Britons to be evacuated from Jamaica as UK sends Hurricane Melissa aid

A chartered flight from the UK government is set to depart Jamaica on Saturday evacuating British nationals from the country in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, BBC reported

The flight, set to leave from Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport, comes after the UK flew aid in earlier in the day as part of a £7.5m regional emergency package.

Some of the funding will be used to match public donations up to £1m to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent - with King Charles and Queen Camilla among those who have donated, according to BBC.

China's Xi holds court at APEC summit after Trump trade truce

China's Xi Jinping took centre stage at an annual gathering of Pacific Rim leaders in South Korea on Friday, meeting Canadian and Japanese counterparts after securing a fragile trade truce with U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

That agreement, struck just before Trump left South Korea, skipping the main two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, cooled spiralling tensions between the world's two largest economies that jolted global commerce.

With Trump playing host for the White House's annual Halloween party back in Washington, Xi sought to cast China as the predictable champion of free and open trade at the forum, a role the U.S. has dominated for decades, according to Reuters ​​​​​​.

India-US sign 10-year defence pact amid tariff turmoil

India and the US have signed a framework agreement to expand defence cooperation over the next 10-years, BBC reported.

The pact was announced after a meeting between US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in Kuala Lumpur. 

The agreement will enhance "coordination, information sharing and tech cooperation" and advance "regional stability and deterrence", Hegseth said on X. 

It comes as the two countries are trying to close a trade deal and tide over tense ties after US President Donald Trump slapped 50% tariffs on India, including a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil and arms, according to BBC.

Xi set to meet Canadian, Japanese leaders after Trump trade truce

China's Xi Jinping will take centre stage at an annual gathering of Pacific Rim leaders in South Korea on Friday, expected to hold talks with Canadian, Japanese and Thai counterparts after securing a fragile trade truce with U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

That agreement, struck just before Trump left South Korea, skipping the main two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, will suspend further curbs on China's exports of rare earths that threatened to jam up global supply chains.

Bolstering supply chains is a key focus of this year's APEC talks, hosted in the historic town of Gyeongju. The 21-member economic club aims to encourage cooperation and reduce trade and investment barriers, though decisions made at meetings are non-binding and consensus has been increasingly difficult, according to Reuters.