Reuters World News - US warships deployed, Canada talks, World Series and love after war in Ivory Coast 

Episode Date: October 25, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump departs on an Asia trip, hoping for a deal with China. The U.S. escalates its military presence in the Caribbean. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he's ready to resume trade talks, but Trump refuses to meet - while the Toronto Blue Jays face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. And as Ivory Coast voters head to the polls, peace activists are hoping "reconciliation marriages" can bring divided communities together. Listen to our latest episode of On Assignment, where our reporters uncover a secret mass grave in Syria and the operation to move thousands of bodies across the desert to cover up years of atrocities. 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 Sharon Reisch Garson in New Jersey. It's Saturday, October 25th. Today, the U.S. sends more firepower to the Caribbean Ocean. Trump departs for Asia, hoping for a China deal, but is in no mood to talk to Canada as the Toronto Blue Jays take on the L.A. Dodgers in the World Series. And in Ivory Coast, former enemies say I do as the nation heads to the polls. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. President Donald Trump's administration is escalating a U.S. military buildup, sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America.

Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro saying they're making up a new eternal war. At the same time, the U.S. is sanctioning Colombian President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of refusing to stop the flow of cocaine into the United States. In a post on X, Petro pushed back, calling it a lie. He says his government has seized the most cocaine in world history. Over to Asia, top economic officials from the U.S. in China are in Kuala Lumpur. trying to keep the trade war from escalating, and to pave the way for a meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump is threatening 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, starting November 1st.

That's in retaliation for China's expanded export controls on rare earth magnets and minerals. The goal this week, interim relief on tariffs, tech controls, and on Chinese purchases of U.S. soil. But even as Washington looks to dial things down with Beijing, it's not warming up to Canada. Before taking off for Asia... You mean what's running Mr. Carney during this town? I don't have any attention. The talks halted over an anti-tariff advertisement issued by Ontario's provincial government. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the ad will keep running during the World Series between the

Toronto Blue Jays and LA Dodgers so it can reach a bigger U.S. audience. Maria Chang covers Canadian politics. So Doug Ford, when he was explaining the reasoning for the ad earlier this week, he specifically said that they chose Ronald Reagan, who he regards to be the most effective president in U.S. history, because he wanted to appeal to Trump's base and make it clear that the MAGA movement has diverged somewhat from the Republican Party that Ronald Reagan led.

Before Carney got on the plane to leave for Asia, he addressed the trade issues and said that Canada needs to focus on what it can control. It can't control what the U.S. does, but he wants to very much focus on strengthening Canada's ties beyond the U.S. And speaking of the World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays have crashed baseball's biggest party for the first time in 32 years. Tonight, the team take on the LA Dodgers in game two of the World Series. And in game one, the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 11-4. But with political tensions running high between Canada and the U.S., this matchup is about more than baseball. Sports reporter Frank Pingway is in Toronto.

Oh, this is absolutely a major moment, not just in Toronto, but in Canada. Because if the Toronto Blue Jays can somehow upset the Los Angeles Dodgers and become World Series champions in a sport that has long been considered America's pastime, it would just be celebrated across a country whose economy has come under intense strain this year, given the impact of the terrorists that have been put on Canadian exports to the United States. So this is a way for sports fans to kind of get back at the United States. Tickets sold out within an hour. And on resale sites, premium seats are going for more than 10,000 Canadian

The Trump administration says it's reached a deal with Liberia to accept Kilmar Abrago. Abrago was wrongfully deported to El Salvador, which became a flashpoint in Trump's immigration crackdown. Liberia says the move is temporary and is strictly on humanitarian grounds. His lawyer says Abrago has no connection to Liberia and that the move was designed to inflict maximum hardship. Now to Turkey, whose president type Erdogan helped persuade Hamas to accept Trump's Gaza deal. The move has boosted Ankara's diplomatic clout, leaving Israel and its Arab rivals uneasy. Trump's calling Erdogan a reliable ally, and now the Turkey's gained leverage, it's pushing for F-35 fighter jets, fewer sanctions, and more influence in Syria. Back home, Erdogan's touting his role in the sea.

ceasefire as a major win. Tuvun Gumrukchu covers foreign policy in Turkey. Erdogan wants to position himself where he's able to essentially have a bigger say at the table in terms of regional matters, but he's also aware that with the second largest army in NATO, Turkey is a major force in the region. As we know, Hamas has issues because of equipment, so it can't excavate all of the bodies that have been stuck under rubble for many, many months. And so Turkey has experience with this, with search and rescue operations, and wants to contribute to this. So what we're anticipating is that Turkey will have more of a civilian rather than military presence here. Over to Ivory Coast, where voters head to the polls today for a presidential election.

More than a decade ago, the country was ripped apart by civil war. The conflict killed thousands and split communities along ethnic lines. And in Dukwe, the site of one of the worst massacres, something interesting is taking place. Former enemies are marrying each other. West Africa Bureau Chief Robbie Corey Boulé has been following how an NGO is helping couples move beyond their country's violent past. Lymbia is an NGO that's based in Dukwe that's trying to, after the war, promote reconciliation between ethnic groups that are seen as rival.

And one of the ways it's done that is by forming these youth clubs where people from across town can come together. And as a result of that, people from these different groups started dating. Martinez and Isabel, they're one of the initial couples, started dating right after the war and told their parents they intended to get married. and this caused a furor in both of their homes. And this couple, she's a ballet woman, now married to a Guare man. Her parents went so far as to tell her that Guare are cannibals, which is not true, but it took some time to convince them otherwise

and to bring the families together and eventually get them to a point where they could celebrate their wedding together. And they really take it upon themselves to be, public about their relationship trying to demonstrate that these marriages are workable and good for the community and good for their families. President Watar is running for a fourth term. He's widely expected to win, and these mixed marriages will locals see them as helping keep the peace while votes are cast.

One thing that he's been faulted for in some circles is not promoting transatlantic justice and reconciliation in the ways that some groups would like to see. And so the idea is that these marriages are an example of brown-level reconciliation that could limit any tensions that might erupt between various groups during the course of voting. And today, we have a recommended listen. Our On Assignment podcast is out, and in this episode, we travel to Syria. Our reporters share the incredible story of how they discovered a secret mass grave there and the vast operation to move thousands of bodies across the desert to cover up years of atrocities.

Here's reporter Maggie Michael describing what one Syrian car mechanics saw one night when he was doing repairs on a suspicious truck. One day he jumped inside the truck and he saw many bodies inside the truck. And then he questioned and asked questions. to the drivers and the driver. One of them told him these bodies are coming from Kotaifa, which is one of the biggest mass graves in Syria. We'll put a link to that in our pod description. For more on any of the stories from today,

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