Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Colombia opens embassy in Jerusalem, restores free trade deal with Israel Netanyahu says he is not seeking to attack Iran again before Israel election Iran shifting tactics to step up attacks on shipping before US vote, officials say Iran fights rising militant attacks as US threatens to renew war Starlink suspicions and a frantic warning: inside Trump’s turn on Zelensky WSJ Editorial: What’s going on with Starlink in Ukraine? Brazil Federal Prosecution Services’s Lucas Gualtieri: Hezbollah’s hired hands in Brazil Yemen's Houthis vow more attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities after Aramco HQ hit WINEP’s April Longley Alley: The latest cycle of Saudi-Houthi escalation is different—and more dangerous Advancing American Freedom’s Eugene Kontorovich: Europe risks an economic war over Israel and the ICC Russia, China and Iran harness AI for us midterm disinformation U.S. is sending hundreds of troops to Latin AmericaIn The News
Israel
Colombia opened its embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday, becoming the 10th government to do so, as new President Abelardo De La Espriella reversed his predecessor’s break with Israel. – Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he was not in favour of a preemptive strike against Iran before Israel’s October 27 election but also warned Tehran and its proxies against striking Israel. – Reuters
Two weeks before what is widely considered Israel’s most consequential election in decades, its streets are surprisingly empty of rallies and campaign posters, with voters seemingly more exhausted than engaged. – Bloomberg
Israel has yet to allow the construction of a military outpost for international troops in the Gaza Strip, The Guardian reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter. – Jerusalem Post
The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday to establish a framework for cooperation on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. – Jerusalem Post
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with Yashar party chairman and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot to discuss a myriad of security topics, KAN News reported on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) conducted a joint raid operation on the offices of the Addameer Charity Association in Ramallah on Tuesday, as well as the Islamic Association for the Care of Orphans in Yatta, near Hebron, the military confirmed on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
Three people were seriously injured in a blast at an Intel factory in Kiryat Gat on Wednesday, caused by what Israel Police suspect to be a gas cylinder explosion. – Jerusalem Post
Police arrested 28 suspected drug traffickers in raids across Israel early Wednesday following a 10-month undercover operation in which a known criminal recruited as an agent helped gather evidence against dozens of suspects involved in supplying drugs to Jerusalem. – Jerusalem Post
The US Embassy in Israel issued a safety warning to American citizens on Tuesday about unexploded ordnance and munitions found across extensive areas of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, a day after a teenager was killed and 24 people were injured in an explosion during a school trip in northern Israel. – Jerusalem Post
IDF Ground Forces Commander Maj.-Gen. Nadav Lotan is working to establish a new corps dedicated to countering low-altitude drone threats, as part of an effort to strengthen Israel’s defenses against the growing threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles, Walla learned on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
The European Union said on Wednesday that it “deeply regrets” the Palestinian Authority’s decision to postpone legislative elections, which were originally slated for November, until September 2027. – Jerusalem Post
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Wednesday warned of a possible security escalation “across all fronts” ahead of the October 27 elections, while calling for settler violence against Palestinians to be “eradicated using every tool available to the State of Israel.” – Times of Israel
As regional tensions reshape the Middle East and diplomatic alliances face mounting pressure, Israel is expanding its strategic partnerships with Arab nations, signaling that the Abraham Accords continue to open new avenues for cooperation even amid widespread uncertainty. – Algemeiner
Barak M. Seener writes: The task now is for Netanyahu to make the gains endure: to translate military reach into deterrence, forward defense into secure borders, battlefield leverage into regional cooperation. It is precisely Netanyahu’s revolution of Israel’s security doctrine, and Israel’s increased power projection, that serve as a pathway to a lasting regional framework that includes Israel and its Arab neighbors. This will be achieved by Israel leveraging its military strength to recast the Middle East’s strategic landscape. – Jerusalem Post
Lauren Dagan Amos and Megghi Pengili write: The strategic significance of an India–Israel–Italy technology triangle lies in this sequencing. India provides scale and digital capacity; Israel can contribute specialized technological and resilience capabilities; and Italy can connect these efforts to the Mediterranean and European industrial and regulatory environment. Together, they could help transform IMEC from a political vision into a gradually integrated connectivity architecture. The key point is therefore not that IMEC must evolve beyond transport. It was designed as more than transport from the beginning. The challenge now is to translate that multidimensional vision into implementable components. Developing the digital, technological and resilience layer while the larger physical corridor continues to take shape may offer one of the most realistic pathways for doing so. – Algemeiner
Iran
Two Emirati cargo ships have sunk in the past 24 hours after being struck in the Strait of Hormuz, an escalation with little precedent as Iran ramps up attacks to levels not seen since the war started. – Wall Street Journal
Iran is deploying new tactics to target ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz as it seeks to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections, two senior Iranian officials told Reuters. – Reuters
A failure by the United States and Iran to agree within weeks on a UN-backed plan for moving fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz could cause a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, an official overseeing the proposed scheme said on Wednesday. – Reuters
US claims that Iran’s economy is collapsing are an illusion, the governor of Iran’s central bank said on Wednesday at an International Monetary Fund meeting in Bangkok, as Tehran faces a US naval blockade aimed at driving its oil exports to zero and draining state coffers. – Reuters
Iran is battling a surge in attacks by separatist militants in its southeast, compounding the country’s security challenges while it’s on alert amid US threats of renewed airstrikes. – Bloomberg
The US military has developed new strike plans that include potentially using the so-called “mother of all bombs” to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites should President Donald Trump give the order to resume combat operations either before or after the midterm elections, according to multiple US officials familiar with the matter. – CNN
A return to war between the United States and Iran is far from a certainty, and an ongoing tense standoff is still the most likely scenario, but there is no question that the chances of renewed conflict between Washington and Tehran will jump after America’s midterm elections on November 3. – Jerusalem Post
Russia and Ukraine
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Denys Sienik, the top Ukrainian diplomat in Washington, D.C., sent a frantic message to U.S. lawmakers: Ukraine was suddenly facing restrictions on its military-grade Starlink terminals, and he didn’t know why. – Wall Street Journal
Nearly five years into its fight for national survival, Ukraine has entered a moment of intense vulnerability, under growing pressure not only from Russia but also now from the United States. – New York Times
European leaders vowed to redouble their support for Ukraine on Wednesday, amid fears that President Trump could stop or cut back on sharing military intelligence with Ukraine in its war with Russia. – New York Times
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview on Wednesday that it was “painful” when Donald Trump took another side in Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia, after the US President said Zelenskiy should be replaced. – Reuters
Russian attack on Ukraine’s western city of Lutsk on Wednesday killed three and injured at least 12, the regional governor said. Drone debris hit a warehouse, Roman Romaniuk said on Telegram. A residential building was damaged as well, he added. – Reuters
Ukraine has freed 16 villages from Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region in its latest counteroffensive, a senior commander said on Wednesday, part of what he called a major frontline pushback amid increased Russian air attacks elsewhere. – Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss cybersecurity with top officials on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, describing it as an increasingly pressing issue but denying the meeting was prompted by a spate of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian data centres. – Reuters
Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s biggest data centre on Wednesday, part of a series of attacks appearing to target Moscow’s ambitions to develop Russian artificial intelligence capabilities on a par with those from the US and China. – Reuters
Leonid Ragozin, a Russian journalist with a Latvian residency permit, said the Baltic country has declared him persona non grata following a controversy over a series of comments about the war in Ukraine. – Bloomberg
Russia accused Ukraine of attacking two oil refineries on Wednesday, saying the strikes showed Kyiv wasn’t moving toward an energy ceasefire promoted by US President Donald Trump. Ukraine denied the claim. – Bloomberg
The US has proposed that European countries unfreeze some Russian sovereign assets immobilised after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and transfer them to a vehicle overseen by Washington in an attempt to revive peace talks. – Financial Times
Editorial: We called the White House for an explanation, got the runaround, and heard nothing by our deadline. Later in the day, Ukraine’s former Minister of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted that some higher Starshield speeds had been restored. Was it merely a technical glitch, or did the White House try to send a message to Mr. Zelensky and then think better of it after it was publicized? We don’t know, but we do know that Mr. Trump is increasingly taking the side of Mr. Putin and his invading forces. If Starlink is throttled, it will be even worse than his deal to buy Russian diesel oil last weekend. Don’t do it, Mr. President. – Wall Street Journal
Marc Champion writes: Trump’s threats cannot work because there is no electable Ukrainian leader-in-waiting who would accept the Russian terms that the White House is trying to force on Kyiv. Nor are meaningful elections possible. The Kremlin’s suggestion that it would cease fire for the day of a vote only shows how little Russia’s leaders care about ensuring genuine democratic choice. Sadly, the same can be said of Trump. With or without US intelligence and missiles, Ukrainians will go on fighting. “We don’t have any choice,” says Bielieskov, who serves as security analyst for Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian nonprofit that has supplied nearly $1.2 billion worth of drones and other military equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces since 2022. – Bloomberg
Douglas Bloomfield writes: That has proven a boon to the Democrats, who are happily reminding voters that Trump’s approval on key issues is at rock bottom. Elections in the US are a few weeks away, and if the polls are right, Democrats will control one or possibly both chambers of Congress, and Trump’s lame duck status officially begins. What is less clear – and more ominous – is the question of what a bitter, paranoid president who has little use for democratic institutions will do if that happens. – Jerusalem Post
Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan write: The FSB is likely to follow what it regards as its successful 2023 operation against the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on bogus charges of spying for the CIA. He was duly sentenced to 16 years in prison and released only in August 2024 as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the US. Hostage-taking as a method of applying pressure — whether on its own citizens or on other countries — is becoming increasingly popular in Moscow, and the FSB is clearly warming to the task. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Lebanon
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to begin negotiations on the future of peacekeepers deployed in Lebanon, as Beirut campaigns for an extension to the mandate set to expire at the end of this year. – Reuters
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday threatened to seize additional territory in southern Lebanon, expanding Israel’s security zone in a scenario where Iran initiates a war with Israel, and Hezbollah joins in. – Jerusalem Post
At least three Hezbollah drones and intelligence-gathering aircraft were launched into the security zone in southern Lebanon over the past two weeks to collect information on IDF operations in the area. – Arutz Sheva
Lucas Gualtieri writes: Expanding this club could help domestic financial institutions more readily identify, report, and take action against sanctioned actors and assets. National designation mechanisms would also complement successful prosecutions by disrupting identified networks and prosecuting their members. Hezbollah’s innovation in Brazil was to buy what it used to bring: local executors, local revenue, and commercial laundering. Each purchase was meant to leave nothing traceable back to Beirut. What it left instead was a long trail of receipts, blockchain “hashes,” shell companies, and a man who bragged about his terrorist “baptism.” Denial is cheaper than deployment, but it is not free. – Washington Institute
David Hale writes: The best thing America can do is keep the pressure on Iran. As the U.S. constrains Iran, Hezbollah is feeling the pain. But it is not just a question of squeezing our adversaries economically. Lebanese will watch closely which way the power balance between America and Iran lands during the remainder of the Trump administration, and adjust their expectations accordingly. Washington is closer than ever to ending the cycles of violence generated by Iran and its proxies that have destroyed so much of the Middle East. Combined pressure on our adversaries, and support for leaders in Israel and Lebanon seeking to achieve peace, require persistence and active measures. With redoubled effort, Lebanon can be Trump’s first success in a troubled region. – The Hill
Arabian Peninsula
Saudi airlines are racing to evacuate as much as $4 billion worth of aircraft stationed at Riyadh Airport in the face of deadly strikes by Houthi militia. – Wall Street Journal
Yemen’s Houthis vowed on Wednesday to press on with attacks on airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, a day after a strike that sources said caused extensive damage to the headquarters of oil giant Saudi Aramco. – Reuters
Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia to visit Islam’s holiest sites may not have anticipated being caught up in an air war, but some experienced an attack by Yemen’s Houthis first hand and others have been forced to change their plans. – Reuters
Hospitals across Yemen are struggling to cope with a sharp rise in war casualties, while intensified fighting along multiple front lines has cut off vital aid to around 800,000 people, humanitarian agencies said on Wednesday. – Reuters
April Longley Alley writes: Hence, one of the best contributions Washington could make is to help Saudi Arabia and the UAE mend fences while urging them to work with their Yemeni allies on a realistic strategy for deterring the Houthis and winding down the war. A decisive, nationwide military victory by either side remains highly unlikely, so a new political settlement will be needed in the long run. Yet with the focus squarely on escalation, scant attention is being paid to pairing military pressure with diplomatic off-ramps and a much-needed political vision for resolving Yemen’s long-festering and now metastasizing conflict. – Washington Institute
Robert F. Worth writes: The Saudis could instead seek some kind of settlement with the Houthis in exchange for peace, but this seems equally elusive. The United Nations has been mediating talks in Yemen since 2012. It helped negotiate a 2022 truce that ended a seven-year war between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition. But the Houthis, who adhere to a revolutionary ideology rooted in an offshoot of Shiite Islam, have grown steadily more aggressive in their demands. – The Atlantic
Middle East & North Africa
Journalists in Tunisia who enjoyed a burst of press freedom after the 2011 Arab Spring are once again looking over their shoulders in the knowledge their work may land them in prison. – Reuters
Prolonged war in the Middle East and further disruptions to energy production, shipping routes or critical infrastructure pose the biggest risk to economies in the Middle East and Central Asia, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. – Reuters
Algeria officially adopted the death penalty for people convicted of arson, after fatal forest fires tore through parts of the country’s east this summer. – Bloomberg
Cairo has no real intention of joining the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement and its offer to send support to Riyadh, though significant, is symbolic and unlikely to be called upon, Jonathan Hessen, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS), told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
Intissar Fakir writes: Washington has helped shift the diplomatic parameters of the Western Sahara conflict, creating an opportunity to move negotiations forward on the basis of Morocco’s autonomy proposal. The challenge now is to translate that progress into a settlement that can accommodate the needs of the parties involved by providing a credible means of establishing Sahrawi consent. That is the key issue. This would require sustained engagement with Algeria, as well as the Polisario, alongside efforts to reduce tensions between Morocco and Algeria, even if broader reconciliation remains out of reach. – Middle East Institute
Korean Peninsula
China and North Korea officially marked the long-delayed opening of their most significant land border crossing on Thursday, aiming to rejuvenate trade and commerce after years of soured ties and pandemic-related disruptions to cross-border exchange. – Reuters
South Korea’s Defence Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that continually changing the requirements for transferring wartime operational control from the United States could make the handover impossible. – Reuters
North Korea said it had tested two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles on Wednesday to verify its navy’s mission capabilities and the reliability of its war deterrent, state media KCNA reported on Thursday. – Reuters
China
For years, China pushed Europe to the breaking point, flooding it with exports that were crushing profits and killing jobs, while issuing tough warnings to the bloc not to fight back. – Wall Street Journal
The Russian and Chinese foreign ministers discussed the state of bilateral cooperation as well as the crises in Ukraine and Iran during an Asia security meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. – Reuters
European Union leaders convene in Brussels on Thursday for a packed summit to debate how best to curb surging exports from China blamed by industry groups for factory closures, how to cope with high energy prices and how to bridge wide differences over the future EU budget. – Reuters
China’s new airfield in Laos is a work in progress, with satellite imagery showing many areas where construction appeared to be ongoing even as it was officially opened at a September ceremony. – Associated Press
The People’s Liberation Army Navy Liaoning Carrier Strike Group was operating in the Philippine Sea as of Wednesday, according to a Japan Joint Staff Office. – USNI News
Chietigj Bajpaee writes: Having developed a willingness to work with like-minded countries in South Asia, India should consider extending this willingness to work with extraterritorial powers to China. In adopting a two-pronged approach of engaging Beijing on some issues while collaborating with neighbors to shape China’s involvement in South Asia, New Delhi can ensure that it remains a party to regional initiatives while also helping to strengthen the economic resilience of recipient states to Chinese pressure. Doing so would show that the ongoing reset in Sino-Indian relations is long-term and strategic rather than short-term and tactical. It would also add substance to long-standing claims of “third-world solidarity.” – Foreign Policy
South Asia
The Taliban government has suspended the transmission of BBC broadcasts from FM radio stations across Afghanistan, it said on Tuesday, as part of a broader crackdown on news outlets that has intensified in recent months. – New York Times
They are among the people detained by the police in the Indian capital of New Delhi who have made allegations of mistreatment by law enforcement officials over 24 hours during an intense crackdown on protests over voting rights last weekend. – New York Times
A state of emergency declared in Imran Khan’s main political stronghold is another setback for Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister whose health is worsening according to his family. – Reuters
Canada is racing to seal a trade pact with India and deepen ties with the European Union as it seeks to reduce reliance on the US amid President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policy, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday. – Reuters
The roof of a private school collapsed in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 10 children and injuring more than two dozen others, an emergency services official said. – Associated Press
Sushant Singh writes: This moment will test whether India’s political system can absorb sustained discontent without further institutional damage. The voter list controversy has crystallized deeper questions about fairness and accountability. The scale of the police response has broadcast those questions more widely than any opposition program could have managed. How Modi chooses to answer—through dialogue or continued force—will shape the remainder of his third term and the future of India’s democracy. – Foreign Policy
Asia
Asia’s economic growth has persevered through the oil shock, but its resilience is likely to be tested by risks including weak fiscal positions and uncertainty over the durability of the artificial-intelligence boom, the International Monetary Fund has warned. – Wall Street Journal
The Japanese government on Wednesday protested Russia’s detention of a Japanese journalist accused of spying, calling on Moscow to provide “humane, fair, and impartial” treatment to the reporter. – New York Times
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called on Thursday for US memory chipmaker Micron Technology and its workers to negotiate “sincerely” ahead of a possible strike by the company’s union in Taiwan. – Reuters
Pollution readings in Singapore reached their highest level this year on Wednesday while East Timor shut its schools for three days in response to intensifying smoke and haze from Indonesia’s wildfires. – Reuters
Fiji is enlisting New Zealand’s intelligence agency to help overhaul its fragmented security sector, the government said, as US warnings of suspected China-linked cyber intrusions highlight concerns about vulnerabilities in the Pacific island nation. – Reuters
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said two Singapore-registered container vessels were struck by unknown projectiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with one vessel sinking after catching fire and the other sustaining hull damage. – Reuters
Indonesia’s top Islamic council met with government officials Wednesday to voice its opposition to two upcoming concerts by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, arguing that the singer’s past support for Israel is incompatible with the views of many in the Muslim-majority country. – Associated Press
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi nominated Arata Takebe to be her new agriculture minister as she sought to contain the fallout from the first scandal-linked cabinet resignation since she took power. – Bloomberg
Europe
Ukraine faces a funding gap for 2027 and the European Union is trying to raise extra cash for the country at the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and G7 finance ministers this week in Bangkok, European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said. – Reuters
Norway is expected to overhaul the ethical rules for its $2.3 trillion wealth fund in response to the findings of a state-appointed commission due on Thursday, a year after it paused divestments in the face of US scrutiny. – Reuters
Spain’s ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) would win 34% of the vote if elections were held now, well ahead of the opposition People’s Party (PP) on 22.2%, according to an October survey by state-run pollster CIS published on Wednesday. – Reuters
Bulgaria expects to join a NATO anti-drone initiative by the end of October, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said on Wednesday, a day after a drone attack sank a cargo vessel off the country’s Black Sea coast for the second time in a week. – Reuters
Romanian Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu took a major step toward securing the majority needed to get his cabinet approved in parliament after former ruling parties promised to back him and end months of political deadlock. – Bloomberg
Poland’s foreign minister hit back at Elon Musk after Ukrainian units reported new restrictions to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-internet system overnight. – Bloomberg
Germany will press the European Union to quickly place quotas on additional sectors of goods being imported from China, replicating a cap the bloc is planning to impose on hybrid vehicles. – Bloomberg
Poland is considering compulsory military service to bolster its armed forces, though no decision has yet been made, the deputy defense minister said. – Bloomberg
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said her government was nearing an accord with the European Union over a mechanism to cut the price of gas used to generate electricity, a move that would allow her to ease energy bills ahead of a national election next year. – Bloomberg
Slovakia is reviving a dormant cooperation forum with Moscow, putting Russia’s gas and oil supplies, nuclear fuel and the treatment of Russian athletes high on the agenda of their first such meeting in five years, according to a Russian government note obtained by POLITICO. – Politico
The Israel Allies Foundation (IAF) launched two new parliamentary caucuses in Greece and Cyprus this week, seeking to strengthen ties with Israel and expand cooperation on regional security, energy, and technology. – Jerusalem Post
Estonia’s new defense minister said his country should consider buying light jet aircraft to shoot down Russia’s faster, jet-powered attack drones. – Defense News
Eugene Kontorovich writes: Europe, by contrast, is attempting something broader and more aggressive. It is intervening in a foreign conflict to force Israel to make massive unilateral concessions. The Netherlands and the U.K. deploy economic coercion against American allies and companies but cry foul when the U.S. does the same. America is far stronger economically, but perseverance and patience may matter more in this fight. The Trump administration has two years left. The ICC, Europe hopes, will go on forever. The EU is aware of the ICC’s faults but will go to the mat for it. The EU also hopes political tensions between Washington and Jerusalem will keep America from enforcing its law against European trade restrictions. The U.S. shouldn’t end up 0-2 against Europe in the sanctions showdown. – Wall Street Journal
Mihir Sharma writes: This week, the EU announced an agreement with Beijing that it hoped would give its car industry some breathing space. It’s just the latest example of the massive time and effort the bloc has devoted to planning countermeasures against China and Russia. Perhaps some of that energy should go to figuring out what to do about the US. Europe doesn’t need America to tell it how to defend its civilization. It needs to find a way to ensure Washington doesn’t get to decide what that civilization should be. – Bloomberg
Christopher Cytera writes: Prime Minister Burnham has talked about breaking “red” lines in engaging with Europe. He’s right. The error of Brexit must be corrected. The UK should also seek a formal, reciprocal semiconductor partnership with the European Union: access to European pilot lines and research infrastructure, joint R&D programs, common technical standards, talent exchanges, coordinated export controls, and two-way access for EU firms to UK chip capabilities. This is not a retreat from sovereignty. It is the only serious version of it for the UK to revive its moribund industry and become a trusted and difficult-to-replace partner in the Western tech economy. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Africa
Residents in Tigray told The New York Times that truckloads of Eritrean troops were seen crossing the border and into the Ethiopian town of Adigrat last weekend. The residents requested anonymity for fear of their safety. Analysts said the troops were likely there to support the liberation front. – New York Times
The fear of Ebola is keeping women and children from seeking healthcare in eastern Congo, health workers and aid agencies say, contributing to soaring maternal deaths and falling childhood immunization rates that could strain the healthcare system for years to come. – Reuters
Ghana International Bank (GHIB) is looking to attract more capital from Asia, betting that the region will become an increasingly important source of financing for Africa’s growth, Chief Executive Officer Ian Greenstreet said. – Reuters
Kenya reported a second case of Ebola on Wednesday, about a week after recording its first ever infection of the viral disease when a Kenyan who had been living in Congo died in a Nairobi hospital on October 5. – Reuters
Anti-femicide protests have been held in major cities in the country, including Douala and Yaounde, with thousands demanding more action from the government. – Associated Press
Kenya is readying reforms to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, part of an effort to exit a global watchdog’s dirty-money list by April 2027, according to a senior government official. – Bloomberg
Heather Kerr writes: Money needs to reach the frontlines quickly to ramp up prevention efforts, keep clinics open, find cases early and support the local health workers and community leaders who can reach people we cannot. Congo has defeated Ebola many times since the virus was discovered here in 1976. We know the medical tools that can stop it, but those tools are only as effective as our ability to reach the people who need them and their willingness to trust us when we do. If a mother is too frightened to bring her sick child to a clinic, or a family believes that seeking treatment means surrendering a loved one to die alone, the virus will keep finding places to hide. – New York Times
The Americas
Less than two weeks before the election, the leftist president of Brazil and independent watchdog groups accuse Meta and its social media platforms of giving his right-wing rival, Flávio Bolsonaro, favorable treatment. – New York Times
Guyanese opposition leader Azruddin Mohamed and two other men have been arrested following an exchange of gunfire outside the home of a senior police officer who is testifying in a U.S. extradition case against Mohamed, the South American country’s government and police said. – Reuters
US President Donald Trump’s administration has lifted sanctions on Jorge Rodriguez, the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly and brother of the country’s acting president, a notice posted on the US Treasury Department’s website showed on Wednesday. – Reuters
Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment to reduce the country’s workweek from six days to five, providing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a key legislative win less than two weeks before the country’s presidential runoff. – Reuters
Venezuela is hoping to publish a debt sustainability analysis “very soon”, but the process has been more challenging than expected, top economic adviser Calixto Ortega told a panel during the IMF-World Bank meetings on Wednesday. – Reuters
Barbados is joining a group of countries calling for the establishment of an international panel to address inequality, at a time when heightened geopolitical tensions, climate change and rapid technological advances threaten to widen the divide between wealthy and poorer nations. – Reuters
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife return Thursday to a New York courtroom to face a rewritten indictment accusing them of leading a state-sponsored campaign of repression that tortured scores of victims, including three Americans. – Associated Press
Argentina and the US agreed on amendments to a trade deal they signed in February, a bid to persuade the South American nation’s legislature to approve the pact. – Bloomberg
President Keiko Fujimori’s popularity plunged in October as Peruvians expressed deeper concerns about the economy and crime, while also looking askance at closer ties to Donald Trump and the US. – Bloomberg
North America
Construction intentions in Canada recovered in August with a jump in residential building permits. The total value of building permits rose 8.8% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 13.57 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of $9.55 billion, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. – Wall Street Journal
Costa Rica inaugurated a maximum-security prison on Wednesday as it stepped up its fight against organized crime after a surge in killings in what was long one of Latin America’s safest countries. – Reuters
Retired Army Colonel Carlos Brenes, 71, lived with his wife, Salvadora Martinez, 69, on a rural property south of the capital Managua. Brenes’ daughter Thelma, living in the Netherlands, asked a neighbor to check on the couple. He found the house empty. – Reuters
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she will sign a presidential decree on Wednesday requiring digital platforms, including social media and streaming sites, to shield children and teenagers from violent, sexual and other harmful content. – Reuters
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced a plan to release up to 50% of the people imprisoned under a state of emergency under which authorities arrested more than 90,000 people since March 2022 in a campaign to wipe out violent criminal gangs. – Associated Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada must prepare for the possibility that US trade protectionism will last well beyond President Donald Trump’s administration. – Bloomberg
Arturo McFields writes: Last week, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced that it will vote to bolster telecom border security with Mexico and Canada. The rules would also enhance foreign ownership reporting, mandate disclosures on the use of untrusted equipment or service providers and require carriers to adhere to cybersecurity standards, among other measures. While the U.S. seeks to improve its telecom security, Mexico must reverse and review its relationship with the Chinese company that wants to expand its technological eyes and ears at the border. This is the right time to make the right decisions. – The Hill
United States
The Trump administration’s investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) is aimed at building a case to strip her of her U.S. citizenship and ultimately deport her, according to U.S. officials and other people familiar with the probe. – Wall Street Journal
Katie Zacharia appeared at the podium to introduce herself as the new White House press secretary Tuesday, but instead sparked questions from some administration allies about whether she was ready to step into one of the world’s most scrutinized jobs. – Wall Street Journal
The Department of Homeland Security is pushing back on a recommendation from a government watchdog urging the agency to automatically activate body-worn cameras when federal immigration officers pull a firearm or stun gun, arguing that such technology could cause privacy concerns if the cameras are accidentally turned on. – Washington Post
Five adults and one child were killed when a single-engine plane crashed Tuesday near the Wisconsin Dells, a popular Midwestern tourist destination. – New York Times
Bomb threat hoaxes targeting four US Jewish day schools resulted in evacuations and a lockdown within the last week. – Jerusalem Post
Cybersecurity
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Wednesday released a framework for tackling cyber-enabled fraud, as the Thai government underlined the mounting cost of online scams that have roiled the region. – Reuters
Hackers likely based in Kazakhstan targeted a Russian oil refinery and compromised a Russian municipal government network earlier this year, researchers said on Wednesday, a rare glimpse of cyberespionage being deployed against Moscow from a smaller neighbour. – Reuters
A group of 40 state attorneys general on Wednesday urged a US bankruptcy judge in Delaware to protect young users of Character.AI and keep their data safe during the AI companion company’s bankruptcy. – Reuters
The new White House task force on artificial intelligence is expected to hold its first meeting on Thursday, according to two administration officials, as the Trump administration faces mounting pressure to take a more aggressive approach to AI safety. – Bloomberg
Russia, Iran and China are using artificial intelligence tools to turbocharge disinformation efforts ahead of the midterm elections, according to people familiar with US intelligence and independent researchers. – Bloomberg
Microsoft collaborated with Japanese authorities, Health-ISAC and several cybersecurity companies to dismantle an expansive, seemingly disconnected ecosystem of Chinese-language cybercrime tools and services, the company announced Wednesday. – CyberScoop
Members of Congress are pressing the Trump administration to expand the federal government’s role in securing artificial intelligence, wanting new safety standards and regulations, independent testing of models and more “aggressive” use of AI for defensive cybersecurity purposes. – CyberScoop
Polish investigators said they found evidence showing a spyware manufacturer harvested data from Polish opposition leaders and other victims and transmitted it to Israel. – The Record
Hundreds of web domains and servers were taken down by law enforcement agencies in New York City as part of an operation to stop a cryptocurrency fraud scheme targeting the Russian community in Brooklyn. – The Record
Defense
An array of U.S. Space Force electromagnetic-warfare systems is playing a key role in protecting American troops and degrading enemy satellites around the world. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump said on Wednesday that government sources who reveal information about military plans should be shot, during a grievance-filled speech at a political rally in Arizona. – New York Times
The United States is sending several hundred Army soldiers to train and conduct exercises with local forces in Latin America as the Pentagon expands its campaign to combat drug trafficking in the region, according to U.S. military officials. – New York Times
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced plans for what he described as a new defense “super range” in Montana for testing advanced military technologies, including autonomous weapons, space systems, electronic warfare and hypersonic weapons. – Reuters
The Army said it still hasn’t fully fielded the country’s first hypersonic weapon, acknowledging a more than three-year delay in deploying the advanced technology that has the US lagging China and Russia. – Bloomberg
The U.S. military is deploying several hundred Army soldiers to Latin America for training and joint exercises with regional forces as the Trump administration expands its campaign against drug-trafficking networks, Fox News confirmed. – Fox News
Amid growing concerns that the Iran war is drawing away critical U.S. defenses from China’s doorstep, the Army’s top commander in the Pacific says the forces are using this unexpected opportunity to modernize. – Fox News
As the U.S. Army trains soldiers for multi-domain operations, like in the multinational exercise Project Flytrap, the service needs to prepare them with “new basics” to establish one standard and baseline, officials said. – Defense News
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed AUSA attendees at the Project Agincourt panel on Wednesday, sharing that the Pentagon is requesting roughly $50 billion in reconciliation funding to support the push to scale autonomous and robotic systems. – Defense News
The U.S. Navy contracted Ursa Major to develop solid rocket motors for the sea service’s future Naval Modular Missile and Compact Air-to-Air Missile, the defense firm announced last week. – USNI News
Liam Collins and John Spencer write: The Pentagon and participating universities will have to provide the resources to meet these demands. Cadets need protected training time, access to training areas and instructors capable of developing future officers. Schools should be evaluated on the performance of their graduates in subsequent training and operational units. Enrollment and commissioning numbers matter, but they don’t tell whether a new lieutenant is well prepared to lead in combat. America’s Corps of Cadets deserves public support, but it will require a deliberate structure and plan to be successful. The soldiers who will serve under these officers deserve leaders who have spent their college years preparing for that responsibility. – Wall Street Journal