Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Next question for Gaza peace plan: Who wants to police it? Hamas hands over three more hostage bodies Washington Institute Fellow’s Dennis Ross, Assaf Orion: Gaza’s future hinges on a clear UN security council resolution Iran's president says Tehran will rebuild its nuclear facilities Trump says no Tomahawks for Ukraine, for now Israel urges Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah under ceasefire terms Syrian president will visit White House in early November, foreign minister says Turkey buys more non-Russian oil after latest Western sanctions, sources say The Arab world’s last militant leader is elusive and defiant Hegseth visits South Korea for talks on U.S. troops, tour of DMZ border WSJ Editorial: A U.S. troop exit from Eastern Europe? Trump threatens military action in Nigeria in defense of ChristiansIn The News
Israel
A fresh obstacle to President Trump’s Gaza peace plan is taking shape: how to bring in an international security force to police the enclave without either Hamas or Israel abandoning the process. – Wall Street Journal
Israel’s chief military lawyer has resigned amid an investigation into her alleged role in leaking video footage related to a high-profile case against reservist soldiers, shaking up the country’s military justice system at a time when it is under heavy scrutiny at home and abroad. – Wall Street Journal
Palestinian political factions are holding closed-door discussions that could see Hamas play a role in shaping a postwar administration in Gaza, despite Israel’s vow to eliminate the militant group’s political influence in the enclave and a decades-old feud between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. – Washington Post
Hamas handed over bodies of three hostages on Sunday, even as the Palestinian militant group traded blame with Israel for violations of the tenuous truce that has mostly halted two years of war. – Reuters
The Israeli military attacked the Gaza Strip for a fourth day on Friday, killing three people, Palestinian health authorities said, in another test of a fragile ceasefire agreement. – Reuters
The former director of Mossad, Yossi Cohen, confirmed that the joint operation coordinated by the United States and Israel “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites, halting its uranium enrichment, and warned that Israel “can come again” if Tehran resumes its nuclear program. – Fox News
Hamas has demanded, through mediators on Sunday, temporary immunity for terrorists stationed in underground tunnels in Rafah to move to areas within the Yellow Line, a source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post. – Jerusalem Post
Qatar’s prime minister said in an interview that aired Sunday that violations of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire are occurring constantly but that his country continues to work to keep the agreement from collapsing. – Politico
Hamas has demanded, through mediators on Sunday, temporary immunity for terrorists stationed in underground tunnels in Rafah to move to areas within the Yellow Line, a source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF foiled a weapons smuggling attempt overnight “from the west,” the military confirmed on Sunday morning. – Jerusalem Post
Israel Police arrested on Sunday morning a man in his 20s from Ramle, after he posted his intentions to carry out a terrorist attack in the city online. – Jerusalem Post
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on Thursday canceled his planned visit to Israel next week due to concerns over Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen’s refusal to approve a gas export agreement with Egypt. – Jerusalem Post
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) published a drone video over the weekend showing what it said were suspected Hamas operatives looting an aid truck in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. – Times of Israel
One of the main proposals for rebuilding the Gaza Strip that US President Donald Trump’s administration has presented to potential Gulf donor countries envisions the construction of roughly half a dozen residential regions on the eastern half of the Strip, which is currently under Israeli control, two Arab diplomats familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel. – Times of Israel
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday accused Israel of responding to its offer to negotiate by intensifying its airstrikes, the latest of which killed a man riding a motorbike in southern Lebanon — according to Israel, a Hezbollah operative involved in restoring the terror group’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon. – Times of Israel
Daniel E. Slotnik writes: Senesh’s bravery has inspired generations of Israelis, including her nephew David. He was taken prisoner in 1973 while serving in the Israel Defense Forces after Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack, starting the Yom Kippur War. As his captors tortured him, “I was conversing with her,” he said, “and with her poems and writings.” For all her outward resolve, Senesh’s last-known poem admits to the despair she felt while imprisoned. Titled “One-Two-Three,” for the paces she made in her cell, it ends: “I gambled on what mattered most, the dice were cast. I lost.” – New York Times
Michael L. Gross writes: “Kill, kill, kill” is not an unavoidable outcome of war. With a fragile cease-fire in place, many have set their eyes on distant reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. It is no accident that the process is often called “truth and reconciliation.” Facing the truth is among the next necessary steps if we are to come to grips with this horrific war and find peace. – New York Times
Dennis Ross and Assaf Orion write: For those who want to seize the moment created by the Trump plan, now is the time to produce a UN Security Council resolution that empowers the Board of Peace and thus the ISF in the areas of public safety, disarmament, and support for the Board and the technocratic Palestinian administration. Otherwise, a scenario may play out that actually helps Hamas reemerge and reassert its rule over Gaza. – Washington Institute
Iran
Oman called on fellow Gulf Arab states to fully engage with Iran and even include it in an expanded regional defense and security architecture. – Bloomberg
Tehran will rebuild its nuclear facilities “with greater strength”, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told state media on Sunday, adding that the country does not seek a nuclear weapon. – Reuters
The U.S. Treasury Department’s top sanctions official will travel to the Middle East and Europe on Friday, according to a statement seen by Reuters, as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to increase pressure on Iran. – Reuters
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has no desire for direct talks with the US over its nuclear or missile program, insisting that the Islamic Republic would not give up its ability to enrich uranium, according to a Saturday report by Al Jazeera. – Times of Israel
Russia and Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted this week that Russia has tested a nuclear-powered super torpedo, the Poseidon, that was unstoppable and more powerful than a nuclear missile, the second announcement in a week of Russian trials involving nuclear-capable weapons systems. – Washington Post
Ukraine’s entire eastern Donetsk region was without power after recent Russian attacks on energy infrastructure forced emergency power outages, the regional governor said on Sunday. – Reuters
Ukraine’s top military commander said on Saturday his troops were still holding out in the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk, which Moscow said its forces were at last enclosing in a pincer movement after more than a year of fighting. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that, for now, he is not considering a deal that would allow Ukraine to obtain long-range Tomahawk missiles for use against Russia. – Reuters
A Ukrainian drone attack struck one of Russia’s main Black Sea oil ports on Sunday, causing a fire and damaging at least one ship, as Kyiv tries to undermine Russia’s war effort by targeting its energy infrastructure. – Reuters
Ukraine landed special forces to fight in embattled parts of the eastern city of Pokrovsk earlier this week, just as Russia said it had surrounded Kyiv’s forces in the area, two Ukrainian military sources said on Friday. – Reuters
A Ukrainian drone attack struck one of Russia’s main Black Sea oil ports on Sunday, causing a fire and damaging at least one ship, as Kyiv tries to undermine Russia’s war effort by targeting its energy infrastructure. – Reuters
Russian air defences downed 98 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, the country’s defence ministry said on Saturday. – Reuters
At least two people were killed in a drone attack in Ukraine’s southwestern Odessa region, authorities said Sunday. Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine continued to target each other’s infrastructure. – Associated Press
Hezbollah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Hezbollah was seeking to rearm and that Israel would exercise its right to self-defence under last year’s ceasefire accord if Lebanon failed to disarm the militant group. – Reuters
The IDF killed a Hezbollah maintenance officer, Ibrahim Muhammad Raslan, in the Kounine area in southern Lebanon, the military said Friday. Raslan was attempting to rebuild Hezbollah infrastructure in the area, according to the IDF. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF killed four terrorists from Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in Kfar Reman, southern Lebanon, on Saturday, the military confirmed. – Jerusalem Post
The Lebanese government and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah have approved an American plan that includes Lebanese civilians as part of ongoing peace negotiations with Israel, Saudi state-affiliated Al Hadath reported on Saturday, citing presidential sources. – Jerusalem Post
Syria
Syrian Foreign Minister Asad al-Shaibani confirmed on Sunday that President Ahmed al-Sharaa will visit the White House in early November and discuss the reconstruction of Syria. – Reuters
Major Saudi Arabian firms are planning billion-dollar investments in Syria as part of the kingdom’s business-forward approach to the country’s recovery, but US sanctions and a fractured Syrian state apparatus pose formidable obstacles. – Reuters
A Syrian government-led committee has found that most allegations of kidnapping of women from the Alawite religious minority were false, the findings of the monthslong probe released on Sunday show. – Associated Press
Syrian sources told The Media Line that Damascus has formally asked the Lebanese government to assist in extraditing several former Syrian regime officials and officers accused of war crimes who fled to Lebanon after the regime’s collapse last December. Median Line
Iraq
Iraqis are bracing for yet another election they fear will change little, with many seeing the pro-reform campaign banners for the November 11 vote as empty gestures from elites who have delivered little since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. – Reuters
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Sunday called on Kurdish separatist fighters who have withdrawn to the country’s north after waging a decades-long insurgency in Turkey to disarm. – Associated Press
The IDF and Mossad are preparing for a developing threat against Israel from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, sources in the Northern Command told Walla on Friday. – Jerusalem Post
Turkey
Turkey’s largest oil refineries are buying more non-Russian oil in response to the latest Western sanctions on Russia, two people with direct knowledge of the matter and several industry sources told Reuters. – Reuters
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that he wrote to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to resolve a long-running tussle over who will host next year’s COP31 summit. – Reuters
Iraq signed a deal with Turkey on Sunday under which water infrastructure projects to be carried out by Turkish firms will be financed with revenue from oil sales, a Turkish official said. – Reuters
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Hamas chief Khalil al-Khayya and other senior members of the jihadist group’s political bureau in Istanbul on Saturday. – Algemeiner
Arabian Peninsula
Buoyed by his success in brokering a cease-fire in Gaza, President Trump has proclaimed that he could soon secure another big foreign-policy win: convincing Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel before the end of the year. – New York Times
Abu Dhabi hosted a major oil summit Monday, hours after the OPEC+ group of the cartel and its allies said it would halt further production increases planned in the first quarter of 2026 over concerns of too much supply in the market. – Associated Press
Qatar has weaponised “mediation”: it has bankrolled Islamist power, posed as the indispensable broker, and sat on the leverage it had over Hamas from the start. For nearly two years, it has blamed Israel instead. – Quillette
Henry Sokolski writes: He should have said no. Keeping timely, accurate track of the powders, liquids, and gases involved in making nuclear fuel is not yet good enough to safeguard against military diversions. Nor is American ownership or operation of Saudi nuclear fuel making a fix. As America’s experience in Iran demonstrates, the United States can operate bases and own companies in foreign nations and still be thrown out. This has happened before and can happen again in Saudi Arabia. Another headache if America helps Riyadh make nuclear fuel is the example it sets. Saudi Arabia’s neighbors, who also have US nuclear cooperative will demand the same. They’ll all race to develop bomb options. Saying no to Riyadh’s fuel-making demands is our best chance to skirt this. – Breaking Defense
Yemen
Diminutive and soft-spoken, Abdulmalik Al-Houthi has survived relentless attacks by Israel, the U.S. and other regional powers by hiding out in caves and never appearing in public while counting on Iran’s support to help keep his rebel movement in power in Yemen. For more than a decade as commander of Houthi forces, his playbook has been to keep challenging more formidable opponents with brazen missile attacks, gambling they have more to lose than he does. – Wall Street Journal
Detained local United Nations staff will face trial on suspicion of links to an Israeli airstrike that assassinated top Houthi leaders in Yemen in August, the acting foreign minister of the Houthi government told Reuters. – Reuters
Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Israel was prepared to take further action against Iran-allied groups in Lebanon and Yemen, days after a wave of Israeli strikes against Hizbollah across the Lebanese border. – Financial Times
Middle East & North Africa
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday stating that genuine autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty could be the most feasible solution to Rabat’s 50-year conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front. – Reuters
A Tunisian court sentenced a prominent critic of President Kais Saied to five years in prison on Friday, the latest in a series of actions targeting opposition figures who accuse Saied of using the judiciary to cement what they say is his authoritarian rule. – Reuters
Tunisian authorities on Friday ordered the suspension of the Nawaat journalists’ group, which runs one of the country’s leading independent investigative media outlets, in a widening crackdown on free speech and civil society. – Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on the United Nations Security Council’s adoption of a resolution that supports Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, the PMO said on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
Ahmed Charai writes: America remains strongest when it subjects its power to moral principle. It is also strongest when it stands beside its most enduring friends. For centuries, Morocco’s monarchs have safeguarded this partnership with the United States. King Mohammed VI has renewed and deepened that alliance, transforming shared ideals into shared action. In an age uncertain of its moral compass, the partnership between America and Morocco endures as proof that strength guided by conscience remains the highest form of power. – The National Interest
Korean Peninsula
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visits South Korea on Monday for talks expected to involve Washington’s goal of reshaping the role of U.S. troops in Korea and is also due to visit the DMZ border with North Korea. – Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the 11th corps of the North Korean military on Saturday, state media KCNA reported on Sunday, where he mentioned the country’s ruling party will discuss the need for taking measures to improve military capabilities. – Reuters
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Saturday he hoped to cooperate with Asia-Pacific countries to tackle issues related to artificial intelligence and demographic changes at an annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. – Reuters
North Korea said on Saturday that denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, which South Korea said will be discussed in a summit with China later that day, is an unrealisable “pipe dream,” according to state media KCNA. – Reuters
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to make greater efforts to persuade North Korea to return to talks, as the two leaders on Saturday agreed on a set of steps to expand their economic and other ties. – Associated Press
Choe Sang-Hun writes: Since Mr. Trump was re-elected, South Korea has taken steps to ameliorate the president’s threats in ways that could upset Beijing again. The submarine agreement, coupled with South Korea’s massive investment pledge in the U.S., “signals a deep, structural integration of South Korea into America’s security and industrial ecosystem,” said Mr. Lee of the George H. W. Bush Foundation. China has already expressed its discomfort. On Friday, Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said South Korea and the United States should “do what is conducive to regional peace and stability, not otherwise. – New York Times
China
China will loosen its export restrictions on semiconductors made by Nexperia, its Commerce Ministry said, after the Chinese-owned, Netherlands-based automotive chip maker was caught in the crossfire of the U.S.-China trade war, leading to supply disruptions that hit car production. – Wall Street Journal
China has spent months building up its oil reserves. That might come in handy in the wake of the new sanctions the U.S. recently imposed on Russian crude. During the first nine months of the year, the world’s second-largest economy imported on average more than 11 million barrels of oil a day, an amount above the daily production of Saudi Arabia, according to official customs data. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have walked back from the ledge—again. But even as the world’s two superpowers deescalate a trade fight that had threatened to destabilize the global economy, a new reality is setting in—that Washington may finally have to give up on its long-standing aim of pushing Beijing to restructure its economy. – Wall Street Journal
Chinese foreign ministry on Monday said the king of Spain, Felipe VI, will pay a state visit to China from November 10-13, the first by a Spanish monarch in 18 years, as Madrid seeks to bolster Chinese investment and boost trade ties. – Reuters
The summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Donald Trump was a breakthrough in bilateral relationship where the Asian giant was treated as an “equal partner” of the US, according to David Daokui Li, a regular policy adviser to Beijing. – Bloomberg
Bill Drexel and Grace Jin Drexel write: There is still time for Beijing to change course. Authorities have not yet handed down official indictments of the 23 church leaders still being held in detention, which would seal their fate. We pray that they will see freedom and justice soon. The regime expects this pressure will make Chinese Christians submit their most intimately held beliefs to the state. The pattern of history, though, has been that it will encourage more people to recognize a higher authority. – Washington Post
South Asia
For years, Varun Kedia would make up to four trips to China each year to buy molding machines for his plastics company in Gujarat. Then came the pandemic and, in June 2020, a deadly clash between Indian and Chinese forces along their shared border. Commercial flights between the countries were suspended, visas were denied — and Kedia had to make the switch to costlier Indian machines. – Washington Post
The Supreme Court in Nepal has ordered a halt to the recall of nearly a dozen ambassadors, a lawyer said on Monday, in a setback for Prime Minister Sushila Karki and her interim government. – Reuters
The Pakistan Navy expects its first Chinese-designed submarine to enter active service next year, the country’s top admiral told Chinese state media, bolstering Beijing’s bid to counter regional rival India and project power toward the Middle East. – Reuters
Pakistan on Saturday partially reopened the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan to allow thousands of stranded Afghan refugees to return home, officials said. – Associated Press
Asia
Over four years, Vietnam has built out a series of remote rocks, reefs and atolls to create heavily fortified artificial islands that expand its military footprint in the Spratly Islands, an archipelago where Hanoi’s claims clash not only with China’s but also with those of Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. – Wall Street Journal
China’s leader Xi Jinping, the de facto geopolitical heavyweight at an Asia-Pacific economic summit, on Friday courted countries for trade and investment, but also implicitly warned them not to join the United States in reducing the world’s reliance on Chinese supply chains. – New York Times
Washington wants deeper military cooperation with Vietnam, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday during a visit to Hanoi, where he is set to meet leaders of the Southeast Asian nation. – Reuters
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that China’s Premier Li Qiang would visit Australia next year on a trip that may include a stop at Uluru, the giant monolith in central Australia. – Reuters
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the development of a 600 million ringgit ($142 million) super magnet manufacturing facility in the state of Pahang will strengthen the nation’s rare earth sector, state media reported. – Reuters
The United States is working overtime to speed up the production of delayed F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, while advanced U.S.-made glide bombs have also been delayed due to supply-chain issues, the island’s defence ministry said on Monday. – Reuters
The United States and the Philippines have formed a new joint task force to strengthen cooperation and increase military readiness in areas including the South China Sea, the Pentagon said on Friday. – Reuters
President Donald Trump says that Chinese President Xi Jinping has given him assurances that Beijing would take no action toward its long-stated goal of unifying Taiwan with mainland China while the Republican leader is in office. – Associated Press
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth maintained Washington’s position on Taiwan and stressed the defense of U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region during a meeting with Chinese Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun on Friday. – USNI News
Michael Kovrig writes: American and Pacific Island interests are already aligned in seeking to deter aggression and coercion in the Pacific. But to sustain that deterrent capacity, the United States and its partners must recognize the political, economic, environmental, and social concerns of the islands themselves. Supporting the islands’ sovereignty and democratic institutions, and sincerely addressing their interests, is not only good for Pacific peoples. It is a cost-effective way for Washington and its allies to preserve the fragile balance that keeps the Pacific as peaceful as its name. – Foreign Affairs
Ronny P. Sasmita writes: The true test for Japan’s Iron Lady will be whether she can convert symbolic history into sustainable progress. Managing a weak yen, an aging population and fragile coalitions will demand pragmatism and resolve. Yet her brand of determined leadership may give Japan the clarity it has long lacked. Takaichi’s rise is not a revolution. It is the continuation of Japan’s long search for identity, between pacifism and assertiveness, tradition and renewal. But for the first time in history, that search will be guided by a woman whose strength could reshape how Tokyo defines power in Asia. – The Hill
Kevin Ting-chen Sun writes: It must be emphasized that making Taiwan “more prickly” within necessary bounds is profoundly in America’s interest. Washington should make its military partners realize that “heaven helps those who help themselves.” The United States will not unconditionally fight any war for its allies. But a Taiwan that is more focused on its own military and defense capabilities will reduce America’s worries and the costs of intervention if it becomes necessary—saving Washington a great deal of trouble. Actions speak louder than words. The delays and disproportionate costs of Taiwan’s submarine program are not just a cautionary tale for Taiwan itself. They are also a reminder to policymakers in Washington that allowing this small island on the front line against Communist China’s expansion to build weapons by patching things together may not be the best approach. – The National Interest
Europe
A mass stabbing on a London-bound train left 11 people injured, including two in a life-threatening condition. Authorities said armed officers took two men into custody after the train was stopped Saturday in a town near Cambridge. – Wall Street Journal
It took less than a week for the police to track down two of the suspects who they say broke into the Louvre and made off with eight of France’s historic crown jewels. A third person, a suspected accomplice, was tracked down on Wednesday. – New York Times
A British man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with a stabbing rampage on a London-bound train that sent 11 people to the hospital with serious injuries, the police said Sunday. – New York Times
Germany’s defence minister is confident its fractious ruling coalition can agree on a new model of military service in time for it to come into effect next year as planned, given security concerns over Russia, he told Reuters on Saturday. – Reuters
Dutch centrist party D66 won the most votes in Wednesday’s general election, news agency ANP said on Friday, putting its 38-year-old leader Rob Jetten on course to become the youngest-ever prime minister in the Netherlands. – Reuters
Moldova’s parliament picked a new prime minister on Friday to lead the small nation’s efforts to join the European Union and break free of Russia’s political orbit. – Reuters
Hundreds of riot police Sunday separated opponents and loyalists of Serbia’s autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic in central Belgrade as political tensions boiled after a year of persistent anti-government protests. – Associated Press
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that he would try to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to grant Hungary exemptions from Washington’s newly announced sanctions targeting Russian oil when he meets with the president next week. – Associated Press
German authorities said Sunday they had arrested a 22-year-old Syrian man in Berlin suspected of preparing a “jihadist” attack, without giving details of the alleged plot. – Agence France Press
Editorial: Mr. Trump may not know it, but some of his advisers in the Pentagon want an even broader pullback from Europe. That would make it harder for President Trump to negotiate a durable peace in Ukraine. What America needs is more of its forces in Europe moving east to the Baltics, not west to the U.S. Messrs. Rogers and Wicker are giving the President sound counsel that this is no time to go wobbly on deterrence in Europe. – Wall Street Journal
Africa
President Trump has threatened potential U.S. military action in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, citing the perceived targeting of its Christian population by Islamist terrorists. – Wall Street Journal
Families gunned down as they huddled for safety. Young children weeping over their mother’s body in the desert. Doctors seized for ransom and executed. Such are the stories trickling out of El Fashir, the Sudanese city conquered by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on Sunday. – Washington Post
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan won reelection after grabbing more than 97 percent of the vote, the country’s electoral commission said Saturday, despite growing concern about fairness, given that the two most viable challengers were barred from running. – Washington Post
At least 10 people were killed in Tanzania after security forces fired on demonstrators protesting this week’s presidential election, the United Nations’ human rights commission said on Friday, in the country’s most serious political crisis in decades. – New York Times
A group of senior officers of Guinea-Bissau’s army have been arrested on accusations of attempting a coup, deputy chief of staff of the armed forces Mamadou Kourouma said on Friday. – Reuters
The foreign ministers of Germany, Jordan and the United Kingdom jointly called on Saturday for an immediate ceasefire in the war in Sudan, describing the situation there in stark, apocalyptic terms after a paramilitary force seized the last major city in the East African nation’s Darfur region. – Associated Press
The Americas
President Trump on Friday said he isn’t considering ordering military attacks in Venezuela, two weeks after suggesting ground strikes were possible. – Wall Street Journal
Amid a buildup of American forces in the Caribbean, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is reaching out to Russia, China and Iran to enhance its worn military capabilities and solicit assistance — requesting defensive radars, aircraft repairs and potentially missiles — according to internal U.S. government documents obtained by The Washington Post. – Washington Post
The United Nations human rights chief has condemned the Trump administration’s military strikes on boats that it says are being used to smuggle drugs from South America, saying that they violate international law and should be investigated. – New York Times
The two main leaders of Venezuela’s opposition are increasingly divided over looming U.S. actions targeting the country, even as a crackdown against opposition figures continues, politicians and analysts say. – Reuters
Russia’s foreign ministry denounced on Saturday “excessive military force” by the United States in the Caribbean Sea deployed as part of a drive against drug trafficking and reaffirmed its support for Venezuela’s leaders. – Reuters
The chief of staff to President Javier Milei of Argentina resigned on Friday, less than a week after the governing party won a new mandate to accelerate his program of radical reform in pivotal midterm elections. – Associated Press
North America
A Mexican mayor who pleaded with President Claudia Sheinbaum to take a harder line against drug cartels was assassinated in a brazen public shooting Saturday night, the latest sign of the power of organized-crime groups that hold sway over much of the country. – Wall Street Journal
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday that he apologized to President Donald Trump over a television advertisement that aired in the U.S. featuring former president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs. – Washington Post
The Philippines and Canada signed a pact on Sunday for their armed forces to train on each other’s soil, boosting defence cooperation to tackle common security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region. – Reuters
Cuba’s top prosecutor accused on Friday former economy minister Alejandro Gil and unidentified individuals of crimes ranging from espionage to bribery, in one of the largest publicly disclosed corruption scandals in decades. – Reuters
Australia said on Saturday it signed an agreement with Canada to promote and strengthen bilateral cooperation and trade on critical minerals at the Group of Seven meeting of energy and environment ministers in Toronto. – Reuters
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to visit China after meeting with President Xi Jinping on Friday, in an encounter that may have marked a turning point but offered no breakthroughs on trade. – Reuters
United States
Democrats are favored Tuesday to win back the Virginia governor’s mansion, hold on to the New Jersey governorship and persuade California voters to back a ballot initiative that could give their party a fighting chance in the congressional redistricting arms race. But even if Democrats secure wins, they will still wake Wednesday morning with serious political headaches. – Wall Street Journal
A top Justice Department lawyer has told lawmakers that the Trump administration can continue its lethal strikes against alleged drug traffickers in Latin America — and is not bound by a decades-old law requiring Congress to give approval for ongoing hostilities. – Washington Post
US Sen. Ted Cruz delivered a dramatic warning that antisemitism is spreading on parts of the American Right and urged conservatives, pastors, and lay leaders to “draw redlines” and confront it head-on. – Jerusalem Post
The FBI announced Friday it had thwarted a potential terrorist attack in Michigan ahead of Halloween weekend, arresting multiple suspects allegedly linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization. – Arutz Sheva
Cybersecurity
Artificial intelligence giant Nvidia’s (NVDA.O) most advanced chips will be reserved for U.S. companies and kept out of China and other countries, U.S. President Donald Trump said. – Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping took centrestage at a meeting of APEC leaders on Saturday to push a proposal for a global body to govern artificial intelligence and position China as an alternative to the United States on trade cooperation. – Reuters
Phil Gramm and Michael Solon write: Despite all the costs entailed in the transition, industrial technology and the market system accomplished what no benevolent king’s redistribution, no loving bishop’s charity, no mercantilist’s protectionism and no powerful guild ever did. It delivered a massive increase in productive capacity that continues to enrich our world. If we base our policies to cushion the AI transition on proven results rather than good intentions and let the market system develop and absorb AI technology, we can achieve a second economic miracle, which will enrich America and the world. – Wall Street Journal
Defense
The second of the U.S. Air Force’s two prototype drone wingmen, known as collaborative combat aircraft, began flight testing Friday, the service said. – Defense News
The U.S. Air Force is extending separation dates for airmen and guardians by 60 days due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, affecting roughly 50 airmen and Space Force guardians who were scheduled to have their last day of active duty this November, an Air Force spokesperson confirmed to Military Times. – Military Times
Editorial: It is unfortunate that we live in a time when new nuclear weapons tests are required. But with Beijing and Moscow determined to gain nuclear superiority over America, and North Korea advancing its own limited but potent nuclear capability, Trump is fulfilling his responsibilities as commander in chief. The Roman military scholar Vegetius couldn’t have dreamed of nuclear weapons during his lifetime. But nuclear weapons deliver absolute vindication to his old adage: “Let him who desires peace prepare for war.” – Washington Examiner