Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Hamas’s popularity rises in Gaza, complicating Trump plan to disarm militants US Ambassador Mike Waltz: The path to peace in Gaza comes to a crossroads at the U.N. Iran seizes fuel tanker in Middle East waterway Author of Let There Be Water Seth M. Siegel: Hatred of Israel caused Iran’s water crisis Russians confront wartime internet cuts with public shrug, private fury Russia plans to make up to 120,000 glide bombs this year, Ukrainian intelligence says Misgav Institutes’s Yossi Mansharof: Hezbollah leader’s message shows the terror group is under pressure WINEP’s Dana Stroul: From pariah to partner, MBS returns to Washington Trump gives legs to South Korea’s dream for nuclear-powered subs China escalates Japan feud with island patrols and warnings to citizens Congo, M23 sign framework for peace in Qatar, more steps needed Trump considers talks with Venezuela’s Maduro amid U.S. military buildupIn The News
Israel
Hamas’s popularity has edged up among Palestinians in Gaza since the cease-fire, ending a slide during the war and posing a challenge to President Trump’s plan to bring peace to the enclave by disarming the militant group. – Wall Street Journal
Israel on Friday identified the body of a hostage released from Gaza as Meny Godard, a 73-year-old who was killed during the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023. The return of his body brings the number of deceased hostages still in Gaza to three. – Washington Post
An effort by the United States to win support from the United Nations Security Council for President Trump’s Gaza peace plan ran into a significant hurdle on Friday, when Russia introduced its own counterresolution, according to three Council diplomats. – New York Times
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. envoy for peace missions, is planning to meet with Khalil al-Hayya, the chief negotiator of Hamas, soon, according to two people familiar with Mr. Witkoff’s plans. – New York Times
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state after protests by far-right coalition allies over a U.S.-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence. – Reuters
Indonesia has trained up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks during a planned peacekeeping operation in the war-torn enclave of Gaza, the defence minister said on Friday. – Reuters
Israel’s economy rebounded sharply in the third quarter, putting in a stronger-than-expected performance after a weak second quarter that was hit by the conflict with Iran on top of the Gaza war. – Reuters
A Palestinian who allegedly hurled an explosive device at Israeli soldiers during a raid in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank was shot dead early Sunday morning, the military said. – Agence France-Presse
The UN Security Council will vote Monday on a resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive Gaza ceasefire plan, diplomats said Saturday, as Washington warned of a “real human cost” if the body doesn’t back the proposal. – Agence France-Presse
Deep underneath the wreckage of Rafah, southern Gaza, the war is not over. Scores of Hamas militants, split up into independent cells, are trapped in tunnels underground behind Israeli lines, as mediators try to find a solution that doesn’t collapse the month-old ceasefire in Gaza. – CNN
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the U.N. that President Trump’s historic Middle East peace plan is “the only way forward” as he negotiates a resolution that would codify the Trump administration’s Gaza deal in the international body in a way that is “fully consistent with an America First agenda.” – Fox News
Establishing a Palestinian state would be the same as establishing a “Hamas terror state,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a speech welcoming a delegation of young German leaders on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
Israel’s internal crises, including its internal conflicts within the military and the issue of judicial reform, influenced Hamas’s decision to launch the October 7 attack, Lt.-Col. (res.) Jonathan D. Halevi said in an interview published Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the spike in West Bank settler violence and appeared to send a warning to political rivals, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
The government decided to establish an independent ministerial committee to investigate the handling of the October 7 massacre in 2023, following a High Court order to discuss the matter during the Sunday weekly government meeting. – Jerusalem Post
An indictment was filed on Sunday at the Haifa District Court against Shimon Azarzar, 27, from Kiryat Yam, who is accused of transmitting sensitive military information to Iranian intelligence, the Shin Bet and Israel Police stated. – Jerusalem Post
On Friday night, the IDF destroyed a tunnel complex where three members from the military’s 92nd Shimshon Battalion in the Kfir Brigade were killed 11 months ago, the military said on Saturday. – Jerusalem Post
The US draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council does not “serve the stability of the situation in Gaza,” Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
Terrorist Khaled Abu Akram’s diary entries prove how Hamas exploits civilian infrastructure in Gaza. For example, in one entry from May 2024, Akram writes about how he went to set up an ambush at a school after tunnels in the area were bombed. – Jerusalem Post
Hamas has begun amassing advanced weapons and stockpiling them abroad in hopes of smuggling them into Gaza in the future, according to a report Sunday, amid growing talk that the United States may forgo demanding the terror group’s disarmament. – Times of Israel
One month after their release, several former hostages addressed Saturday night’s rallies for the captives held in Gaza, crediting the demonstrators for their return, and calling for the protests to continue until the bodies of the final three deceased hostages held in Gaza are brought back. – Times of Israel
The Trump administration is looking to forgo the stage in its peace plan calling for the deployment of a stabilization force to Gaza to disarm Hamas, so that it can move ahead with starting to rebuild the enclave, according to an Israeli television report Saturday. – Times of Israel
A Palestinian source in the Gaza Strip told Kan News that Hamas operatives from the terrorist organization’s military wing, currently entrenched in a tunnel in Rafah, have made clear that they are not prepared to surrender. – Arutz Sheva
Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli warned Sunday morning that Turkey now poses “the most serious threat to the State of Israel today.” – Arutz Sheva
In an unusual move, an Israeli court has proposed that a libel suit filed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a former Mossad official be held in camera, even though neither side requested this. – Haaretz
Mike Waltz writes: While lawyers debate the locations of commas, Hamas continues tyrannizing Gaza, looting, taxing and killing Palestinians in desperate attempts to maintain control. Ensuring stability in Gaza and creating a lasting peace in the region may be a long and arduous process, but the next step along the path is clear. The U.N. Security Council has an opportunity to meet this moment in the best spirit of its founding principles, and should seize it. – Washington Post
Matthew A. Winkler writes: Israel’s resurgence from its wars with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran is reflected in expectations for faster economic growth. Gross domestic product will expand 4.3% in 2026, more than twice the average for 34 developed countries as the fastest-growing economy in the group, according to 16 economists submitting their forecasts to Bloomberg, who also expect Israel to be No. 1 in 2027 with GDP expanding 3.8%. – Bloomberg
Ken Isaacs writes: Following the ceasefire, Hamas rapidly reasserted control, executing accused defectors and projecting an image of order. Recent videos show bustling markets and calm streets — a façade of normalcy meant to reinforce legitimacy. Within six weeks, famine conditions seemingly vanished. Can that be real? […] Either the crisis was overstated, the data manipulated or public perception deliberately managed. We cannot shy away from uncomfortable questions. Asking what happened to the famine in Gaza is responsible, not callous. Truth demands transparency, even when it challenges narratives we’ve grown accustomed to believing. – Fox News
Danny Danon writes: The stakes are clear. If America truly intends to put itself first, it must remember that strength begins with solidarity. Standing with Israel is not selfless charity. It is strategy. It is the recognition that the enemies of the Jewish state are also enemies of the United States. And it is a reminder that sustained peace is built not on retreat but on the shared strength and resolve of allies who stand together. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
Iran seized a Cyprus-registered fuel tanker Friday, its first such interdiction in the Strait of Hormuz in more than a year. – Wall Street Journal
Washington‘s current approach toward Tehran does not indicate any readiness for “equal and fair negotiations”, Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday, after U.S. President Donald Trump hinted last week at potential discussions. – Reuters
Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday that Tehran is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program. – Associated Press
Iran is ignoring international calls to cooperate with the United Nations atomic watchdog and restart nuclear talks with the US, diplomats said, months into a tense stand off following Israeli-led airstrikes on the Islamic Republic. – Bloomberg
Iran has started cloud-seeding to boost rainfall after the country’s worst drought in decades forced authorities to ration supply and warn of possible evacuations from the capital. – Bloomberg
Tehran University cut short on Sunday its participation in events marking the city’s design week after videos of unveiled women attending a show spread online and sparked controversy. – Agence France-Presse
Iranian judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has called for stricter methods to tackle “social anomalies,” local media reported, pointing in particular to more relaxed attitudes toward wearing the mandatory hijab. – Agence France-Presse
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh has described his country’s nuclear program as still “intact” despite admitting that US and Israeli strikes badly damaged facilities earlier this year. – CNN
The Oxford Union has voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of a motion declaring Israel a greater “threat to regional stability” than Iran. – The Telegraph
Editorial: The best way forward is to retain the credible threat of force, maintain strict economic pressure and signal an openness to negotiation. China also needs to understand that selling sophisticated weapons to Iran will disrupt Beijing’s relations with not just Israel and the U.S. but also the Gulf Arabs. Another war is not inevitable, but avoiding it will require recognizing the problem still exists and can only be resolved with diplomacy backed by the credible threat of force. – Washington Post
Seth M. Siegel writes: In a not-too-subtle call for an Iranian popular uprising, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in August offered a return of Israeli water engineers to help Iran out of its coming catastrophe, but with a condition: the end of a hostile Iranian regime and a new one committed to friendly relations. What might Iran have achieved—in water and otherwise—had it used the billions that it has squandered on harmful water infrastructure, regional mayhem and pursuit of nuclear weapons to serve the Iranian people instead? – Wall Street Journal
Lawdan Bazargan writes: The Islamic Republic demands loyalty from the public, but its own heirs refuse to live under the conditions created for everyone else. This is the heart of the hypocrisy: restriction is mandatory for ordinary Iranians, freedom is hereditary for the elite. A government whose children flee its ideology cannot claim legitimacy. A revolution abandoned by its heirs cannot claim success. And a system that exports its privileged offspring to the West while confining its own people at home is not a model—it is a contradiction waiting to collapse under the weight of its own lies. – Iran International
Russia and Ukraine
When Russian authorities implemented a major internet blackout in St. Petersburg back in June, 26-year-old Ivan went to tap his debit card to pay for items in a shop. It failed. No one in Russia’s second-largest city could call taxis or order deliveries, and small businesses lost the day’s earnings before the internet was finally turned back on. – Washington Post
A corruption scandal engulfing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government is casting an ominous shadow over plans by European nations to send Ukraine a big influx of money and over Kyiv’s bid to join the European Union. – Washington Post
Three winters of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid have taught Oleksandra Kovalenko and her family how to live in the dark. When the lights go out, they turn to power banks, and the children do their homework by headlamp. If blackouts drag on, they head to a mall to recharge devices. – New York Times
A Russian missile strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia killed three people, with three teenagers among the 10 wounded, Kharkiv regional officials said on Monday. – Reuters
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday dismissed a German general’s comments about the possibility of conflict between Moscow and Germany as baseless fear-mongering. – Reuters
Azerbaijan said it issued a strong protest to the Russian ambassador on Friday after a Russian Iskander missile damaged its embassy in Kyiv. – Reuters
Russia said on Friday it remains open to the idea of a summit with the United States in Budapest if it is properly prepared and based on agreements reached at the previous meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska. – Reuters
Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk temporarily suspended oil exports – equivalent to 2.2 million barrels per day, or 2% of global supply – on Friday, according to industry sources, after a Ukrainian missile and drone attack. – Reuters
Russia’s Novorossiysk port resumed oil loadings on Sunday after a two-day suspension triggered by a Ukrainian missile and drone attack, two industry sources said and LSEG data showed. – Reuters
Standing near the mangled exterior of his thermal power plant, the 53-year-old production manager described the now familiar job of a Ukrainian energy worker: swiftly patching up the workplace during another season of intense Russian air strikes. – Reuters
The Trump administration on Friday gave clearance to potential buyers to talk to Russia’s Lukoil about buying its foreign assets and allowed business dealings with Lukoil’s Burgas refinery after Bulgaria moved to seize the plant. – Reuters
Russia plans to manufacture up to 120,000 of its cheap and devastating glide bombs this year, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official said, including 500 of a new, longer-range version which can reach more towns and cities. – Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected on Monday to seal deals with France on a supply of air-defence capabilities, warplanes and missiles, seeking to bolster his army’s long-term capacity to fight Russia’s ongoing invasion. – Reuters
Ukraine has secured imports of U.S liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Greece to cover its winter needs from December through to March next year, Greek and Ukrainian officials said on Sunday during a visit to Athens by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. – Reuters
Russia said on Sunday its forces had moved forward sharply in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, taking two settlements as part of a major push aimed at taking control of the entire Zaporizhzhia region. – Reuters
Ukraine is working to resume the exchange of prisoners with Russia, hoping for the release of 1,200 Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his Security Council chief said. – Reuters
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has joined the advisory board of Ukraine’s leading defense company, renowned for its long-range drones capable of striking targets deep inside Russia, as a corruption investigation continues. – Associated Press
A ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely before the spring and European allies need to keep up support despite a corruption scandal that has engulfed Kyiv, President Alexander Stubb of Finland told The Associated Press. – Associated Press
Ukraine’s president and prime minister met early Sunday for further talks on cleaning up the war-torn nation’s energy sector following a widespread corruption scandal. – Bloomberg
Vladimir Putin is running Russia in hiding. A new investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Sistema project claims that the Russian president has been filmed in at least three nearly identical offices — one at Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow, another in Sochi and a third in Valdai — allowing the Kremlin to conceal his real location the investigation claims. – Fox News
Yulia Navalnaya writes: It is in our shared interest that Europe remains united and successful — only then can it stand up to the challenges of our time, including helping those still fighting for freedom. Europe is more than capable of resisting hypocrisy and double standards. It is more than capable of extending a hand to tens of millions of pro-European Russians — and helping that number grow. This will ensure that the beautiful Russia of the future, for which Alexei Navalny gave his life, will be peaceful, democratic and prosperous — in other words, a normal European country. – Politico
Syria
When the Syrian authorities stopped Kawthar Tamim and her four children at a checkpoint outside the capital, Damascus, she knew she was in trouble. – New York Times
Members of Syria’s security and military services have been detained as part of an investigation into sectarian violence in the southern province of Sweida in July that left hundreds of people dead, investigators said Sunday. – Associated Press
Representatives of Syria’s civil society held rare open discussions Saturday in Damascus in the presence of officials from the European Union and the transitional government. They touched on sensitive topics including sectarian tensions, ethnic divisions and people killed by different sides. – Associated Press
A woman was injured after a missile fell on a three-story building in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Friday night, a security source told Sky News Arabia. – Jerusalem Post
Representatives of Syria’s Druze, Christian and Alawite communities warned members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on Thursday about the systematic targeting, persecution and atrocities their communities have endured under the new Syrian government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. – Jewish Insider
Veysi Dag writes: For Israel, supporting this transformation is a strategic necessity that ensures the representation of all Syrian communities and limits the influence of foreign powers. Such a framework would secure the rights of Syria’s diverse peoples, protect Israel’s borders, and advance the spirit of the Abraham Accords. Only through inclusion, balance, and shared governance can Syria move from fragmentation toward stability and transform from a source of regional instability into a cornerstone of peace. – Jerusalem Post
Lebanon
Israeli military forces opened fire on United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Sunday, in an incident the U.N. peacekeeping mission described as a serious violation. – Reuters
A survey conducted by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon last month found that a wall built by the Israeli military crosses the Blue Line, the de facto border, a U.N. spokesperson said on Friday – Reuters
Lebanon will file a complaint to the U.N. Security Council against Israel for constructing a concrete wall along Lebanon’s southern border that extends beyond the “Blue Line”, the Lebanese presidency said on Saturday. – Reuters
The IDF confiscated weapons, struck five terror sites, and killed three Hezbollah terrorists in a series of operations led by the IDF’s 91st Division over the past week, the military said on Sunday night. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF on Sunday struck and eliminated Hezbollah terrorist Muhammad Ali Shuweikh in the Mansouri area in southern Lebanon. – Arutz Sheva
Lebanon’s central bank announced Friday a series of new restrictions on money changers and transfer companies, in a move widely seen as a response to mounting US pressure to dismantle Hezbollah’s financial lifelines, AFP reported. – Arutz Sheva
Yossi Mansharof writes: Efforts to cut Iran’s financial support for Hezbollah, as declared by John Harley, undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, who is responsible for sanctions, are a step in the right direction. […] The countering initiatives would highlight the importance of loyalty to Lebanon and stress that Lebanon and the Shi’ites could achieve prosperity by abandoning resistance to Israel. – Jerusalem Post
Saudi Arabia
The Trump Organization is in talks that could bring a Trump-branded property to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest government-owned real estate developments, according to the chief executive of the Saudi company leading the development. – New York Times
On his first White House visit since the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi sparked global outrage, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is on a mission to reclaim his place on the world stage and prove to President Donald Trump that backing his forceful leadership was worth the gamble. – Reuters
A visit by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler to the White House for talks on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump aims to deepen decades-old cooperation on oil and security while broadening ties in commerce, technology and potentially even nuclear energy. – Reuters
Saudi Aramco is set to sign two U.S. liquefied natural gas supply deals with Woodside Energy and Commonwealth LNG when Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Washington next week, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. – Reuters
Saudi firms are scaling back generous salary premiums that once lured top foreign talent into sectors such as construction and manufacturing as the kingdom reins in spending and reorders economic priorities, four recruiters told Reuters. – Reuters
A source in the Saudi royal family addressed US President Donald Trump’s remarks on Saturday about the purchase of F-35 fighter jets and the upcoming meeting between the President and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. – Arutz Sheva
Dana Stroul writes: And while Saudi Arabia will not get its coveted defense treaty, it will get the most that Trump could deliver without congressional approval—an enhanced pledge that, for the first time, would specifically commit the United States to defend Saudi Arabia against attack. When MBS visits the Oval Office, it will mark a remarkable change for the future monarch, just 40 years old. With the dizzying speed of a Nvidia chip, soon to power AI data centers around Saudi Arabia, the kingdom he leads has gone from pariah to partner. – Washington Institute
Korean Peninsula
South Korean officials pleased President Trump last month by presenting him with their nation’s highest honor and a replica of a gold crown. The next day he had a surprise for his hosts. – New York Times
Many college students in South Korea are enjoying downtime, relieved to wrap up midterm exams. But the nation’s elite universities have been left scrambling after it emerged that testing season was marred by a spate of mass cheating incidents involving A.I. – New York Times
Haunted by his own injuries as a child labourer, South Korea’s new President Lee Jae Myung – who crushed his finger and arm making rubber and later baseball gloves – has vowed to lower the country’s above-average rate of industrial accidents in what he calls “workplaces of death.” – Reuters
North Korean troops who helped Russia repel a major Ukrainian incursion into its western Kursk region are now playing an important role in clearing the area of mines, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday. – Reuters
The U.S. and South Korea released details of a trade agreement on Friday that includes a $150 billion Korean investment in the American shipbuilding sector and an additional $200 billion earmarked for industrial sectors, the two countries said. – Reuters
The US wants South Korea to eventually deploy its newly approved nuclear-powered submarines to help counter China’s rapidly expanding fleet, calling it a responsibility expected of a key ally, according to a top US admiral. – Bloomberg
China
China’s efforts to blunt American maritime power in the Pacific, a region the United States has long considered its domain, received a major boost this month with the official launch of its third — and most advanced by far — aircraft carrier, the Fujian. – Washington Post
China escalated its diplomatic feud with Japan on Sunday by sending Coast Guard ships to patrol near islands the countries both claim, and warning Chinese students in the country about what it said were risks to their safety. – New York Times
A rare earths deal between the U.S. and China will “hopefully” be done by Thanksgiving, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in remarks that aired on Sunday. – Reuters
China has begun preparations to send a Shenzhou spacecraft to its permanently inhabited space station ahead of schedule, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday. – Reuters
With the United States absent from the U.N. annual international climate summit for the first time in three decades, China is stepping into the limelight as a leader in the fight against global warming. – Reuters
China’s commerce ministry on Friday criticised comments made by Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans defending the seizure of Chinese-owned, Netherlands-based chipmaker Nexperia, days before senior Dutch officials visit Beijing to discuss how to resolve the dispute. – Reuters
South Asia
The Afghan Taliban foreign minister arrived at the Islamic seminary to a rock star’s welcome. Students and teachers swarmed around his limo. Crowds of people streamed past me just to catch a glimpse of him. – New York Times
At least nine people were killed and 32 injured late Friday in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir after an accidental explosion that happened while officials were inspecting bomb-making materials recently seized as part of an investigation into a terror network, the police said. – New York Times
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition swept to victory in an election for the government of one India’s largest states, triumphing in a race that was scrutinized over a chaotic overhaul of the voter lists. – New York Times
A Bangladesh war crimes court sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death on Monday, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year – Reuters
The son and adviser of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Sunday that supporters of her Awami League would block February’s national election if a ban on the party was not lifted, warning that protests could escalate into violence. – Reuters
Several crude bombs exploded in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Sunday, police said, heightening tensions ahead of a verdict on Monday in a case against ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over violence during street protests last year. – Reuters
India’s federal anti-terror agency said on Sunday it had arrested a resident of Kashmir who it accused of conspiring with the driver of a car that exploded in Delhi last week, killing eight people and wounding at least 20 others. – Reuters
Pakistan’s top court called a meeting of all judges on Friday, after parliament passed a constitutional amendment this week that curbed its remit, prompting two judges to quit, saying the reform “stands as a grave assault on the constitution”. – Reuters
Louis Libin and Michael J. Salamon write: The stakes matter. Hesitation would leave both nations vulnerable and dependent on the whims of others. But if they seize this opportunity, the Indo-Abrahamic axis – small, smart, and nimble – could very well shape the political, military, and technological architecture of the 21st century. The time when only the West or China shaped the future is drawing to a close. A new chapter, co-authored by India and Israel, is ready to begin. – Jerusalem Post
Asia
In a sharp escalation of the diplomatic spat, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday urged its citizens to avoid travel to Japan and asked those residing in the country to be extra vigilant, saying Takaichi’s comments threaten their safety. – Wall Street Journal
Taiwan will begin distributing millions of civil defence handbooks to households across the island this week, in an unprecedented effort to prepare residents for potential emergencies, including the possibility of a Chinese attack. – Reuters
Tens of thousands of protesters returned to the streets of Manila for a second straight day on Monday, pressing their demands for accountability over alleged corruption in flood-mitigation projects. – Reuters
Japan on Monday moved to tamp down an escalating diplomatic row with China over Taiwan that has prompted Beijing to urge its citizens to stay away from its East Asian neighbour. – Reuters
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that Australia would not co-host the COP31 climate summit with Turkey amid an ongoing stalemate between the two countries over which one should stage the conference next year. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he thought Thailand and Cambodia were “going to be fine” after he sought to mediate a flare-up in their border dispute, but the Thai leader continued to demand an apology from Phnom Penh. – Reuters
Thailand will go ahead with talks on finalising a reciprocal trade deal with the United States, a government spokesperson said on Saturday, adding the discussions will remain separate from issues relating to its border dispute with Cambodia. – Reuters
Japan urged China on Saturday to take “appropriate measures” after Beijing warned Chinese citizens against visiting Japan, Kyodo news agency reported, in an ongoing dispute over Taiwan. – Reuters
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed on Sunday forming a regional co-operation organisation he called the “Community of Central Asia”, in what he said was a bid to promote economic integration in the region of more than 80 million people. – Reuters
People allegedly involved in a Philippine corruption scandal linked to government infrastructure projects, including in flood-control facilities that failed during a heavy typhoon season, will be jailed by the end of the year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr vowed on Thursday. – Reuters
The Japanese public is divided on whether Japan should exercise its right to collective self-defence if China attacks Taiwan, a Kyodo news agency poll found on Sunday. – Reuters
New Zealand late on Sunday welcomed the United States’ announcement that it would remove additional tariffs on a range of New Zealand agricultural products, including beef, offal and kiwi fruit, but said it would like to see all the additional U.S. tariffs on New Zealand goods removed. – Reuters
Azerbaijan joined the consultative platform of the five Central Asian republics, a move aimed at strengthening regional cooperation. – Bloomberg
Karishma Vaswani writes: The risks of this nostalgia goes beyond politics. Authoritarian systems often go hand in hand with a lack of transparency. Suharto’s Indonesia should serve as a warning sign of how perceived stability can crumble overnight. Investors and policymakers alike should note that weak institutions and selective memory make for a volatile mix. Indonesia’s decision to celebrate Suharto is being sold as an attempt to reconcile with history. It’s not. It’s a reminder that when nations forget their authoritarian pasts, they risk inviting them back. – Bloomberg
Tom Rogan writes: The presence of major U.S. military bases in Okinawa and the only forward-deployed aircraft carrier at Yokosuka naval base makes Chinese attacks on Japan near-inevitable in a war scenario. Of course, those bases also underline why Takaichi believes it would be near impossible for Japan to avoid joining any U.S.-Taiwan war effort. What we’re seeing here, then, is both rage designed to force Takaichi to adopt a more conciliatory position and Beijing’s great fear that Takaichi will be resistant to its pressure regardless. – Washington Examiner
Lawrence J. Haas writes: Third, both parties would do well to recognize that Hanoi (like other capitals) is closely watching the US response to aggression elsewhere, particularly Russia’s continuing aggression against Ukraine, and drawing conclusions about how much to tie their fortunes to Washington. At a time of rising regional tensions, Washington and Hanoi need to understand one another better. And they cannot permit short-term controversies to weaken a relationship that’s crucial to the well-being of both. – National Interest
Europe
The European Union is racing against the clock to overcome Belgium’s objections to a plan to fund Ukraine’s defense using Russian money. – Wall Street Journal
As far as his friends at the outdoor gym knew, the always cheerful 39-year-old man from a hardscrabble suburb of Paris had left his past behind. – New York Times
Companies have pledged to invest 9.2 billion euro ($10.7 billion) in France, the finance ministry said on Monday, as the government seeks to show the euro zone’s second-biggest economy remains a top business destination despite political turmoil. – Reuters
Germany’s finance minister became the first representative of the new coalition government to visit China on Monday, with Berlin under pressure to show it has a handle on China policy as a record trade gap widens and supply chains wobble. – Reuters
Switzerland did not make a deal with the devil by agreeing a new tariff framework with the United States, Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said on Sunday, rejecting criticism that it amounted to “surrender” in Donald Trump’s trade war. – Reuters
A state prosecutor on Friday said he was taking control of a sprawling criminal case in Georgia accusing U.S. President Donald Trump and several allies of election interference, a move that prolongs the high-profile prosecution but does not fully resolve uncertainty about its future. – Reuters
French police shot and wounded a knife-wielding man in Montparnasse train station in central Paris on Friday, the city prosecutor’s office said. – Reuters
Thousands gathered in the North Macedonian capital of Skopje on Saturday in protest over a night club fire in March which killed 63 people. – Reuters
Serbia has seven days to decide on steps to safeguard fuel supplies from the Serbian refinery of Russian-owned without nationalisation, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday. – Reuters
German authorities said on Friday that the threat posed by Antifa Ost, a left-wing group designated by Washington as a global terrorist organisation, has sharply diminished following a series of arrests and convictions. – Reuters
European Union foreign ministers will discuss next week a proposal for the bloc to take the lead in training 3,000 Palestinian police officers with the aim of later deploying them in Gaza, according to a document seen by Reuters on Friday. – Reuters
A British man pleaded guilty on Friday to plotting a terrorist attack, collecting weapons and parts for a homemade bomb, conducting reconnaissance at an army base near King Charles’ Windsor Castle, and setting fire at a church. – Reuters
With Hungary’s parliamentary elections still five months away, the country is already immersed in an intense political campaign between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his challenger, Péter Magyar, that promises to be the biggest challenge of the nationalist leader’s career. – Associated Press
The British government plans to tighten its asylum system in a series of sweeping changes modeled after Denmark that aims to reduce immigration and quell the political storm over migrants making dangerous English Channel crossings to enter the country without authorization. – Associated Press
France’s government on Sunday announced the release of a French-Chilean national who had been held for four months in Venezuela. – Associated Press
Hungary will challenge the European Union’s plan to end Russian energy imports and take the case to an EU court, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday. – Associated Press
The eight huge cooling towers of the Dukovany power plant overlook a construction site for two more reactors as the Czech Republic pushes ahead with plans to expand its reliance on nuclear energy. – Associated Press
Serbia is willing to pay a premium to regain control of oil refiner NIS AD as it seeks ways to unshackle the Russian-owned company from crippling US sanctions, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday. – Bloomberg
The Trump administration has approved the possible sale of as much as $3.5 billion in standard missiles to Germany, which is working to increase its own military capabilities. – Bloomberg
Africa
Aid workers say hundreds of unaccompanied children have arrived in the Sudanese town of Tewila in recent weeks after escaping El Fashir, where fighters from the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary (RSF) have carried out mass killings and kidnappings after seizing the city last month. – Washington Post
Atrocities committed against civilians during Sudan’s civil war require urgent investigation, United Nations officials said on Friday, as they warned the international community that it was doing too little to stop a worsening humanitarian crisis in the country. – New York Times
Around 30 people were killed at a semi-industrial copper mine in southeastern Congo on Saturday after a bridge collapsed, the country’s artisanal mining agency said. – Reuters
The Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebel group signed a framework agreement on Saturday for a peace deal aimed at ending fighting in the country’s east that has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year. – Reuters
The top court in the Central African Republic on Friday cleared President Faustin Archange Touadera to run in December’s election, a contest that will unfold amid a deepening security crisis and the leader’s growing reliance on Russia for protection. – Associated Press
Benin’s parliament approved a constitutional reform extending presidential terms and creating a new legislative body, as the West African country is set to elect a new president next April. – Associated Press
An Islamic State-backed rebel group killed at least 17 people in an attack on a hospital in eastern Congo, authorities said Saturday. – Associated Press
Mali’s ruling junta suspended two French television channels on Friday for broadcasting alleged false information on a fuel blockade imposed by the al-Qaida linked military group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM ). – Associated Press
Sudan’s ambassador to the EU has warned that European-made weapons are winding up on battlefields in the African country and fueling atrocities in its two-year civil war. – Politico
David J. Simon writes: Should Trump decide that he does not want another catastrophic-but-preventable genocide breaking out on his watch, he must put pressure on the United Arab Emirates. Whatever weapons arrangements and resources contracts it has with the Rapid Support Forces need to be made less valuable than the prospect of avoiding economic sanctions — or criminal sanctions, which the slightest bit of cooperation with the ICC could set in motion. – The Hill
Steven Feldstein writes: In Sudan’s situation, pushing Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and the UAE to shut off the flow of drones to their military clients would have a meaningful impact. Curbing drone exports won’t solve the conflict, but halting the supply of these mass-casualty weapons would be a demonstrable way to curtail the growing civilian death toll in the country. While drones are now a permanent feature of modern war, strategies for limiting their impact and protecting civilians still exist. – Foreign Policy
The Americas
Chileans rallied behind hard-line conservatives in elections Sunday as rising anger over crime and immigration pushes the mineral-rich country to the right, setting the stage for a possible alignment with President Trump. – Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump on Sunday said he’s considering talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, as a buildup of U.S. forces in the region has raised the prospect of military action in Venezuela. – Washington Post
A measure that would allow the return of foreign military bases to Ecuador looked set to fail in a Sunday referendum, as a count of close to 90% of ballots showed nearly two-thirds rejection of the proposal. – Reuters
Ecuador has arrested the leader of one of the country’s biggest drug trafficking gangs, Los Lobos, in an operation with Spanish police, President Daniel Noboa said on Sunday. – Reuters
A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court moved on Friday to put lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro on trial for allegedly seeking U.S. President Donald Trump’s help to halt criminal proceedings against his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, in a coup plot case. – Reuters
A delegation from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) reparations commission will hold talks this week with officials and politicians in Britain on addressing the historical injustices of slavery and colonialism, as well as their lasting impacts. – Reuters
Colombia’s human rights ombudswoman said Saturday that seven children were killed in a controversial airstrike against a rebel group in the country’s south earlier this week, as the administration of President Gustavo Petro steps up efforts to regain control of rural areas in Guaviare province. – Associated Press
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro criticized “irresponsible” plans for the United States to hold five days of military drills in Trinidad and Tobago beginning on Sunday. – CNN
Mary Anastasia O’Grady writes: In a Nov. 6 paper, “Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections,” the Honduran chapter of Transparency International observes that Libre’s poor polling “appears to have motivated the party to leverage its influence over state institutions in ways that could undermine the integrity of the upcoming elections.” Hondurans deserve a free and fair election. But defending their vote may not be easy. – Wall Street Journal
North America
Thousands protested across Mexico on Saturday under the banner of “Generation Z,” denouncing rising violence after the public killing of an anti-crime mayor earlier this month. – Reuters
Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge on Friday approved $1.4 billion in expansion projects for its Mainline and Flanagan South pipelines to the U.S., which it stressed is the most logical destination for new crude export capacity out of Canada. – Reuters
The International Monetary Fund on Friday said its executive board had approved a new two-year, $24 billion flexible credit line for Mexico to act as a buffer against external risks, noting the country has steadily reduced its reliance on the precautionary fund in recent years. – Reuters
United States
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Republicans are working on legislation that will impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia, and he said Iran may get added to that list. – Reuters
The Pentagon is withdrawing some National Guard troops from Chicago and Portland, weeks after President Donald Trump deployed them to combat what he described as increased crime, two U.S. defense officials familiar with the decision said on Sunday. – Reuters
US President Donald Trump will host the Israeli hostages released in last month’s Gaza ceasefire deal at the White House on November 20, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Friday. – Times of Israel
Cybersecurity
India put new privacy rules into force on Friday that will make Meta, Google, OpenAI and other companies minimize collection of personal data and give people more control over their information. – Reuters
The Justice Department notched a few more wins in the fight against North Korean cryptocurrency heists and the regime’s expansive scheme to get remote IT workers hired at U.S. businesses. – CyberScoop
The Russian Embassy in Thailand said it is seeking access to a Russian citizen reportedly detained on the resort island of Phuket at the request of the United States over suspected cybercrimes. – The Record
Parmy Olson writes: Admittedly, it would hit ChatGPT’s user growth at a time when the company is in dire need of revenue amid soaring compute costs. And it would also conflict with OpenAI’s stated objective of building “artificial general intelligence” that matches our ability to generalize knowledge. But no path to AI utopia is worth treating kids as collateral damage. – Bloomberg
Defense
A classified Justice Department brief authorizing strikes on drug-smuggling boats describes fentanyl as a potential chemical weapons threat, according to a House member and another person familiar with the memo. – Wall Street Journal
The new nuclear race has begun. But unlike during the Cold War, the U.S. must prepare for two peer rivals rather than one—at a time when it has lost its clear industrial and economic edge. China, which long possessed just a small nuclear force, is catching up fast, while Russia is developing a variety of new-generation systems aimed at American cities. – Wall Street Journal
U.S. Marines in Haiti exchanged gunfire this week with suspected gang members, U.S. military officials said Saturday, in an incident that highlights the precarious security environment in the island nation. – Washington Post
The United States conducted another attack on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people aboard, the Pentagon said on Sunday. – Reuters
A white paper being disseminated through the U.S. Department of War calls on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top officials to adopt a broader aircraft system to replace older fleets and better aid NATO partners while sending a stronger message to adversaries, Military.com has learned. – Military.com
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez and Andre Carvalho write: Colombia and Peru have conducted sustained counterinsurgency campaigns in the Amazon for decades; as a result, generations of Colombian and Peruvian military personnel have developed deep expertise in counterinsurgency JW. Meanwhile, given its vast Amazonian territory, the Brazilian military considers JW one of its core pillars. Should the situation between Washington and Caracas deteriorate, the White House could order air strikes against Venezuela. If a land operation occurs, JW will be a critical component of a ground campaign. To be ready, the U.S. military must regain knowledge about this type of combat. And South American militaries can help. – Center for Strategic and International Studies