1. UN, Spain Launch Sevilla Forum on Debt

On 20th October, 2025, during the 16th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva, the United Nations and Spain jointly announced the creation of the Sevilla Forum on Debt — a new global platform to address debt challenges and strengthen development financing.

The Sevilla Forum on Debt was launched as part of the outcomes of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) under the Sevilla Platform for Action, complementing the Sevilla Commitment — a roadmap to enhance global development financing mechanisms.
The Forum, led by Spain and supported by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), aims to serve as an inclusive, open platform for dialogue and action on global debt sustainability and reform.
The launch marks one of the first tangible outcomes of FfD4, institutionalizing the political commitments of the Sevilla Commitment into a structured mechanism that promotes fairer and more predictable debt governance for developing nations.

Key Points

Historic Achievement: Google’s Quantum AI team, in collaboration with researchers, published an open-access paper demonstrating Willow’s ability to complete quantum algorithms exponentially faster than traditional computers.
Quantum Echoes Algorithm: Willow executed a novel algorithm named Quantum Echoes, performing calculations 13,000 times faster than the best classical algorithm on one of the world’s fastest supercomputers.
Scientific Basis – OTOC Measurement: The study centered on a quantum measurement technique called out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC), which tracks how information spreads and gets scrambled inside a quantum system, offering a window into quantum chaos and order.
Building a Quantum ‘Time Machine’: Researchers used Willow’s superconducting qubits to simulate a chaotic quantum system and then reversed its evolution twice, using a second-order OTOC to observe how information retraced its path — a process likened to rewinding and replaying time.
Proof of Quantum Interference: The team inserted random operations midway through the experiment, proving that the observed signals were driven by true quantum interference — waves combining constructively and destructively, rather than random probabilistic outcomes.

The British Academy Book Prize, valued at £25,000, honours exceptional non-fiction books that enhance understanding of the modern world through outstanding scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.
Sunil Amrith, currently a history professor at Yale University, was born in Kenya to South Indian parents, raised in Singapore, and earned his degree from the University of Cambridge, reflecting his deeply global academic background.
The Burning Earth traces 500 years of environmental and human history, illustrating how colonisation, industrialisation, and global migration patterns have shaped today’s ecological crisis and redefined the relationship between people and nature.

Dr. Eknath Vasant Chitnis, a centenarian and one of the key architects of India’s early space programme, had been unwell for several days before he suffered a fatal heart attack on Wednesday morning, his family confirmed.
Born in 1925, Dr. Chitnis dedicated his life to advancing India’s space science and technology, contributing significantly to the foundations that led to the establishment of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
He played a pivotal role in the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), which later evolved into ISRO, helping lay down the technical and strategic framework that guided the country’s early space missions.