Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Israel says rabbi found dead in U.A.E. was abducted and killed ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant deepen Israel’s isolation WSJ Editorial: Lame-duck Israel sanctions in Biden’s Washington AEI’s Michael Rubin: If Biden really opposed the ICC, he would invite Netanyahu to the Oval Office Iran declares it is doing more nuclear enrichment after I.A.E.A. rebuke Iran is preparing to 'respond' to Israel, says adviser to Supreme Leader Ukraine’s western missiles threaten big Russian assets: airports, ammo depots and command headquarters Hezbollah fires about 250 projectiles into Israel after deadly strike in Beirut Gunman shot dead, 3 police injured in shooting near Israeli embassy in Jordan China looks to step into global vacuum as Trump vows to pull U.S. back Guard at U.S. embassy in Norway accused of spying for Russia and Iran Chinese hackers preparing for conflict, US cyber official saysIn The News
Israel
A missing Jewish community leader found dead in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday was abducted and killed in an “act of antisemitic terrorism,” Israel said. Israeli-Moldovan citizen Zvi Kogan, 28, went missing from Dubai Thursday afternoon, prompting an investigation by Israel’s Mossad spy agency after suspicions were raised that he was abducted in an act of terrorism. – Wall Street Journal
Arrest warrants issued for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister over alleged war crimes threaten to deepen the global isolation of a country already under pressure around the world for its handling of the war in the Gaza Strip. – Wall Street Journal
Krauss’s dilemma, or some version of it, is shared by some 80,000 Israeli reservists who are planning to leave, or have already left, families, jobs and studies to serve on the front lines of Israel’s grinding wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Increasingly, some are choosing not to report for duty, putting further strain on an overextended military amid an ever-widening regional war. – Washington Post
A massive Israeli airstrike that hit a residential building in a central district of Beirut early Saturday killed at least 20 people, thundered across the city and underlined fears in Lebanon that the war is escalating, days after diplomatic talks aimed at a cease-fire stirred hope of the conflict’s end. – Washington Post
Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement fired heavy rocket barrages at Israel on Sunday, and the Israeli military said houses had been destroyed or set alight near Tel Aviv, after a powerful Israeli airstrike killed at least 29 people in Beirut the day before. – Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned on Sunday Jewish settlers who attacked senior Israeli military officers including Major General Avi Bluth, the head of the army’s Central Command in the occupied West Bank. – Reuters
A spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing said on Saturday that a female Israeli hostage had been killed in an area of northern Gaza that had been struck by Israeli forces. – Reuters
More aid workers have been killed this year than in any year since tallies began, the U.N. humanitarian office said on Friday, with most of them killed in the Gaza conflict. – Reuters
The military pressure placed on Hamas and its allies has brought the possibility of achieving a deal to return the hostages closer than ever before, according to a senior security official. – Jerusalem Post
Hamas leaders remaining in Gaza may be looking to move to Turkey, two Israeli sources told Jewish Insider on Friday. The potential move follows reports and subsequent denials that Doha was booting Hamas out of Qatar for failing to come to a ceasefire agreement – and the officials would be relocating to Turkey. – Jerusalem Post
Israel has agreed in principle to a US-backed ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Prime Minister Benjamin is now working on how to present it to the public, according to multiple reports Sunday night, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held high-level consultations on the matter. – Times of Israel
Two Palestinians, one of them a teenager, were shot dead by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank town of Ya’bad on Sunday night, the Palestinian Authority reported. – Times of Israel
Editorial: President Trump can roll back the sanctions, but they lay down a marker for Europe and the next Democratic President to follow. Legislation is needed, as Montana Sen. Steve Daines notes, to make it harder to sanction democracies based on questionable evidence from enemies. The Justice Department also can settle lawsuits to create safeguards against such abuse. The U.S. has long held that the West Bank’s future should be decided in talks in which the Palestinians finally make peace. The Biden sanctions say: No need. BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) and the ICC are on the way. The Trump Administration can put an end to this. – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: In another world where the International Criminal Court was not populated by far-Left activists who believe that the U.S. is the greatest threat to world stability and prosperity, and not its best protector, an international body capable of delivering justice in countries too chaotic to deliver it themselves might have some merit. In this world, the ICC has let the warlord Bashar Assad kill over 300,000 civilians and commit hundreds of war crimes without a single investigation. The ICC is not an unbiased seeker of justice; it is a force for disorder employed by a decadent elite. Trump and the Republicans in Congress can’t sanction it out of existence fast enough. – Washington Examiner
Alan M. Dershowitz writes: By issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and one Hamas terrorist, the court is seeking to equate the terrorism of Hamas, which murdered, raped and kidnapped approximately 1,450 Israelis, mostly civilians, with the self-defense efforts of Israel to prevent a promised recurrence of Oct. 7. Without making comparisons to the Holocaust, the ICC—which along with the International Court of Justice has shown bias against Israel for years—would probably have issued warrants against the Jewish fighters in the Warsaw ghetto along with the Nazis who were seeking to murder them. By pursuing these illegal and unjustified warrants, the ICC has lost its credibility. The U.S. should sanction the institution. – Wall Street Journal
Michael Rubin writes: If the Biden administration truly believes the ICC has acted outside its mandate and international law and wants to preserve any hope for peace, Biden will invite Netanyahu immediately to the White House. It would shatter the stigma the ICC wishes to attach to Netanyahu and encourage smaller countries to follow suit. Biden has less than two months left in office. He may not like Netanyahu personally, but he can do perhaps more for international law and peace with a simple invitation and lunch in the Oval Office than he has done with his entire presidential record to date. – Washington Examiner
Eric R. Mandel writes: When does diplomacy work in the Middle East? When there is no daylight between the U.S. and Israel, and Israel is perceived as the victor. Israel and the new administration must coordinate a strategy for American interests to leverage Israeli tactical military achievements into definitive strategic diplomatic victories. – The Hill
Shalom Lipner writes: Netanyahu will have to read the tea leaves correctly. He needs to seize the moment and wind down Israel’s wars before they begin to cause more harm than good and—no less fatefully—create a rift with Trump. If Netanyahu can stand up to his coalition partners, he might still be able to end the conflicts and leave Trump the clean desk he asked for. But time is short. And if the prime minister chooses instead to run out the clock, he will face the impossible task of trying to satisfy Trump and, at the same time, appeasing Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. Israel should brace itself for more turbulence ahead. – Foreign Affairs
Iran
Iran said Friday it would begin operating new machines to enrich more uranium, which could bring it closer to having a weapon. The move came in response to a censure by the International Atomic Energy Agency for failing to cooperate fully with atomic inspectors. – New York Times
The supreme leader of Iran, which backs the Hamas and Hezbollah militants fighting Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, said on Monday that death sentences should be issued for Israeli leaders, not arrest warrants. – Reuters
Iran is preparing to “respond” to Israel, Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to the country’s supreme leader, said in an interview published by Iran’s Tasnim news agency on Sunday. – Reuters
Iran will hold talks about its disputed nuclear programme with three European powers on Nov. 29 , the Iranian foreign ministry said on Sunday, days after the U.N. atomic watchdog passed a resolution against Tehran. – Reuters
As Trump prepares for a second term as US president, all eyes are on whether he will revive his so-called maximum pressure policy against Iran that came to mark his first spell. But with Iranians struggling with economic hardship after years of sanctions, its leaders are signaling they’re keen to establish a different relationship this time around. – Bloomberg
Maria Snegovaya and Jon B. Alterman write: None of this means the West’s current suite of policies is failing. The United States and its partners are right to undermine Iran’s access to critical goods and technology, which Tehran then reexports to Russia. They should develop a better, more holistic strategy for blocking Russian support to Iranian proxies. But treating the two countries as a single unit is not enough to limit their combined power. Washington must pit them against each other as best it can. For centuries, their relationship has been strained, and for good reason. The U.S. strategy should be to help heighten those tensions, not override them. – Foreign Affairs
Russia & Ukraine
The battle for control of Russia’s Kursk region has reached an intensity rarely seen during 2½ years of war, as each side tries to strengthen its position before President-elect Donald Trump, who wants both sides to negotiate, takes office in January. – Wall Street Journal
A half-dozen U.S. ballistic missiles, fired by Ukraine, slammed into an ammunition depot some 75 miles across the Russian border early Tuesday, setting off further detonations that turned the sky red. – Wall Street Journal
Ukrainian investigators are studying the debris of a new Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile that was fired at the city of Dnipro on Thursday, the first time such a powerful weapon has been used in the war. – Reuters
Seven Ukrainian missiles and seven drones were destroyed overnight over Russia’s Kursk, the governor of the region that borders Ukraine said on Monday, in what an analyst described as a “massive attack”. – Reuters
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Ukraine’s Western partners to concentrate their efforts on helping provide an air defence system able to protect people after Ukraine air defence units shot down 50 of 73 drones launched overnight. – Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Saturday on debt forgiveness for new army recruits signing up to fight in Ukraine, a Russian government website showed. – Reuters
Russian drone and missile attacks have damaged 321 Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities since July last year, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday. – Reuters
Editorial: A Ukraine left with a chunk of its eastern territory under Russian occupation is tantamount to a defeat — for Ukraine and for the West. During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump made much of the Biden administration’s precipitous and ill-planned withdrawal from Afghanistan, which Mr. Trump said signaled to the world American weakness. An abandonment of Ukraine, after nearly three years of what has been a unified American and European front, would send the same sort of signal. And if it came as a result of Mr. Trump’s negotiated deal, the onus would be on him. He won’t have Mr. Biden to blame anymore. – Washington Post
Dov S. Zakheim writes: Whatever his motives, Biden’s decision to grant the Ukrainians the ATACMS that they have long sought may signal that, at long last, with his term of office waning, the president has decided to no longer deter himself out of fear of a Russian nuclear threat that has not materialized. It is tragic that the White House took so long before it decided not to “go wobbly,” as Margaret Thatcher put it to George H.W. Bush on the eve of the 1991 Iraq War. Had Washington shown a couple of years ago the spine it is showing today in the face of Putin’s hollow nuclear threats, the war in Ukraine might well be long over. And Ukraine would have avoided so much of the massive death and destruction that it continues to suffer. – The Hill
Mitzi Perdue writes: This moment presents a profound moral reckoning for the international community: we must support Ukraine in its fight for survival while ensuring that wartime tools do not become permanent hazards within its landscape. Achieving this balance requires a sustained commitment to humanitarian aid, mine clearance efforts, and post-conflict recovery initiatives. – Center for European Policy Analysi
Frederick Starr writes: The best first step toward solving both the Ukraine war and the nuclear problem, then, is for the West to acknowledge the existence of those official and unofficial Russians who are considering what Putin has wrought and respect their effort but otherwise leave them alone. While standing aside, the West should indicate that the United States and Europe are prepared to work with any emerging leaders in Russia who seek a post-Putin order that elevates international cooperation above confrontation. – The National Interest
Hezbollah
Hezbollah fired about 250 projectiles into Israel on Sunday, a day after an Israeli strike in the heart of the Lebanese capital killed more than 25 people. – New York Times
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has been using an advanced missile against Israel that was reverse-engineered from an Israeli weapon it captured in a past war, according to Israeli defense officials. – New York Times
After weeks of deadly Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and punishing combat between Israeli forces and the Hezbollah militant group, the contours of a potential cease-fire agreement appear to be taking shape, according to several regional and U.S. officials briefed on the ongoing diplomacy. – New York Times
Turkey
The engine of a Russian-made passenger plane caught fire after landing at southern Turkey’s Antalya Airport on Sunday, the Turkish transport ministry said in a statement. – Reuters
Turkey stripped two elected pro-Kurdish mayors of their posts in eastern cities on Friday, for convictions on terrorism-related offences, the interior ministry said, temporarily appointing state officials in their places instead. – Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed relations between the two nations during a phone call on Sunday. “Current issues on the bilateral agenda were substantively discussed, with an emphasis on increasing the efficiency of trade and economic cooperation,” Kremlin said in a statement on its website. – Bloomberg
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday praised the “courageous decision” of the International Criminal Court to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant. – Agence France-Presse
Lebanon
Beirut has staggered through war, economic collapse and a port explosion in 2020 that leveled much of the city center. Now, the latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, is dragging Beirut back into a cycle of violence, just as it was beginning to stabilize after years of chaos. – Wall Street Journal
Four Italian soldiers were lightly injured after two rockets exploded at a UNIFIL peacekeeping force base in southern Lebanon, the Rome government said on Friday, expressing outrage at the incident. – Reuters
The Lebanese civilians most devastated by the Israel- Hezbollah war are Shiite Muslims, and many of them believe they are being unfairly punished because they share a religious identity with Hezbollah militants and often live in the same areas. – Associated Press
Saudi Arabia
Global credit ratings agency Moody’s upgraded Saudi Arabia’s rating to “Aa3” from “A1” on Friday, citing the country’s efforts to diversify beyond its oil economy. – Reuters
A Saudi Arabian delegate has been accused of directly making changes to an official Cop29 negotiating text, it can be revealed. Cop presidencies usually circulate negotiating texts as non-editable PDF documents to all countries simultaneously, and they are then discussed. Giving one party editing access “risks placing this entire Cop in jeopardy”, one expert said. – The Guardian
Maria Fantappie and Bader Al-Saif write: That kind of broad backing could eventually yield a coexistence framework between Israel and Iran with the Gulf states as mediators—a paradigm that requires Israel to halt its provocative attacks and Iran to restrain its retaliatory responses. Above all, Washington should realize that a stronger Saudi Arabia serves everyone. It can dilute Iran’s power. It can also push Israel to make peace with the Palestinians. In doing so, the Saudis are uniquely positioned to help halt the fighting that has wreaked havoc across the Middle East. – Foreign Affairs
Middle East & North Africa
A gunman was dead and three Jordanian policemen injured after a shooting near the heavily fortified Israeli embassy in the capital Amman in Sunday’s early hours, a security source and state media said. – Reuters
The Jordanian army said on Sunday it had killed one person and arrested six others who tried to cross the border from Syria. – Reuters
Iraq’s population has risen to 45.4 million, according to preliminary results from a national census, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday. – Reuters
Korean Peninsula
Russia has supplied North Korea with antiaircraft missiles in return for the deployment of its troops to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, South Korea’s national security adviser said on Friday. – New York Times
South Korea’s main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was cleared on Monday of charges that he forced a witness to commit perjury, the Seoul Central District Court said, in the latest of a series of legal cases that could threaten his political future. – Reuters
South Korea held a memorial event in Japan on Monday for its labourers forced to work at a controversial mine during World War Two, after boycotting one organised by Tokyo, highlighting lingering sensitivities in ties between the neighbours. – Reuters
South Korea and Malaysia signed an agreement on Monday to cooperate in supplying critical minerals from Malaysia’s reserves and to boost cooperation in the defence industry as the Southeast Asian country looks to upgrade its air force jets. – Reuters
North Korea condemned on Saturday recent joint military drills by the United States, South Korea and Japan, warning that it would take immediate actions if needed to defend the state. – Reuters
Donald Kirk writes: Trump and his team will have to go through some basic training in the ways and wiles of the Northeast Asian power game. They are likely to find that nothing is so simple as raising tariffs in a stroke or signing a piece of paper declaring “peace” on the Korean peninsula. One thing for which they are completely unprepared — mentally, psychologically, by background or training — is a second Korean War or a Northeast Asian conflagration that might erupt as tensions rise in a wave of rhetoric beginning with a new trade war. – The Hill
Ulv Hanssen writes: North Korea’s decision to send troops to fight for Russia was primarily motivated by the prospect of cheap oil and gas. However, this decision was greatly facilitated by the new geopolitical alignment in the Global South, which has significantly lowered North Korea’s threshold for provocative behavior. How this will affect other North Korean policies, for example, nuclear testing, remains to be seen, but we should brace ourselves for a more unrestrained and unpredictable North Korea. – The National Interest
China
Elon Musk has showed off a Tesla to China’s premier inside Beijing’s walled leadership compound and dined with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. If there is anyone with the connections to work things out between the world’s two feuding superpowers, it just might be Musk—or so many in Beijing are hoping. – Wall Street Journal
China, the world’s renewable-energy leader and its biggest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases, is presenting itself as fully committed to the fight against climate change. “Regardless of how the international situation or other countries’ policies change, China’s resolve and actions to actively address climate change will not waver,” Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang. – Washington Post
Taiwan’s defence ministry on Monday reported that a Chinese balloon had been detected over the sea to Taiwan’s north, the first time since April it has reported such an incident in what Taipei views as part of a pattern of harassment by Beijing. – Reuters
Local authorities in China are stepping up safety management and police patrols following several high-profile mass killings, as the central government calls for enhanced public security, media reports said on Sunday. – Reuters
Claris Diaz and Emilian Kavalski write: As the Chinese agricultural technology juggernaut quietly grows, policymakers must act now to safeguard national security. Nations can protect their food security and economic interests by regulating the data collected by agricultural drones, preventing third-party access, and reassessing the broader strategic implications of these technologies. Yet, for now, the data gathered by these drones is far less regulated than the data collected by TikTok. Failure to act can give China a decisive advantage in any prospective future confrontation. Left unchecked, the exploitation of smart agriculture data could leave nations vulnerable to food-based coercion. If this were part of China’s asymmetric warfare strategy, they are clearly playing the long game for global dominance. – War on the Rocks
Lucas Myers writes: Although Washington should not abandon cooperation with China where possible or provocatively cross any Chinese or regional countries’ red lines regarding lethal support, it should feel confident that an inclusive, federal democracy in Myanmar is in America’s strategic interests regardless of Beijing’s opposition to it. As such, the incoming Trump administration should provide expanded U.S. funding and non-lethal support in line with the BURMA Act for the resistance to offset the weight of Beijing’s pressure, assist in resolving Myanmar’s growing humanitarian crisis, and help buy them the time needed to achieve their Spring Revolution. – War on the Rocks
South Asia
Boosting manufacturing is critical to India becoming an economic powerhouse. It now has a fresh shot at that with the election of Donald Trump, whose promise to levy sky-high import tariffs on Chinese goods could send more manufacturers to the South Asian nation. – Wall Street Journal
An Indian initiative to preserve vanishing groundwater by delaying the annual sowing of rice has led to a dramatic worsening of air pollution in New Delhi and the surrounding region, already infamous for its suffocating smog, according to farmers and researchers. And no one saw it coming. – Washington Post
Violent clashes erupted overnight between Sunni and Shiite tribes in northwestern Pakistan, leaving at least 25 people dead and markets, homes and government properties in flames, officials and residents said on Saturday. – New York Times
Pakistan’s capital was put under a security lockdown on Sunday ahead of protests by supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan calling for his release. – Reuters
A U.S. agency said on Sunday that it is reviewing the impact of Department of Justice bribery allegations against the founder of India’s Adani Group on the agency’s prior agreement to lend more than $550 million to a Sri Lankan port development backed by the group. – Reuters
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party and its allies were set to return to power in the nation’s richest state, television channels reported on Saturday, a boost for the Hindu-nationalist leader after a disappointing general election. – Reuters
Afghan Taliban officials will attend a major United Nations climate conference that starts next week, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, the first time they have attended since the former insurgents took power in 2021. – Reuters
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party headed for a victory Saturday in state elections in politically significant Maharashtra while the opposition won mineral-rich Jharkhand state. – Associated Press
Asia
Japan and the U.S. aim to compile a joint military plan for a possible Taiwan emergency that includes deploying missiles, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday. – Reuters
The United States and Fiji have started talks aimed at strengthening military ties between Washington and the Pacific island nation, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday, concluding a trip to the Indo Pacific. – Reuters
Australian police said they arrested three climate change activists on Saturday when protesters tried to disrupt the movement of vessels at the country’s biggest coal port. – Reuters
Australia’s government has withdrawn a bill that would give a media watchdog power to monitor digital platforms and require them to keep records about misinformation and disinformation on their networks. – Associated Press
Myanmar’s desperate military junta is ramping up attacks on villages that have fallen to opposition groups, carrying out beheadings, gang rapes and torture, with women, children and the elderly among the victims, the U.N. independent human rights investigator for Myanmar said in a new report. – Associated Press
Javier Blas writes: Similar confrontations have caused significant infighting inside the group. In 2021, for example, the UAE blocked an OPEC+ deal for several days after it clashed with Saudi Arabia over quotas. Although Riyadh won the battle at the time, it ultimately lost the war, allowing Abu Dhabi to win significant quota concessions over the following months. And when the cartel attempted to reduce Angola’s quota in 2023, the country fought back and, ultimately, left the group. The risk is that Kazakhstan follows suit. OPEC+ faces struggles on many fronts in 2025. – Bloomberg
Margarita Assenova writes: While secondary sanctions, including personal penalties against officials, either engaged in blatant sanctions evasion or openly advocating for it, are essential, they are unlikely to suffice. The regional political and business elites must see a strong alternative to Russia and China. Offering economic incentives that compete with Beijing and Moscow’s carrots while enhancing security cooperation is essential for the United States to reestablish its strategic foothold in Central Asia. Given the capital-intensive character of natural resource development (a remarkable potential in this region), this may require substantial investment. Still, it will still be a small fraction of what the United States currently allocates to Europe and the Middle East. The Trump administration must signal that America is back in the region—and this time, in earnest. – The National Interest
Europe
Authorities in Norway have arrested a Norwegian man who worked as a security guard at the U.S. embassy in Oslo, accusing him of passing sensitive information to Russia and Iran. – New York Times
For months, European business leaders have watched as Donald J. Trump paved a path back to the White House by doubling down on an “America First” economic policy, putting protectionism and business-friendly tax and regulatory pledges high on the agenda. With the U.S. presidential inauguration less than two months away, they are now furiously lobbying policymakers in Brussels with an appeal of their own: Put Europe First. – New York Times
European Union governments cannot pick and choose whether to execute arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against two Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, the EU’s foreign policy chief said on Saturday. – Reuters
Ten pro-Palestinian NGOs asked a Dutch court on Friday to stop the Netherlands exporting weapons to Israel and trading with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, citing high civilian casualties in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. – Reuters
A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu appeared in dead heat after the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, partial tallies showed, in a shock result threatening Romania’s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance. – Reuters
China and the European Union are partners rather than adversaries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday, calling on the two sides to think from each other’s perspective and seek cooperation. – Reuters
Antonia Hmaidi writes: Berlin enjoys a privileged position with Beijing thanks to strong economic ties and its influence in Europe. Both advantages are now under attack. China’s car industry threatens the German economic pillar. If Chinese leaders see that Germany cannot sway EU partners, they may court more friendly voices such as Hungary’s Victor Orban – and lose interest in Germany. – Center for European Policy Analysis
David Kirichenko writes: The defeatist approach embraced by leaders like Scholz will only pave the way for much greater conflicts in the future, ultimately strengthening the Axis of Evil. If the West continues to stand by while Russian and North Korean forces wage war against Ukraine without significantly increasing support for Kyiv, the result will be greater chaos and the accelerated erosion of the international order that has maintained global peace since World War II—not just in Europe and East Asia, but across the globe. Ukraine is now safeguarding the Western world with its own blood. Increasingly, it is standing alone. – The National Interest
Africa
South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, affirmed its decision to expel its former leader Jacob Zuma on Friday, rejecting his efforts to remain in the party. – New York Times
Namibians will vote on Wednesday in what is expected to be the most competitive election yet for the ruling SWAPO party, which has governed the southern African nation for 34 years. – Reuters
Heavy gunfire erupted in South Sudan’s capital Juba on Thursday evening after security forces moved to arrest the former head of the intelligence service, according to Reuters reporters and an alert sent to United Nations staff. – Reuters
The European Union will recall its ambassador from Niger after the country’s ruling military questioned an EU delegation’s management of humanitarian aid meant for flood victims, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said on Saturday. – Reuters
At least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor group were killed in an attack in central Mali that was claimed by an affiliate of al Qaeda in North Africa, Site Intelligence group said Friday. – Reuters
The Americas
One of the largest corruption crackdowns in recent history is being quietly wiped away. Brazil’s Supreme Court is tossing out key evidence, setting aside major convictions and suspending billions of dollars in fines in a historic series of bribery cases, arguing that biased investigators, prosecutors and judges broke laws in their ravenous pursuit of justice. – New York Times
Center-left opposition candidate Yamandu Orsi secured victory in Uruguay’s presidential election, official results showed on Sunday, with 99% of votes tallied, in a second-round race that pollsters expected to be closely fought. – Reuters
Brazil’s top public prosecutor is not likely to issue any indictments until next year for former President Jair Bolsonaro, members of his government and military officers who allegedly planned a coup after his 2022 election defeat, four sources told Reuters. – Reuters
Brazil’s government tightened spending controls late on Friday, freezing expenditure at 19.3 billion reais ($3.33 billion) to comply with this year’s fiscal rules. – Reuters
The United States on Friday barred former Colombian army commander General Mario Montoya from entering the U.S., citing what it called credible evidence he had been involved in the extrajudicial killings of civilians. – Reuters
Six Venezuelan government opponents who have sheltered for months at the Argentine embassy in Caracas decried Sunday that local police and intelligence agents were stationed outside of it for hours. – Associated Press
Arturo Mcfields writes: The first two years are paramount. This is the moment when the administration will have full support from Congress to ensure the end of communist tyrannies. Time is of the essence. A solid foreign policy and a national security focus will be key components to ensure significant changes in the Western Hemisphere. The opposition leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have already begun to approach the Trump administration. They are convinced that perhaps this is the last chance to get rid of the dictatorships and restore democracy. The time is right, and so is the leadership. – The Hill
North America
Canadian leaders are signaling that they are willing to throw Mexico aside in a bid to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration as they prepare for tough trade talks. – Wall Street Journal
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday condemned violence and antisemitism at anti-NATO and pro-Palestinian protests in downtown Montreal on Friday night, where NATO delegates have gathered for the alliance’s annual assembly. – Reuters
Canada, which expelled six Indian diplomats over allegations they were involved in a plot against Sikh separatists, denied it had evidence Prime Minister Narendra Modi was linked to violence on Canadian soil. – Reuters
Gunmen opened fire early Sunday at a bar in southeast Mexico, killing six people and injuring at least five others, according to local media reports. – Associated Press
United States
The cases have taken on new significance with President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. Hegseth was a 26-year-old lieutenant in the Army National Guard when he joined that unit, the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, in summer 2005 just ahead of its deployment. – Washington Post
President-elect Donald J. Trump’s final flurry of cabinet picks and other appointments rounded out what his aides described as a unified, loyal, MAGA-driven administration. But scratch the surface and there are at least three distinct factions and a range of ideologies, barely suppressed to get through the rigors of the confirmation process. – New York Times
President-elect Donald Trump is considering tapping Richard Grenell, his former intelligence chief, to be a special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to four sources familiar with the transition plans. – Reuters
Editorial: President-elect Donald Trump, in his first term, took a hostile stance toward the ICC. Mr. Trump imposed travel sanctions against ICC prosecutors and staff, which President Joe Biden lifted. The ill-considered arrest warrants against Israel only give Mr. Trump a new reason to halt American cooperation with the court, at a time when it’s needed for Russia, Sudan, Myanmar and conflicts elsewhere that atrocities are being committed with impunity and the victims have no other recourse. – Washington Post
Cybersecurity
Senior White House officials met on Friday with telecommunications executives to discuss China’s “significant cyber espionage campaign targeting the sector,” the White House said. – Reuters
Chinese hackers are positioning themselves in U.S. critical infrastructure IT networks for a potential clash with the United States, a top American cybersecurity official said on Friday. – Reuters
Britain and its NATO allies must stay ahead in “the new AI arms race”, British cabinet office minister Pat McFadden will say on Monday, warning that Russian cyber criminals are increasingly targeting countries that support Ukraine. – Reuters
Moscow is prepared to launch a wave of cyberattacks against NATO allies that could leave millions without power, according to a senior United Kingdom minister. – Politico
Protecting Americans’ health data and strengthening cybersecurity protections throughout the health care sector is the focus of a bill introduced Friday from a bipartisan quartet of Senate lawmakers. – Cyberscoop
Catherine Thorbecke writes: At the same time, the risks of Chinese espionage is real and should be taken seriously. Silicon Valley firms are increasingly on alert for risks of intellectual property theft, escalating their vetting of staff and recruits. That is wise and should continue, though it should be driven by evidence and not just ethnicity. Data also suggests that hacking and cyberattacks are the preferred methods of spying. Rather than pouring vast resources into profiling individuals, the US should double down on investments in cybersecurity protections. – Bloomberg
Defense
The Space Force expects to award as many as 20 contracts over the next two years for private companies to join its Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve, which will create a mechanism for the military to better leverage commercial capabilities both in peacetime and during a conflict. – Defense News
Lloyd Austin watched a welcome ceremony at a military base near Fiji’s capital of Suva, having become the first American defense secretary to visit the island. His trip was itself a message, giving heft to negotiations over basing and logistics access for the U.S. military. – Defense News
Andreas Kluth writes: So Trump must make two big decisions: First, whether to increase America’s arsenal of strategic weapons to match the combined total of China and Russia, at the cost of starting a new and ruinous arms race. And second, whether to add tactical nukes again and incorporate them into nuclear doctrine. Both questions will come up in his first year, not least because New START expires in February 2026, and there will soon be nothing left to constrain the nuclear superpowers. – Bloomberg