Daily News Brief

October 28, 2025

Welcome to CFR’s Daily News Brief. Today we’re covering Hurricane Melissa’s path through the Caribbean, as well as...

• Trump’s meeting with Japan’s new leader

• A plan for two new U.S. supercomputers
• A potential thaw between Canada and China

Top of the Agenda

Caribbean countries are bracing for impact as Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm of 2025, approaches Jamaica. Authorities in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica reported seven deaths by early Tuesday as heavy rain began to lash the region. A “catastrophic situation” is expected in Jamaica, an official at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said today, as regional and global leaders prepared for response efforts. 

What sets Melissa apart. This is the first Category 5 hurricane to make a direct hit on Jamaica in the island nation’s history. The National Hurricane Center warned the storm could bring 175 miles per hour winds and storm surges of up to 13 feet. Warming ocean temperatures—driven by human-caused climate change—likely propelled the storm’s rapid intensification, meteorologists said. Melissa is approaching the Caribbean at a time when Haiti in particular has been handicapped by years of gang violence that has cut off several neighborhoods from authorities, which could hamper response efforts to the storm. 

How countries are preparing. Hundreds of thousands of people in Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica are under evacuation orders. The U.S. Navy evacuated nonessential personnel from its Guantanamo Bay base. Humanitarian groups such as the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent said they were mobilizing relief supplies. The UN World Food program has positioned emergency food supplies in Haiti ahead of the hurricane, but following budget cuts has only around 15 percent of what it typically holds for disaster response in the country.

“Already reeling from a polycrisis, Melissa threatens Haiti at a moment of historic vulnerability. Displaced families have lost access to livelihoods, while farmers cannot reach markets because of gang interference, triggering one of the worst food crises globally…Amid this backdrop, U.S. humanitarian cuts have undermined Haiti’s preparedness infrastructure, including the end of food stocks to respond during the Atlantic hurricane season that historically covered up to 500,000 people…Melissa’s scale will amplify dire conditions and foreshadow a difficult road ahead.”

—CFR Fellow Sam Vigersky tells CFR.org

The China Reckoning

The challenges China poses to the United States range from the future of the international security order to the prosperity of American business models, CFR Senior Fellow Rush Doshi says on this episode of The President’s Inbox.

Trump in Japan. U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States is “an ally at the strongest level” to Japan while meeting new Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae today. The countries will work together “toward the development of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Takaichi said. The leaders signed a commitment to cooperate on critical minerals and released a fact sheet detailing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of planned Japanese investments in the United States.

Supercomputer partnership. The U.S. government and tech firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are partnering on a $1 billion project to build two large supercomputers, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and AMD CEO Lisa Su told Reuters. The supercomputers will conduct research in areas such as nuclear power and fusion, defense technology development, and pharmaceuticals. The plan calls for the first computer to be brought online within six months.

Potential Canada-China thaw. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday he plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week in the hopes of resetting the bilateral relationship. Leaders of the two countries have not met since relations chilled in 2018, following Canada’s detention of a Huawei executive at the request of the United States.

An eighth term for Cameroon’s president…Authorities in Cameroon declared yesterday that President Paul Biya won an eighth term in office despite opposition protests disputing the election results. At least four people died in protests Sunday that also saw dozens of opposition supporters arrested. Biya, who is 92, is the world’s oldest president.

…and a fourth for Ivory Coast’s. President Alassane Ouattara, 83, won a fourth term Saturday, election authorities announced yesterday. Ouattara’s two top rivals were barred from running for office, prompting protests in the weeks ahead of the election.

Japan’s yen stablecoin. The world’s first stablecoin pegged to and fully convertible to the Japanese yen began trading yesterday. Stablecoins are designed to have a more fixed value than other types of cryptocurrency. This one, called JPYC, is backed by domestic assets including Japanese government bonds. Stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar currently account for more than 99 percent of global supply.

Turkey-UK aircraft deal. Turkey signed an agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) Monday to buy more than $10 billion worth of British fighter jets, a deal that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said bolsters NATO unity and military preparedness. It is the UK’s largest fighter jet export agreement in nearly twenty years. The first jets are set for delivery in 2030.

Sanctions bite Russian oil firm. Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, said yesterday it will sell its international assets following new U.S. sanctions aimed at disrupting Russia’s war financing. The latest U.S. sanctions hit Russia’s two largest oil firms as well as their subsidiaries; Lukoil has businesses across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

Putin’s Isolation From Multilateralism

Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik

A string of international summits this fall will show Putin did not just gamble the Russian economy with his war in Ukraine, but also his country’s relevance, CFR Senior Fellow Stephen Sestanovich writes in this Expert Brief. 

• Today, Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visits Saudi Arabia.

• Tomorrow, the Netherlands holds parliamentary elections.

• Tomorrow, Tanzania holds general elections. 

Cameroon at an Inflection Point

Desire Danga Essigue/Reuters

Regardless of who is announced as the winner in this month’s election, change is coming for Cameroon, CFR Senior Fellow Michelle Gavin writes in this Expert Brief.

Council on Foreign Relations

58 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065

1777 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006

Was this forwarded to you? Subscribe to the Daily News Brief

Manage Your Email Preferences

View in Browser