Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Hamas returns remains of Israeli officer that were held more than a decade U.S. steps up Gaza aid role to support fragile ceasefire WSJ Editorial: Will Israel do Lebanon’s dirty work? Former White House national security advisor John Bolton: Half a century of antisemitism at the U.N. The dangerous stalemate over Iran’s nuclear program Russia's Lavrov says work under way on Putin's order on possible Russian nuclear test US sanctions official says time is right to cut Iran's Hezbollah funding Trump to meet Sharaa at White House, capping major turnaround for Syria Iraq’s leader seeks an improbable prize: Independence from the U.S. and Iran No immediate threat to US, allies from N.Korea's missile launch, US military says China suspends export controls on more critical minerals The Nord stream investigation that’s splintering Europe over UkraineIn The News
Israel
Hamas returned the remains of an Israeli army officer that were held by the militant group for more than a decade, authorities said, marking an emotional moment for the country and for his family, which had fought for years to bring his body home. – Wall Street Journal
The U.S. military-led “coordination center” charged with implementing President Donald Trump’s peace plan in the Gaza Strip is replacing Israel as the overseer of humanitarian aid to the enclave, even as multiple people familiar with the center’s first weeks of operations have described it as chaotic and indecisive. – Washington Post
The United States is pressing the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution that would enshrine President Trump’s Gaza peace plan in international law with little room for negotiation, according to a senior U.S. official and diplomats involved in or briefed on the talks. – New York Times
The World Bank backs language in a U.S.-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza that would authorize a two-year mandate for a transitional governance body, according to a letter to the United States seen by Reuters. – Reuters
One Palestinian was killed in Gaza by Israeli firing and another was wounded on Saturday, local medics and the Israeli military said, as a tenuous ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has largely held. – Reuters
Hamas fighters holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza will not surrender to Israel, the group’s armed wing said on Sunday, urging mediators to find a solution to a crisis that threatens the month-old ceasefire. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump’s influential son-in-law, Jared Kushner, arrived in Israel on Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on implementing the U.S. plan to end the Gaza war, a source familiar with the matter said. – Reuters
Fifteen people were injured in several settler attacks in the West Bank on Saturday, according to Palestinian and Hebrew media reports. Those hurt included Palestinians, Israeli and foreign activists, an IDF reservist, a medic and a Reuters press photographer. – Times of Israel
Defense Minister Israel Katz and a government spokesperson reiterated on Sunday that Israel does not want Turkish soldiers deployed to Gaza as part of a multinational force that is meant to take over from the Israel Defense Forces. – Times of Israel
President Isaac Herzog is paying a state visit to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday and Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF’s 10th brigade killed dozens of terrorists and dismantled several terror tunnels while operating behind the Yellow Line in the area of Khan Yunis, the IDF said Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: Israeli talk of destroying Hezbollah once and for all may be too ambitious, but signs of a new offensive are multiplying. On Sunday Iraq’s Defense Minister said he received a “final warning” from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his country’s Iran-backed Shiite militias must sit out any renewed conflict in the region. President Trump has a new reason to reinforce America’s credibility in the region: Gaza. What does Hamas have to fear in resisting disarmament, in violation of the Trump peace plan, when it sees Hezbollah getting away with the same in Lebanon? – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: There are, however, obstacles. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains opposed to a formal Palestinian state, and public opinion in the Arab world is still raw after the Gaza war. But history rarely offers perfect conditions for peace. It offers opportunities, and this one is extraordinary. Iran’s proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, and Gaza are weakened, and Tehran itself has been shaken by Israel and is dealing with internal unrest. Israel must grab the bull by the horns. Peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia would complete the transformation begun by the Abraham Accords. It would unite the Middle East’s two most capable powers in security, technology, and energy cooperation. Most of all, it would send a message that extremism has had its day and the region is looking forward, not back. – Jerusalem Post
John Bolton writes: Most perversely, several U.N. bodies have tried to steer the International Criminal Court, touted inaccurately by its advocates as descending from the Nuremberg war-crimes tribunal, to focus on Israel. Neither Israel nor the U.S. has joined the ICC. Undeterred, Israel’s adversaries have evaded this mere technicality by allowing the Palestinian Authority to accede to the ICC treaty as a “state,” thereby conferring jurisdiction over crimes purportedly committed in the Gaza Strip. This amounts to one flight of legal fantasy after another, there being neither a Palestinian state nor defined territory. Nonetheless, publicity-hungry ICC prosecutors had the excuse they needed to launch investigations and leak accusations of improper Israeli behavior, including, incredibly, genocide. No other U.N. member, even among the proudly authoritarian crowd, receives such condemnation and harassment. Those who wonder why, after 80 years, the U.N. can’t get its act together need not look far for the answer. – Wall Street Journal
Duvi Honig writes: We celebrate Kazakhstan’s entry into the Abraham Accords and bless Trump for his enduring vision, but history demands vigilance. The UN’s moral collapse, the ideological shifts within Western politics, and the wavering of once-reliable allies all remind us that peace without protection is an illusion. If we move forward with wisdom, learning from the UN’s failure and embedding permanent safeguards within the Abraham Accords, we can ensure that this great alliance remains not just a political agreement but a sacred covenant: one that defends Israel, strengthens the free world, and stands as a lasting beacon of faith, commerce, and truth for generations to come. – Jerusalem Post
Aluf Benn writes: Trump has even decried the trials against Netanyahu as a witch hunt, much like he decried his own. During his Knesset remarks, the U.S. president called on Israel’s president to pardon the prime minister. Netanyahu thus had every reason to smile as Trump spoke, even while preparing for the newest and toughest battle of his career. Winning reelection may be tougher than battling Hamas. But this is a familiar fight for Netanyahu—Israel’s consummate survivor. He can emerge victorious. – Foreign Affairs
Seth Mandel writes: The intelligence firm apparently went so far as to hack into her private communications, but still found nothing. No amount of Qatari money can change the fact that Khan, his ICC enablers, the countries and politicians supporting his actions—and of course Qatar itself—are the bad guys here. The public should keep in mind for the future that extraordinary accusations against Israel are often themselves admissions of guilt. – Commentary
Iran
President Trump insists that U.S. strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment program this summer, but regional officials and analysts have become less convinced in the months since, and they warn another outbreak of war between Israel and Iran is only a matter of time. – New York Times
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that Iran sought peace, but would not be coerced into abandoning its nuclear and missile programmes, state media reported. – Reuters
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plotted to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico starting late last year, but the effort was contained and there is no current threat, a U.S. official said on Friday. – Reuters
A US-blacklisted Iranian carrier, Meraj Airlines, has begun operating commercial flights to Afghanistan, according to the Taliban administration in the northern province of Balkh. – Jerusalem Post
Eric R. Mandel writes: The reconstitution of Iran’s Ring of Fire threatens to reverse recent American and Israeli gains. Tehran will continue working to destabilize the Gulf states, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. Washington must recognize that short of regime change, degrading Iran’s regional power is a core American interest. Only sustained engagement, credible deterrence, and steadfast US-Israel cooperation can prevent Tehran from reigniting its Ring of Fire, and with it, another regional inferno. – Jerusalem Post
Arash Azizi writes: The credit here is due to ordinary Iranians, who have pressed gradually and insistently against the regime’s rules. In doing so, they have expanded their social freedoms, and they are unlikely to give up these hard-won achievements. Even many inside the regime seem to have realized that they need to move on. The Islamic Republic is about to lose one of its three pillars; the other two will also crumble in time. – The Atlantic
Russia and Ukraine
Major cities in Ukraine suffered emergency power outages on Saturday after a devastating overnight attack by Russian missiles and drones that targeted the country’s energy and gas infrastructure. – New York Times
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that work is under way on President Vladimir Putin’s order to prepare proposals for a possible Russian nuclear test, state news agency TASS reported. – Reuters
Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles in overnight attacks on Ukraine, targeting substations that supply two nuclear power plants and killing seven people, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday. – Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that he was ready to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio but that Russia would not abandon its core conditions for ending the Ukraine war. – Reuters
The Kremlin on Friday dismissed speculation that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had fallen out of favour with Vladimir Putin after efforts to organise a summit between the Russian president and Donald Trump were put on ice last month. – Reuters
President Vladimir Putin has appointed Andrei Bulyga, one of Russia’s deputy defence ministers since last year, as deputy secretary of the country’s powerful security council, according to a decree published on the Kremlin’s website on Saturday. – Reuters
Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau said on Monday that it was conducting a large-scale operation to uncover corruption in the country’s energy sector. – Reuters
Most of the streets of Kherson are empty now. Three years after the liberation ended a nine-month Russian occupation, the city that once erupted in joy has sunk into a wary stillness — a place where daily life unfolds behind walls or underground. – Associated Press
Igor Desyatnikov writes: None of this means nuclear risk has vanished. But it does mean that Putin’s most reliable form of leverage — strategic intimidation masked as ambiguity — has expired. He no longer holds the same sway in Washington. And most importantly, he no longer holds the same audience. When your nuclear intimidation ends with your own spokesman clarifying you’re not actually testing nukes, you’ve lost the room. Putin’s nuclear blackmail appears to have hit its expiration date. What happens next depends on whether the Kremlin can adjust to dealing with a less predictable, less intimidated Washington. – The Hill
Hezbollah
The United States seeks to take advantage of a “moment” in Lebanon in which it can cut Iranian funding to Hezbollah and press the group to disarm, the U.S. Treasury Department’s top sanctions official said. – Reuters
The European Union on Saturday condemned repeated Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, urging Israel to respect the ceasefire, even as the Israel Defense Forces stepped up strikes on the terror group. – Times of Israel
Israel has warned Lebanon’s army that it is not satisfied with the actions taken so far against the Hezbollah terror group, vowing to continue its stepped-up bombing campaign unless the situation changes, a report said Saturday. – Times of Israel
Syria
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday caps a stunning year for the rebel-turned-ruler who toppled a longtime autocratic leader and has since toured the world as he seeks to end Syria’s international isolation. – Reuters
The United States and Britain removed sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Friday, a day after the United Nations Security Council did the same ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump next week, with the European Union confirming it would follow suit. – Reuters
Syria has carried out nationwide pre-emptive operations targeting Islamic State cells, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said on Saturday. – Reuters
Andrew J. Tabler writes: If those tracks inch forward, next week’s Oval Office optics could translate into sustainable momentum in Congress. If they stall, however, U.S. engagement with Syria’s new government may remain transactional and limited, focused on cooperation against IS and overall detente but eschewing the broader political and economic dividends Sharaa seeks. – Washington Institute
Iraq
Today, Sudani, 55, is running for a second term as prime minister in national elections Tuesday, touting his efforts to regain a degree of independence from both Washington and Tehran without sacrificing Baghdad’s ties to either of its powerful patrons. Many see it as an impossible goal, and in a bitterly divided Iraq, it might not be a winning platform. – Wall Street Journal
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani vowed to undertake major reforms if elected for a second term, aiming to cut the budget deficit, boost private-sector employment and attract more foreign direct investment to the oil-rich country. – Bloomberg
Joshua Yaphe writes: Prime Minister Sudani is also performing a balancing act between Tehran and Washington. His outreach to Western and regional partners, including attendance at the Sharm el-Sheikh conference on Gaza, was a “gesture to please US President Donald Trump,” al-Badawi argues, saying Sudani “wanted to provide enough evidence that he can play ball with the US so that he can secure a second term.” Still, American influence is not what it once was. “I don’t personally feel the US has as much influence as it once had,” Yaphe observes, asking whether that vacuum allows Iraq to chart an independent course. Al-Badawi believes Tehran still has considerable influence, but Washington “does have its sort of influence through those rapid ultimatums … ‘disarm or we strike,’” warning that Iraq’s next leader will need “national dialogue … agreeing that this is not the stage where we need armed groups.” – The National Interest
Turkey
Turkey is preparing a law to let thousands of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters and civilians return home from hideouts in northern Iraq under negotiations to end generations of war. – Reuters
Turkey announced Friday that it had issued arrest warrants for alleged genocide against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 other senior officials in his government over the war in Gaza against Hamas. The announcement was met with a firm rebuttal from Israel. – Times of Israel
Turkey’s Turkish Aerospace Industries and the UK’s BAE Systems have inked a plan to team up and assess “joint opportunities” related to developing drones. – Breaking Defense
The head of the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium has said Turkey’s $10.7 billion order of the fourth-generation combat jet could be the impetus for more customers to move out with other lucrative export acquisitions of the aircraft. – Breaking Defense
Saudi Arabia
The number of executions in Saudi Arabia has soared as officials wage what they are calling a far-reaching “war on drugs,” deploying the death penalty against smugglers who ferry hashish and amphetamine pills into the kingdom. – New York Times
Saad Aljabri was once a top Saudi official who knew the kingdom’s deepest secrets, handled billions of dollars for security projects, planned counterterrorism operations with global counterparts and had fans in the United States Congress. – New York Times
U.S. President Donald Trump has been talking up the prospects of Saudi Arabia agreeing to normalise ties with Israel, but it is unlikely to happen when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House this month. – Reuters
Saudi Arabia is building up its mid- and upper-mid-range tourism options and plans to increase access to hotel accommodation for religious pilgrimages after years focused on developing expensive luxury resorts, the kingdom’s tourism minister said. – Reuters
Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that it had executed two citizens for joining a terrorist group that planned to carry out attacks on places of worship. The two men also planned attacks against security facilities and personnel, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, citing a statement from the interior ministry. – Reuters
While normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is not yet imminent, efforts to lay the groundwork are underway, a source within the Saudi royal family told Kan News on Saturday. – Jerusalem Post
Middle East & North Africa
After years of seeing its star power wane, Egypt is having a diplomatic moment. By hosting the negotiations last month in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh that finally produced a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Egypt underscored that it still wields significant clout in the Middle East. – Washington Post
Jailed Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi, 84, began a hunger strike, joining two prominent politicians who are protesting what they call “unjust imprisonment,” lawyers said on Saturday, marking the latest escalation in a standoff with President Kais Saied. – Reuters
Dr. Anat Hochberg-Marom writes: Achieving success demands a blend of pragmatic diplomacy and assertive foreign policy that frames Israel’s partnership with Morocco and recognition of Western Sahara’s sovereignty not as a source of division but as a foundation of regional stability. Only through such balanced and strategic engagement can Israel fully harness the political, security, and economic opportunities presented by this historic realignment – paving the way toward a more secure and prosperous regional future. – Jerusalem Post
Mohanad Faris writes: Given regional complexities, the second and more likely short-term scenario involves continued limited security cooperation, including intelligence sharing and covert field operations that fall short of formal partnership or full normalization. If relations sour, there could be a return to the border crises characterizing the period before 2014, with the attendant security chaos and economic threats. – Washington Institute
Korean Peninsula
A South Korean special counsel on Monday indicted former president Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of aiding the enemy and abuse of power — the latest development in a legal saga that includes his impeachment from office and an ongoing criminal trial tied to his decision to impose martial law in December. – Washington Post
North Korea’s defence minister No Kwang Chol threatened on Saturday to take “more offensive action” as he condemned U.S. security talks with Seoul and the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in South Korea. – Reuters
South Korea’s defense ministry said on Saturday that it condemns North Korea’s launch of a missile towards the sea off the North’s east coast on Friday, urging the communist neighbour to stop escalating inter-Korean tension. – Reuters
The U.S. military said that North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile earlier on Friday does not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies, but it “highlights the destabilizing impact” of Pyongyang’s actions. – Reuters
South Korea’s foreign minister met Monday with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, keeping up pressure to suppress burgeoning large-scale online scam operations that have been blamed for the brutal death of a Korean student. – Associated Press
China
Nexperia microchips are leaving China again, easing a shortage of simple but ubiquitous parts that threatened to paralyze the auto industry. German automotive supplier Aumovio, which was recently spun out of tire giant Continental, said Friday that the Sino-Dutch company’s semiconductors and components containing them were on their way from China to Aumovio’s distribution hub in Hungary. – Wall Street Journal
The shipment of chemicals from China was meant to stay near Bangkok. But a tracker, planted by Thai drug authorities based on a tip from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, showed it moving north toward the porous 1,500-mile-long border with Myanmar. – Washington Post
The Chinese government announced on Sunday that it would suspend export controls for a year on five critical minerals that are needed to manufacture certain semiconductors as well as explosives, armor-piercing ammunition, batteries and nuclear reactors. – New York Times
FBI Director Kash Patel visited China last week to discuss fentanyl and law enforcement issues, two people familiar with his trip told Reuters, following a summit between the U.S. and Chinese presidents where both hailed “consensus” on the matter. – Reuters
China has suspended sanctions on U.S.-linked subsidiaries of South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean Co Ltd for a year, its commerce ministry said on Monday. – Reuters
China will suspend port fees levied on U.S.-linked vessels for a year, its transport ministry said on Monday. – Reuters
China has suspended a ban on exports of gallium, germanium and antimony to the U.S., its commerce ministry said on Sunday, although the three metals remain subject to broader export controls requiring shippers to first get licences from Beijing. – Reuters
China has commissioned its latest aircraft carrier after extensive sea trials, state media reported Friday, adding a ship that experts say will help what is already the world’s largest navy expand its power farther beyond its own waters. – Associated Press
China said it complained to Europe’s legislature over a speech Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim gave to a group of its members, a spat that comes with tensions already heightened over trade and other issues. – Bloomberg
Karishma Vaswani writes: American companies that want to do business in China should also expect heavier state intervention, tighter trade and investment conditions, and a widening of export controls. Yet this moment also presents an opportunity. China’s system may look formidable, but it’s not invincible. It is facing deep structural issues, from a property slump and local government debt to demographic decline. Preparing for the worst-case scenario is the best way to outwit an opponent. Xi is building a China that relies on itself. The US needs to be ready for that. – Bloomberg
South Asia
Indian police detained dozens of people during a rare protest at the famed India Gate monument in New Delhi demanding action to curb an annual scourge of toxic air swathing the capital and its surrounding region. – Reuters
Turkey’s foreign and defence ministers and intelligence chief plan to travel to Pakistan this week to discuss its stop-start talks with Afghanistan over a ceasefire in place in South Asia, President Tayyip Erdogan said. – Reuters
Peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan broke down, although a ceasefire continues between the South Asian neighbours, a Taliban spokesperson said on Saturday. – Reuters
The Indian airports authority said late on Friday that a system used to generate flight plans was “up and running”, more than a day after a technical glitch led to delays of hundreds of flights at Delhi airport, one of the world’s busiest. – Reuters
India and Australia held further talks on boosting trade and economic links as nations step up efforts to counter disruptions to exports sparked by US President Donald Trump’s slew of tariffs. – Bloomberg
Asia
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Philippine Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who oversaw then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, the nation’s ombudsman said on Saturday, although the ICC denied the assertion. – Reuters
Taiwan is not alone and has more and more friends around the world and will continue to show the world its resolve, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said on Sunday after returning from a landmark diplomatic-breakthrough trip to Europe. – Reuters
Indonesian police found possible explosive powder as they investigated explosions at a mosque in the capital Jakarta, and the suspected perpetrator is recovering, the police chief said on Saturday. – Reuters
Japan said on Monday it had complained to China about “extremely inappropriate” remarks by one of its diplomats towards Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The United States characterised the diplomat’s comment as threatening. – Reuters
Japan announced Friday that its seafood exports have resumed for the first time since China imposed a ban over the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant more than two years ago. – Associated Press
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has threatened to derail a fragile peace deal with Cambodia — signed just last month — after a land-mine explosion injured two Thai soldiers near their shared border. – Bloomberg
Europe
For three years, a crack team of detectives gathered each weekday morning around a whiteboard at the German Federal Police headquarters in Potsdam, near Berlin. Now their investigation into who was behind the greatest act of sabotage in modern history—the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines—is threatening to splinter support for Ukraine, the country they hold responsible. – Wall Street Journal
Two years ago, Dutch voters handed victory to one of Europe’s most prominent hard-right politicians. Last month, they backed his antithesis. Rob Jetten, a 38-year-old centrist, will have the first shot at forming a government after his D66 political party roughly tripled its number of seats in the House of Representatives and won a bigger share of the popular vote than Geert Wilders’s far-right Freedom Party, which prevailed in 2023. – Wall Street Journal
The European Union’s top defense official is calling on the Trump administration to plan any military withdrawal from Europe with the continent’s leaders, as Washington’s longtime allies brace for a U.S. drawdown. – Washington Post
Boris Pistorius, the German defense minister, is a social democrat in a government led by conservatives, and the man now responsible for revamping and expanding the armed forces in a country that has been allergic to militarization for 80 years since instigating two world wars. – Washington Post
A prominent far-right German activist has applied for political asylum in the United States, citing fears for her safety, as the Trump administration has signaled plans to prioritize protections for White refugees and Europeans who claim they are being targeted for their populist views. – Washington Post
Two of the top executives of the BBC resigned abruptly on Sunday following a report suggesting the public service broadcaster had misleadingly edited a speech by President Trump that preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. – New York Times
Germany’s coalition government plans to re-examine its trade policies towards China including on energy, raw material imports and Chinese investment in critical German infrastructure and will set up a committee of experts to report to parliament. – Reuters
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s request to be released from jail pending an appeal will be heard in a Paris court on Monday, weeks after he started a five-year sentence for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya. – Reuters
Hungary has secured an agreement with Washington on a “financial shield” to protect its economy and public finances, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said John Coale, who helped negotiate the release of prisoners from Belarus, was his choice for special envoy to Minsk and would press for the release of more detainees. – Reuters
The United States has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from U.S. sanctions for using Russian oil and gas, a White House official said on Friday, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pressed his case for a reprieve during a friendly meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington. – Reuters
Britain is sending experts and equipment to Belgium to help it combat disruptive drone sightings, which have temporarily closed airports, the head of the British military said on Sunday. – Reuters
The European Union on Friday made it harder for Russian citizens to enter Europe’s ID-check free travel area due to Russia’s continued war on Ukraine, increasing acts of sabotage blamed on Moscow and the potential misuse of visas. – Associated Press
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez followed other European leaders in opting not to weigh in on growing tensions between US President Donald Trump and Venezuela amid a US military deployment in the region. – Bloomberg
When the man heard Oleksandra Iwaniuk speaking Ukrainian with a friend on a crowded tram in Warsaw, he launched into a tirade of verbal abuse. Bald and wearing military camouflage, he addressed his slurs in Polish to the whole carriage, never making eye contact with the two women. – Bloomberg
Slovakia will not agree to using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday. – Bloomberg
Reports of infighting between partners on the French-German-Spanish FCAS fighter program have been exaggerated and the platform will see the light of day with all members on board, a leading French air force official has said. – Defense News
Africa
The wave of antigovernment protests that has seen young Gen Z protesters rise up against their countries’ old ruling classes this year has hit a roadblock in Tanzania: a government willing to use lethal force to stop them in their tracks. – Wall Street Journal
Since then Nigeria has been trying to persuade Trump not to send the world’s most-powerful military into a West African country of 232 million people, to intervene in what its government says are long-running local disputes over livestock-grazing rights. – Wall Street Journal
Police in Tanzania arrested a senior official from opposition party CHADEMA on Saturday and authorities named nine others being sought in relation to violent protests that followed last week’s elections. – Reuters
President Donald Trump said on Friday that no U.S. government official would attend the Group of 20 summit in South Africa later this month, because of what he said were “human rights abuses” taking place in the country. – Reuters
Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda said in a statement on Friday that they had agreed an economic pact in Washington, as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to implement a peace deal and spur Western investment in the region. – Reuters
Nigeria’s new army chief promised to increase operations against “terrorists” in the country’s north on Friday, less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened U.S. military involvement if Nigeria did not stop attacks on Christians in the country. – Associated Press
Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled to overcrowded camps to escape reported atrocities by a paramilitary force since it captured el-Fasher in the western Darfur region, an aid group said Saturday, and the U.N. human rights chief warned that many others are still trapped. – Associated Press
Two Kenyan activists were released from detention in Uganda after President Yoweri Museveni confirmed they were arrested more than a month ago and accused them of working with the opposition to unseat him in the January general election. – Associated Press
The Supreme Court of Guinea, a west African nation that’s the world’s biggest exporter of bauxite, approved military junta leader General Mamadi Doumbouya’s bid to run in the Dec. 28 presidential election. – Bloomberg
South Africa has taken over leadership of a regional body from Madagascar, which decided to relinquish the role following a military takeover sparked by nationwide protests. – Bloomberg
James Barnett writes: A military intervention premised on the wrong diagnosis would not save Nigerian Christians. It would only deepen Nigeria’s troubles while drawing the U.S. into a set of conflicts it is not equipped to solve. Trump’s base, though concerned about Christians, is surely not interested in a repeat of Black Hawk Down or Libya. Trump has succeeded in getting Nigeria’s attention. To capitalize on that in a way that might truly help Nigerians, he and his team will need to develop a more nuanced policy that treats Nigeria as more than a mere morality play. – Washington Post
The Americas
As President Donald Trump sinks alleged drug boats of Venezuela and gathers U.S. forces in the region, raising the possibility of land strikes, the country’s opposition has come to see his approach, however risky, as its best and only path to topple the government of authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro. – Washington Post
A day of violent rioting at a prison in southwest Ecuador on Sunday caused the deaths of at least 31 inmates, the country’s prisons agency said. – Reuters
Peru’s government on Friday said it will not grant safe passage to former Prime Minister Betssy Chavez, who was granted asylum by Mexico, effectively blocking her departure from the country. – Reuters
A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously voted on Friday to reject former President Jair Bolsonaro’s appeal challenging his 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup to remain in power after the 2022 presidential election. – Reuters
Representatives of European, Latin American and Caribbean nations on Sunday began a two-day summit in Colombia to try to strengthen ties despite questions on the gathering’s relevance and divisions in the Western Hemisphere over the U.S. military operation targeting alleged drug-carrying vessels. – Associated Press
Conservative politician Rodrigo Paz was sworn in as Bolivia’s new president on Saturday, ushering in a new era for the Andean nation after nearly 20 years of one-party rule. – Associated Press
The US is expected to soon designate Brazil’s two largest drug gangs as terrorist organizations, a star prosecutor in the South American country said, a move that is likely to amplify the debate over the best way to counter the growing threat of organized crime. – Bloomberg
North America
A curious mix of objects are on display in a glass case at City Hall in Brampton, Ontario: a bag of pasta, a Coca-Cola bottle, a piece of pool noodle, a mini space robot. They all represent products proudly manufactured in Brampton, the bustling industrial hub west of Toronto. – New York Times
The government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday unveiled plans to fight organized crime and improve security in the violence-ridden state of Michoacan after the brazen public assassination of a local mayor sent shockwaves through the country. – Reuters
Mexico’s top diplomat in Peru has left the country, the South American country said, amid heightened tensions between the two nations over asylum for a former Peruvian prime minister. – Reuters
Mexico and France announced plans Friday to boost their economic partnership and cultural cooperation as Mexico seeks to strengthen trade relationships with Europe while still under tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. – Associated Press
The Mexican government launched a security plan for the state of Michoacan, one of the nation’s most violent, following protests and backlash over the assassination of a mayor who urged President Claudia Sheinbaum to do more in the fight against drug cartels. – Bloomberg
Mary Anastasia O’Grady writes: The president blames her political opponents for creating the atmosphere of violence. But during the 2006-12 center-right presidency of Felipe Calderón, who confronted the cartels, there were almost 30,000 fewer murders than in the six-year terms of either of the next two presidents. When Mr. Calderón was leaving office, the homicide rate was falling. The “hugs not gunshots” strategy of Mr. López Obrador left behind a record 151,000 dead. The lesson from both Colombia and Mexico is that a government that fails to defend life and property from marauders invites more mayhem and misery. – Wall Street Journal
Andrew Latham writes: The institutions created to defend North America from an air attack must now be re-engineered to defend against cyberattacks, disinformation and manipulation of global supply chains. The recent telecom breach was a dress rehearsal. Just as NORAD once turned the airspace into a common space of defense, Canada and the U.S. must now do the same with the digital space. – The Hill
United States
The Senate late Sunday cleared a critical procedural hurdle in its drive to end the record-long government shutdown, after Democrats provided enough votes to advance a measure designed to end the more than monthlong impasse. – Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump granted a pardon Friday to a former New York police sergeant who was convicted of helping China try to scare an ex-official into going back to his homeland, a prominent case in U.S. authorities’ efforts to combat what they claim are Beijing’s far-flung efforts to repress critics. – Associated Press
The longest U.S. government shutdown on record is doing more than grind activities to a halt at home; an ocean away in Europe, local workers at U.S. military bases have started to feel the pain. – Associated Press
President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, to quell protests against his immigration crackdown was permanently blocked by a US judge, handing him a major loss in his bid to send troops to Democratic-led cities. – Bloomberg
Editorial: Exit polls showed that the New Yorkers most skeptical of these utopian promises are those who were born in the city and don’t have college degrees. Mamdani fared best among newcomers and people with advanced degrees. Apparently, living in New York for decades — and witnessing what does and doesn’t work when it comes to running a city — offers more wisdom than grad school. – Washington Post
Shadi Hamid writes: Our values are not freestanding; they must be guaranteed, and in global politics nothing can be guaranteed without the credible threat of force. To move beyond the temptations of the passive voice, who exactly provides this guarantee? In most cases, for better or worse, there is only one obvious candidate: the United States. Morality, or in this case a more just global order, is impossible without power. And as it turns out, it’s not only impossible without power. It’s impossible without American power. – Washington Post
Graham Allison writes: Careful readers of what Trump has said on this topic, however, will see that what he has in mind is “arms control.” In other words, this includes agreements that limit the number and type of nuclear weapons, without eliminating them altogether. Particularly since the last strategic nuclear arms control treaty—the New START Treaty negotiated by Obama—is scheduled to expire next February, Trump may be hinting that he wants a deal with Putin that would allow both nations to live within the terms of the treaty for another year in the hope they can work toward a new arms control agreement. – The National Interest
Lael Brainard writes: The United States should maintain the dollar’s incumbency advantage by demonstrating its commitment to the international financial system, fiscal sustainability, and the institutional independence of the Federal Reserve. The competition with China will hinge not on mimicking Beijing’s methods but on buttressing the core strengths of the United States. To sustain preeminence, Washington must reinforce its institutions, alliances, and incumbency advantages—not erode them. – Foreign Affairs
Cybersecurity
Trump administration officials are dismissing the idea of a financial backstop for artificial intelligence companies, US officials said, after comments from a top OpenAI executive raised questions about the prospects for a federal bailout. – Bloomberg
The Defense Department has released a highly anticipated plan to attract and retain cyber talent by better integrating US Cyber Command with other military departments for recruitment and training, and establishing three new organizations to improve the military’s hacking and defensive prowess. – Breaking Defense
Federal agencies often collect voluminous amounts of data on Americans to fulfill their missions and better understand the public’s needs. – CyberScoop
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) disclosed a cybersecurity incident this week after an alleged nation-state breached its systems. – The Record
Barbara Gail Montero writes: Just as A.I. has prompted us to see certain features of human intelligence as less valuable than we thought (like rote information retrieval and raw speed), so too will A.I. consciousness prompt us to conclude that not all forms of consciousness warrant moral consideration. Or rather, it will reinforce the view that many already seem to hold: that not all forms of consciousness are as morally valuable as our own. – New York Times
Defense
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth challenged major US defense contractors to speed up weapons development or “fade away” in a speech Friday before an audience of executives from major industry players and newer entrants such as Anduril Industries Inc. – Bloomberg
The U.S. Army plans to increase partnerships with private industry and boost its own manufacturing capacity to field at least one million drones within the next two to three years, an Army spokesperson told Military Times. – Defense News
Chief Master Sgt. David Wolfe will serve as the 21st chief master sergeant of the Air Force, the service announced Thursday. – Military Times
The U.S. Navy is granting service members the opportunity to extend their enlistment amid a government shutdown and lapse in appropriations, according to a Nov. 6 memo from the Navy Pay and Personnel Support Center. – Military Times
Brian Kerg writes: To help settle this issue, leaders charged with iterating on the information group’s design should avoid entrenchment around the value of information itself, avoid emphasizing the provision of information forces, and not hold up individual programs of record. None of these elements prove the case under discussion. Instead the debate ought to focus on whether the information group is worth the value invested into it, if it is greater than the sum of its parts, and whether it is a more useful means of synchronizing information than the legacy method that redundantly occurs at higher echelons. Exploring the debate focused on these areas will yield the data Marine leaders need to make better decisions on the future of the information group. – War on the Rocks