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Title: October 7, 2025

OCTOBER GLOBAL 30,000 ft. VIEW

The World This Week

Tuesday, Oct. 7: Trump hosts Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House.

Spanish lawmakers vote on whether to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

Wednesday, Oct. 8: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer begins a two-day trip to India.

Thursday, Oct. 9: Seychelles begins its presidential election runoff.

Friday, Oct. 10: The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is announced.

South Africa hosts G-20 trade ministers.

Sunday, Oct. 12: Cameroon holds a presidential election.

Monday, Oct. 13: The International Monetary Fund and World Bank begin their weeklong annual meetings.

DOMESTIC SITREP

ICE under attack. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Mexican cartels, gangs and terror groups have placed bounties on U.S. immigration agents. and launched a doxing campaign to distribute agents’ photos through criminal networks. Noem cited violent incidents including a sniper attack on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas and an attempted ambush of agents in Chicago. She said that intelligence suggests these groups are increasingly organized and that authorities are investigating funding for coordinated protests against federal law enforcement.

MIDDLE EAST SITREP

• Gaza Ceasefire Plan: Hamas agreed to a ceasefire with Israel on October 3 but called for negotiating other aspects of US President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in the Gaza Strip. Elements of Trump's plan require Hamas to concede on many of its long-held ceasefire demands, which raises questions about the viability of a long-term ceasefire agreement.

• Syrian Parliamentary Elections: Syria’s October 5 parliamentary elections are a positive step toward the development of a representative government in Syria, but the establishment of political parties will likely be necessary to form any meaningful opposition to Syrian President Ahmed al Shara. Neither Syrian Kurds in the northeast nor Druze in southern Syria participated in the elections.

• Iran-PRC Trade: Iran and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have reportedly used barter systems that avoid monetary transactions on the international market to circumvent US sanctions on Iran since at least 2018, according to two US media reports published on October 5.

• Iranian Air Defense: Iran appears to be prioritizing strengthening its air power by purchasing foreign fighter jets to address weaknesses that Israel exploited during the Israel-Iran War.

• Iraqi Parliamentary Elections: Iraqi Shia nationalist cleric Muqtada al Sadr is reportedly planning to make an unspecified “move” regarding the upcoming November 2025 Iraqi parliamentary elections that will not cause “chaos or escalation,” according to a former Sadrist parliamentarian. The former parliamentarian’s statement suggests that Sadr does not plan to incite protests surrounding the elections.

ISRAEL

Israel-Hamas negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump reported positive results from talks with Hamas and other nations regarding a Gaza ceasefire, hostage release and a broader regional peace. The U.S. hopes to finalize an agreement during negotiations in Cairo, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Hamas reportedly agreed to release hostages but asked Israel to pause airstrikes so that it may recover dead hostages around Gaza. The group also demanded that Israel withdraw its tanks from populated areas to facilitate hostage transfers, and it is insisting on the release of six high-ranking Palestinian prisoners. Hamas also denied to Arab media reports that it intends to surrender its weapons.

IRAN

Redenomination. On Sunday, the Iranian parliament Under the amended Monetary and Banking Law, the Central Bank of Iran will set exchange rates and manage foreign currency transactions in line with reserves. A three-year “dual circulation” transition phase will allow both currencies to circulate simultaneously. The reform had been debated for years amid inflation and depreciation.

IRANIAN NAVY

Naval conference. Iranian Navy Commander Rear Adm. Shahram Irani arrived in St. Petersburg on Sunday to attend a meeting of naval commanders from Caspian Sea states. In addition to participating in the conference, Irani will meet with the Russian Navy’s commander-in-chief, hold bilateral talks with the naval chiefs of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, and visit naval bases in the Gulf of Finland.

LIBYA

Back in business. Libya’s National Oil Corp. announced the resumption of exploration in several offshore blocks that had been dormant for more than five years. The work, conducted with Italy’s Eni, follows technical and environmental assessments and focuses on northwestern Libya, where instability previously halted operations. Eni has begun seismic and geological surveys ahead of drilling new exploratory wells.

Naval conference. Iranian Navy Commander Rear in St. Petersburg on Sunday to attend a meeting of naval commanders from Caspian Sea states. In addition to participating in the conference, Irani will meet with the Russian Navy’s commander-in-chief, hold bilateral talks with the naval chiefs of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, and visit naval bases in the Gulf of Finland.

GLOBAL SITREP

TALIBAN TRIP TO INDIA

First visit. Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi may visit India from Oct. 9 to Oct. 16, marking the first visit to India by a senior Taliban official since the group seized power in 2021. Although India does not recognize the Taliban government, it has maintained a minimal diplomatic presence in Kabul since 2022 to facilitate humanitarian aid and to protect its interests. India’s Ministry of External Affairs temporarily waived a travel ban for the visit. Muttaqi’s visit is expected to focus on regional security and trade.

INDIA & RUSSIA

Deals and drills. Senior Indian Defense Ministry officials will meet with their Russian counterparts this week to discuss jointly producing or directly purchasing five additional S-400 air defense systems from Moscow to strengthen India’s long-range defense capabilities. According to defense sources who spoke to the Hindustan Times, the deal is expected to be approved before Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in India on Dec. 5 for an annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, Russia and India have launched the joint exercise Indra-2025 in Rajasthan, northwest India. The drills, which will run until Oct. 15, will focus on joint tactical operations, communications, and command and control of a combined force. Separately, Putin threatened to sever ties with the United States if Washington supplies Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.

NORTH KOREAN NAVY

New warship. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the country’s first 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer on Sunday. The new destroyer is equipped with supersonic strategic cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles, state media reported. Pyongyang plans to build another vessel of the same class by October 2026.

CHINA’S B&RI (Belt & Road Initiative)

Circumvention. China is developing a land corridor through Iran to reduce reliance on vulnerable sea lanes such as the Strait of Malacca and Bab el-Mandeb, according to the Iranian news agency Wana. A new rail link between Xian, China, and the Iranian port of Apirin opens a trade route that strengthens Chinese access to Western Asia and Europe. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that a secret agreement between Beijing and Tehran, involving a major Chinese insurance firm, allows China to skirt U.S. sanctions and pay for Iranian oil through infrastructure projects.

AUSTRALIA & PAPUA NEW GUINEA

New alliance. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape signed a mutual defense treaty Monday in Canberra. Known as the Pukpuk Treaty, the pact is Australia’s first new alliance in more than 70 years and only its third overall, alongside those with New Zealand and the United States. The treaty commits both nations to mutual defense in the event of attack and is aimed at countering China’s growing regional influence.

GEORGIA

Election unrest. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Georgia’s capital on Saturday after the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in municipal elections boycotted by the main opposition blocs. Several dozen protesters stormed the courtyard of the presidential residence in Tbilisi, and 14 police officers were reportedly injured. On Sunday, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said foreign intelligence services had attempted a coup in his country. Georgian Dream last year suspended talks on joining the European Union

GZB INFOCUS: The Universities Producing the Most Billionaires

Key Takeaways:

• American universities like Harvard, Stanford, and Penn lead in producing billionaire alumni.

• Most wealth comes from technology startups and entrepreneurial ventures (e.g., Microsoft, Google, DoorDash, Baidu).

This visualization ranks institutions by billionaire alumni, highlighting U.S. dominance and the growing role of Asian universities. The data comes from Salas Díaz & Young

(2024). The study was published in September 2024, but the underlying data was collected in March 2021.

Harvard: Billionaire Central

Harvard has produced 125 billionaires in total, with a combined estimated wealth of almost $600 billion. The university tops our list, even without counting names like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, who studied there but never completed their degrees.

Stanford University, with its deep ties to Silicon Valley, counts Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang among its billionaire alumni. The University of Pennsylvania produced Tesla CEO Elon Musk Columbia University lists Warren Buffett, the legendary investor behind Berkshire Hathaway, among its most notable graduates, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has shaped both tech and industrial leaders, including Charles Koch of Koch Industries.

U.S. vs Asia: Power Shift Underway:

While U.S. schools still dominate the top slots, the Salas Díaz & Young data shows how universities in Asia are rising fast.

Institutions such as the University of Mumbai, Tsinghua, Peking University, and Seoul National University now appear in the top 20 for billionaire alumni. The shift coincides with Asia’s broader economic expansion, higher rates of entrepreneurship, and strengthening of domestic capital markets.

For example, Peking University, one of China’s most prestigious schools, counts Baidu co-founder Robin Li among its billionaire alumni. Similarly, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries and India’s richest man, studied chemical engineering at the University of Mumbai.

University Producing the Best Americans:

Hillsdale College

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—END REPORT