Out
7 game-changing tech trends CFOs can’t ignore going into 2026
The job of a CFO is no longer about just balancing the books and managing finances from a 30,000-foot overview. In today’s tech-dominated environment, the modern CFO needs to be capable of steering organizations through digital transformation. These days, finance leaders need to champion technologies that reshape everything from allocation of capital to compliance.
Key innovations including agentic AI, spatial computing, blockchain, and quantum-safe infrastructures. These are just a few examples of how finance could be revolutionized in the coming years. By digging into data from leading sources, including the SEC, PWC, CFA Institute, and more, Anrok has outlined seven key tech trends that all CFOs should be watching with 2026 on the horizon.
Watch This
Mariana van Zeller investigates one of the darkest and most elusive black markets in the world-- the illicit trade in human organs.
Critically acclaimed and nominated for 29 Emmys at the 2025 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, making it the most nominated title of the year, “Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller” uncovers global black markets
Pick of the Day
America’s $300B travel secret: Why millions don’t know they’re sitting on a fortune
When Cortney Clegg wanted to take her family to Costa Rica, she braced herself for sticker shock. She hoped to mitigate some of the cost by using the points she’d accumulated from her credit cards, but she was surprised to find she had more than enough to cover all of the flights — and then some. “We ended up getting six flights for 136,000 miles total,” she says. “It was like finding $6,000 I didn’t know we had.”
The windfall was so substantial that Clegg could upgrade her family’s hotel and even bring along her in-laws. “I was absolutely shocked that we could book this trip using the points and miles that we already had. I had thought it would take us years to save up for it.”
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