Reuters World News - Hurricane Melissa, Amazon, Cameroon, Trump third term and Fed

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

Jamaica braces for Hurricane Melissa, the world’s strongest storm this year. Amazon plans massive job cuts after overhiring during the pandemic. U.S. President Donald Trump continues his Asia tour in Japan, signing deals on trade and rare earths. As the president stops short of ruling out seeking a third term, we look at the law behind it. Plus, what the Fed’s options are after this week’s expected rate cut.  Find the Recommended Read here. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.  Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement⁠⁠ for information on our privacy and data protection practices.  You may also visit ⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠⁠ to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Tuesday, October 28th. Today, Hurricane Melissa hits Jamaica with record-breaking force. Amazon lays off 30,000 workers. President Trump calls a workaround to get an unconstitutional third term, cute, and Cameroon's 92-year-old president wins yet another election, sparking protests. This is Reuters' work. World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes,

seven days a week. Evacuations have taken place across Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa threatens the south of the island. The Category 5 storm has been packing winds of up to 175 miles per hour. There have been warnings that could be the largest hurricane on record for the Caribbean island. Satellite images show the storm likely continuing its path towards. Cuba, where evacuations have also taken place. For the latest developments, visit Reuters.com or check out the Reuters app. Amazon is planning to cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs starting today.

While it's only a fraction of Amazon's one and a half million total employees, which includes everyone in warehouses, it is 10% of the company's white-collar workforce. Reuters' technology correspondent Greg Benzinger says it's partly due to an increased use of AI and partly a recalibration post-pandemic. Amazon has said that it significantly overhired during the pandemic. It is trying to pare back its workforce from a time when demand was just through the roof. They think that they need fewer people, particularly in HR, a thing that's called the performance experience of technology there, devices, Alexa, even AWS, one of their real profit centers.

So it's meant to be a pretty broad cut. And, yeah, 30,000's a big number. Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, has said that he wants to reduce bureaucracy at the company. Greg says efforts to get people to leave of their own accord haven't worked. Amazon has taken a very hard line on return to office. They're one of the few tech companies that says, we want everyone in an office five days a week without fail. And it's really meant to be pretty strict.

And what that's done is really set a scramble about. among many employees who were hired, again, during the pandemic, in places all over the country that have no corporate offices near them. And Amazon has told them, if you're not in an office five days a week, you're quitting the company. Amazon had hoped for a number of people to leave of their own accord as a result of this policy, and it appears that those numbers aren't coming in fast enough. Another company about to begin a major round of layoffs is Paramount Skydance.

It's set to let go about 1,000 people. following its merger. The move will impact about 5% of the workforce. And it's happening as economic uncertainty continues to ripple through the job market. This week, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by another quarter point, the second time this year. But with key government data still missing, the Fed's next steps are harder to predict. And Safere covers the Fed. They did get last week a lateish read on the consumer inflation, but there's a bunch of other reports that come out regularly, and they're not getting it.

That's a big problem. On the other hand, the Fed can rely on instead alternative data gathered by their own surveys, by their own people going out talking just to business roundtables or interviewing CEOs or just going to visit a company and seeing what's happening on the manufacturing floor. And typically at points when the economy is near a turn changing, direction as it might be now, those kind of on-the-ground data become more important anyway. But that said, the longer this goes on, the harder it will be for them to have confidence that the data really hasn't changed that much since the last time they got the official prints.

But if they don't have that, they're going by their seat of their pants a little bit more. The sea of the pants starts to kind of wear thin. President Donald Trump remarking on the handshake of newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister and the first woman to hold the job, Sanai Takaiichi. The pair met in Tokyo and signed a framework agreement for securing the supply of critical minerals and rare earths, which both countries need. China processes more than 90% of the world's supply and has recently expanded export curbs. The U.S. by contrast, has one operational rare earth mine.

While the U.S. Constitution says a president can only serve two terms, President Trump is not ruling out going for a third. I would love to do it. I have my best number is ever. Trump has repeatedly flirted with the idea and his supporters are taking him seriously. Some have proposed a workaround. Trump could run as vice president while another candidate runs for president. and if elected, that president could then resign. Trump says that route would be legal, but...

It's too cute. Yeah, I wouldn't rule that out because it's too cute. Legal reporter Jack Queen says being cute isn't the problem. The problem with him running as vice president is that he's not allowed to do that because under the 12th Amendment, only people who are eligible to be president can be vice president. And since he has run up against the two-term limit, he is not eligible. to be president. So it's almost as if the framers of the 12th Amendment sort of saw this potential loophole and said no. So I think many people would chalk this up to just bluster by President Trump who likes to say controversial things and trigger his political opponents. But I think there's also

a component to it here where a lot of Trump's critics would say that he is really pressing the limits of his executive authority in his second term. So I think there's a component to it here, where a lot of Trump's critics, a concern that, you know, this may be not just empty talk, and as we get closer to the end of his term, it might become more serious. And you already have a couple of lawmakers who are saying they're on board with it. Police clash with opposition protesters in Cameroon, after 92-year-old president, Paul Beer, wins another term in office. Officials say Bia, who is the world's oldest serving leader and has been in power for more than four decades, won more than half of the vote. That means he'll remain president until he's nearly a hundred.

Supporters of opposition leader, Isatite Tchroma Bakri, say the election was rigged, an allegation Beers team denies. Batee Felix in Duala, Cameroon, has more. The results as proclaimed by the constitutional council cannot be appealed. This is the final stage. That is why we've seen people take to the streets to protest. And the challenger himself, Issa Chiroma, posted on Facebook that the military is making a move against him in his hometown in Garra. Bartay says despite a weak economy and frustration among the people, Beers' grip on power is strong. The last Council of Ministers' meeting that he presided was over four or five years ago.

He travels a lot. He's basically absent. Economic growth has been stagnant, a country with huge potential oil producing, cocoa producing. That has been, you know, one of the things that has swirled opposition. that after 43 years, when you talk to people in the streets, they just want change. I mean, he has been in power since Reagan was in power in the U.S. He has been able to maintain a patronage system that rewards loyels and punish those that dare to challenge him.

He controls the army, he controls the security services, he controls every aspect of the economy, and so he's able to reward those who are loyal to him and those who dare challenge him end up in prison. The rapid support forces, a paramilitary in Sudan, are battling the last pockets of resistance in the city of Al-Fashir. The city has endured a brutal 18-month siege and is the final holdout of the Sudanese army in the western Darfur region. A full takeover would entrench the division of the two rival military factions, and some fear the RSF could carry out reprisals against.

the quarter of a million estimated residents still bear. And for today's recommended read, to China, where heat waves are threatening to dry up the supply of a national delicacy, hairy crabs. They're named for their furry claws and wanted for their sweet flesh. Farmers are being forced to come up with new ways to keep these crustaceans alive in the face of higher temperatures and longer summers. There's a link to that story in the podcast description.

For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget follow us on your favourite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.