Podcast / American Prestige / Oct 31, 2025

Trump’s Asia Tour and Xi Summit, Massacres in Sudan by the RFK, Bombings of Boats Off the South American Coast by the US

The news from American Prestige.

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Trump Asia Tour and Xi Summit, RSF Massacres in Sudan, US Continues Bombing Boats Off South America Coast | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

What’s spookier than international relations? This week in the news roundup: Trump tours Asia to talk trade deals (1:28), a Thai-Cambodia accord (7:11), and to meet with Xi (8:45); the RSF captures of Al-Fashir in Sudan with reports of mass killings (12:19); Gaza sees the deadliest day of Israeli bombardments since the ceasefire began (17:19); the PKK makes more concessions in talks with Ankara (21:53); Afghan-Pakistan ceasefire negotiations collapse in Istanbul (24:34); Myanmar rebel groups agree to a Chinese-brokered ceasefire (26:59); elections in Ivory Coast and Cameroon keep longtime incumbents in power (29:44); Nigeria’s military sees a shake-up amid rumors of a coup plot (33:30); Dutch elections sideline Geert Wilders and the far-right (36:26); Trump freezes trade talks with Canada and raises tariffs over an ad (39:50); the UN General Assembly votes to condemn the U.S. embargo on Cuba (42:35); the U.S. expands its boat-bombing campaign in the Pacific and sends a carrier to the Caribbean (44:21); and Trump suggests that the U.S. resume nuclear testing (47:57).

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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 30, 2025.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with US President Donald Trump in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 30, 2025.

(Huang Jingwen / Xinhua via Getty Images)

What’s spookier than international relations? This week in the news roundup: Trump tours Asia to talk trade deals (1:28) and the Thailand-Cambodia accord (7:11), and to meet with Xi (8:45); the RSF captures Al-Fashir in Sudan with reports of mass killings (12:19); Gaza sees the deadliest day of Israeli bombardments since the ceasefire began (17:19); the PKK makes more concessions in talks with Ankara (21:53); Afghan-Pakistan ceasefire negotiations collapse in Istanbul (24:34); Myanmar rebel groups agree to a Chinese-brokered ceasefire (26:59); elections in Ivory Coast and Cameroon keep longtime incumbents in power (29:44); Nigeria’s military sees a shake-up amid rumors of a coup plot (33:30); Dutch elections sideline Geert Wilders and the far right (36:26); Trump freezes trade talks with Canada and raises tariffs over an ad (39:50); the UN General Assembly votes to condemn the US embargo on Cuba (42:35); the US expands its boat-bombing campaign in the Pacific and sends a carrier to the Caribbean (44:21); and Trump suggests that the US should resume nuclear testing (47:57).

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The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Iran Strike Delayed, Gaza Aid Suppressed, Nigeria Militant Attack | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek are still in talks with The Muppets' people about an appearance, so we’ll keep things buttoned up for now. This week: The U.S. and Iran hold talks in Oman, averting an U.S. strike for the moment (0:31); in Gaza, Israeli strikes kill dozens while Rafah reopens under tight restrictions amid concerns over “slow motion” displacement (5:58); the Trump administration’s Gaza “reconstruction” effort raises more red flags (8:48); Reuters reports that the Biden administration suppressed a USAID memo on Gaza’s humanitarian conditions with potential legal implications (12:07); Syria’s government and the SDF announce a new agreement to integrate SDF forces and administrators into the Syrian state (14:39); Sudan’s military claims it has opened a road into besieged Kadugli as militants make gains elsewhere (17:44); Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is assassinated in Zintan, Libya (20:57); in Nigeria’s Kwara State, gunmen kill roughly 170 people in an allegedly jihadist-linked attack (23:44); U.S.-Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi yield little on ending the war, but Washington and Moscow agree to keep honoring New START’s terms (25:29); Pakistan launches a massive counterinsurgency campaign in Balochistan with the death toll approaching 300 (28:21); Trump touts a major U.S.-India trade framework, but key details remain unclear (30:12); Trump signs a new Cuba executive order increasing pressure around oil supplies (33:16); the U.S. president also hosts Colombia’s Gustavo Petro after recent threats (35:33); and the State Department holds a critical minerals conference as Trump announces “Project Vault” and Japan tests environmentally risky deep-sea mining (37:15).

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Daniel Bessner

Daniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.

Derek Davison

Derek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.

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