Since in-game world-gen events are down the road in release 5, I was thinking about ways to let the player know about events in Fort mode. I was thinking it would be kind of obnoxious and would somewhat break immersion to have an announcement for when the (unseen) King declares an (unseen) war which might not have an effect on the player's fort at all. So I was thinking, why not have dwarven Diplomats and merchants of other races serve this role?
The Diplomat could go to the unowned dining room nearest the Trade Depot and make an announcement, forgotten beast/artifact style. "Fellow dwarves, rally! This summer the xth of x, our most dwarfy king declared war on the elves. A foul dragon stalks the land and has killed x in its lust for murder. The Dwarf Baron x's wife gave birth to two daughters on the xth of x. Our king has become a worshippers of Izeg Tundrasnarls the Clod of Shells." These announcements could trigger happy/unhappy thoughts and/or parties, etc..
Afterwards the mayor's meeting with the Diplomat could serve as an opportunity to get more details and less relevant news, similar to the way the player can talk to individuals in Adventure mode. This could also serve as a time for the diplomat to relay requests/orders from the king/other mayors for supplies (send X # of recruits away with the caravan to participate in a war, build ten siege weapon parts, send food a starving fort, etc.), over which the player could negotiate with the diplomat through the mayor (with the mayor's skills in intimidation, comedian, lying etc. and the predetermined "urgency" of the demand affecting the result of the negotiation). This infrastructure could be parlayed into further developments like the ability to negotiate for peace with elves/gobbos, rebel/declare independence from one's civ (by not fulfilling demands or by open declaration).
Just some thoughts I've been kicking around, sorry if this has been suggested before. I know some of this is more Army Arc, but I think it fits into the grand scheme.