Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Earlier drone attack from Lebanon hit Israeli leader’s home Israel expands deadly strikes in Beirut after U.S. envoy visits Lebanon Blinken and Netanyahu agree Sinwar’s death opens options JPost Editorial: Netanyahu must put his ministers in order to make successful 'day after' plan WINEP’s David Makovsky: How Blinken can seize opportunity after the deaths of Sinwar and Nasrallah Iran doesn't expect major Israeli retaliation, Revolutionary Guards ex-chief says Zelensky sees NATO momentum on Ukraine joining, but not yet from U.S. Seeking to elude sanctions, Putin and Xi promise ‘a just world order’ Islamic State commander for Iraq killed, premier says North Korean troops train in Russia as Moscow deepens war coalition WSJ Editorial: What real Russian interference looks like FBI confirms investigation into leak of top-secret documents about Israeli strike plansIn The News
Israel
A year after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, more mainstream Israeli politicians say that only a constant Israeli presence can prevent such attacks in the future. They say that the decision to withdraw soldiers and evict settlers from Gaza in 2005, after nearly four decades of occupation, allowed the strip to become a launchpad for attacks against Israel. – Wall Street Journal
A drone attack from Lebanon that targeted the Israeli seaside town of Caesarea struck the private residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. – Wall Street Journal
At least 18 people were killed, four of them children, and 60 more were wounded in the Israeli strike near the Rafik Hariri University Hospital late Monday, with the nationwide death toll for the day reaching 63, health authorities said – Washington Post
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Tuesday to press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on increasing aid to the Gaza Strip, as U.S. officials warned that Israeli actions were causing conditions there to rapidly deteriorate and, if they are not reversed, could risk U.S. military support. – Washington Post
United Nations agencies have long warned that it could take decades to rebuild Gaza after Israel’s offensive against Hamas, one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns since World War II. – Associated Press
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said there was a need for a security and political change in Lebanon that would allow displaced Israelis to return safely to their homes. – Reuters
The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency called on Tuesday for a temporary truce to allow people to leave areas of northern Gaza as health officials said they were running out of supplies to treat patients injured in a three-week-old Israeli assault. – Reuters
Israel’s air force shot down two rockets from Lebanon that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the military said, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on a visit to the city. – Reuters
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Israel needs to pursue an “enduring strategic success” after its tactical victories against Hamas, urging it to seek a deal that would end the war in the Gaza Strip and bring back dozens of hostages. – Associated Press
The US’s top diplomat and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed Tuesday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar opens new possibilities for ending the conflict in the Gaza Strip but gave no indication that a 2 1/2-hour meeting yielded an accord on what comes next. – Bloomberg
A drone that flew over Israeli airspace for nearly an hour on Tuesday night underscores a persistent operational failure in Israel’s defense. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) detected and tracked the drone, prioritizing civilian safety until its location could be confirmed. – Jerusalem Post
Families of American citizens held hostage in Gaza met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday and asked him to apply pressure on mediators in Qatar, aiming to leverage the opportunity created by Sinwar’s elimination to restart negotiations for returning all hostages. – Jerusalem Post
Looking to capitalize on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Tuesday to discuss a path forward on a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, as well as the humanitarian situation in the Strip’s north and the possibility of joining forces against Iran. – Times of Israel
The Israeli military body in charge of aid distribution in the Palestinian territories said on Tuesday that more than 230 aid trucks have entered the northern Gaza Strip over the past nine days, amid pressure from the US to ramp up humanitarian assistance in the war-torn territory. – Times of Israel
Editorial: Israel is in the worst diplomatic situation it’s been in since its establishment. Allies such as France and the UK have been discussing different types of arms embargoes on Israel, and the international media are dying to show the extreme, perhaps racist elements of Israeli society. Netanyahu must put his house in order and instruct the MKs in his party and the ministers in his coalition to wait with these ambiguous statements for the time being. – Jerusalem Post
Karen Amouyal writes: The violence of October 7 wasn’t just an attack on Israel – it was an attack on the universal principles of human rights and dignity. The silence from the feminist movement in response to these atrocities is not just troubling – it’s dangerous. It signals that the lives of Jewish women are less valuable and less deserving of the world’s empathy and protection. – Jerusalem Post
Salem Alketbi writes: This depends on Israel’s operational capability to carry out an effective strike against these facilities without the risk of facing a second strike. It also depends on the IRGC’s capability to retaliate against the potential Israeli attack. In this case, the scenario seems open to all possibilities, including all-out war. Subjecting Iranian nuclear and missile capabilities to a failed or limited-impact strike could compel the IRGC to use all available offensive capabilities against Israel. They might do so without restraint or political calculations. – Jerusalem Post
Sagi Cohen writes: Despite the promise of these technologies, it’s still uncertain how effective interceptor drones will be at countering the drone threat from Hezbollah and Iran under full operational conditions, and it’s hard to predict how soon these new technologies will be ready for the field. What’s more, the biggest challenge remains not interception, but detection and tracking of drones, which also requires comprehensive new solutions. “The Defense Ministry needs to present a system-wide answer for identifying and attacking drones,” says an industry expert. – Haaretz
Dr. Gadi Taub writes: Israel can and should defy the United States with regard to UNRWA and refuse to accept the legitimacy of the ICJ proceedings on the malicious accusations of genocide. But in the case of UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, it seems better to work around them rather than risk a direct hit on this corrupt U.N. force, despite the fact that it is shielding Hezbollah…If we want to withstand international pressure, we need our own ducks in a row. We need to wage lawfare effectively in a hostile international environment. – Arutz Sheva
David Makovsky writes: Ultimately, the Lebanese state must have a monopoly on the use of military force within and from its borders, consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which called for disarming Lebanese militias long ago. In the Middle East, moments of flux sometimes open before the proverbial terrain hardens again. The killing of terrorist leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Yahya al-Sinwar has created such a moment. If Washington does not seize it quickly, the opportunity will be lost. – Washington Institute
Seth Mandel: The sad truth proved by Oct. 7 and its aftermath, as laid out by Schwartz, is that since the Hebron Massacre a century ago, “responsible” media have only gotten worse, helping to globalize a war against the Jews that these outlets knew enough to stay away from in the past. Hard to blame the growing number of Americans who don’t trust them. – Commentary Magazine
Iran
Israel is unlikely to make a “significant move” against Tehran but could instead mount a symbolic limited attack, Revolutionary Guards cultural and social commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said on Tuesday, according to the Iranian Student News Network. – Reuters
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a senior Iranian military official and three others with links to that country’s government with plotting to kill an Iranian American author on U.S. soil — a development lauded by the alleged target. – Associated Press
Iran and Saudi Arabia are planning to conduct joint military exercises in the Red Sea, according to an Iranian report not confirmed by Riyadh, in what would be a first for the regional heavyweights. – Agence France-Presse
Growing unease over the United States’ inability to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East is prompting some of Washington’s closest Arab allies to significantly increase engagement with its primary regional adversary: Iran. – CNN
Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, an Iranian government official tied to the deadly 2022 crackdown on protest, was appointed as the governor of Tehran on Sunday, according to semi-official Mehr News and Iran International. – Jerusalem Post
Russia & Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is projecting careful confidence over the Western reception to his proposed “victory plan,” including his hopes for an eventual invitation to join NATO. But he says that decision will ultimately depend on the U.S. position, which probably won’t be announced until after November’s presidential election. – Washington Post
The United States has agreed to give Ukraine $800 million in military aid that will go toward manufacturing long-range drones to use against Russian troops, Ukraine’s leader said on Monday, fulfilling a longtime Ukrainian goal of getting Washington to buy weapons from manufacturers in Ukraine instead of primarily in America. – New York Times
Isolated by the West for his war in Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia scored a diplomatic victory on Tuesday when he welcomed the leaders of China, India and South Africa at the opening of a summit of emerging market countries bidding to rebalance a world order now dominated by the United States. – New York Times
The United States and Europe are close to finalizing a plan to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan backed by Russia’s frozen central bank assets by the end of the year, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Tuesday. – New York Times
Now, there are growing fears that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, will assist his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, by sending soldiers to the battlefield in Ukraine. Mr. Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two and half years ago, starting a war of attrition that has killed and wounded more than 600,000 Russian troops. – New York Times
Russia’s increased attacks on the Black Sea ports in Ukraine are delaying vital aid reaching Palestinians and stopping crucial grain supplies from being delivered to the global south, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said late on Tuesday. – Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that the U.S. will unveil strong new sanctions aimed at curbing Russia’s Ukraine war efforts, including “intermediaries in third countries that are supplying Russia with critical inputs for its military.” – Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on allies on Tuesday “not to hide” and to respond to evidence of North Korean involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine. – Reuters
Ukraine’s population has declined by 10 million, or around a quarter, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion as a result of refugees leaving, collapsing fertility and war deaths, the United Nations said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Brandon Valeriano and Ryan C. Maness writes: Will Russia recover and be a threat to NATO? Constant failure does lead to some form of improvement. Russia will reconstitute its battle groups, revising its doctrinal warfare considering the stinging rebuke Ukraine has given the nation. The challenge is that Russia is not a professional fighting force because it does not hold democratic values. Instead, it will waste men and lives with little consequence. It can afford to fail and fail again, improving marginally because reports can be faked and embellished. – National Interest
Hezbollah
In Lebanon, Israel’s military said it had killed three Hezbollah commanders and some 70 fighters in southern Lebanon in the past 48 hours, a day after confirming it had killed Hashem Safieddine, the militant group’s heir apparent leader. – Reuters
Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement said on Tuesday there would be no negotiations while fighting continued with Israel and it claimed sole responsibility for a drone attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s holiday home. – Reuters
Israel said Tuesday that one of its airstrikes outside Beirut earlier this month killed a Hezbollah official widely expected to have replaced the militant group’s longtime leader, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike last month. – Associated Press
Turkey
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said the federal government may prosecute Turkey’s Halkbank (HALKB.IS), on charges it helped Iran evade American sanctions, rejecting the state-owned lender’s argument that it deserved immunity. – Reuters
President Tayyip Erdogan’s nationalist ally said on Tuesday the Kurdish militant PKK’s jailed leader could be allowed to speak in Turkey’s parliament, if he announces an end to the group’s insurgency, in exchange for the possibility of being released. – Reuters
Elçin Poyrazlar writes: None of the ludicrous charges against me were even taken to court, but with more than 8,000 pages of accusations written, hundreds were indicted and jailed. All of them stuck in the crossfire between Erdoğan’s AK Party — good at winning elections but not so adept at running bureaucracy — and Gülen’s self-styled movement, playing the long game to gain leverage over the elites of tomorrow. The question now is, with their founder and spiritual leader gone but a long tradition of building power and influence in the shadows, will the Gülenists recover from their current moment of weakness? – Politico
Lebanon
Lebanon will need $250 million a month to help more than a million people displaced by Israeli attacks, its minister in charge of responding to the crisis said on Tuesday, ahead of a conference on Thursday in Paris to rally support for Lebanon. – Reuters
Since Israel began bombarding Beirut’s southern suburbs as part of its offensive against the Hezbollah militant group, Lebanon’s national air carrier has become a local icon simply by continuing to do its job. – Associated Press
Nearly 16 hours after an Israeli airstrike hit across the street from Beirut’s main public hospital, rescuers were still removing debris Tuesday from the overcrowded slum area. An excavator was digging at one of the destroyed buildings, picking out twisted metal and bricks in search for bodies. – Associated Press
Gulf States
Italy’s Fincantieri (FCT.MI), opens new tab signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday with Barzan Holdings, wholly owned by Qatar’s ministry of Defense, for the joint development of a short-range radar program. – Reuters
The International Monetary Fund further lowered its GDP growth forecast for Saudi Arabia for 2024 to 1.5% and estimated growth to accelerate to 4.6% next year in its latest World Economic Outlook Report released on Tuesday. – Reuters
US President Joe Biden’s top diplomat headed to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, continuing his push for a broad truce in the various conflicts between Israel and Iranian-backed militants. – Bloomberg
Middle East & North Africa
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Tuesday that Islamic State’s commander for Iraq had been killed in an operation in the Hamrin Mountains in northeast Iraq. – Reuters
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after industry data showed U.S. crude inventories swelled more than expected, though crude futures were still up about 3% this week as traders factored in continuing conflict in the Middle East. – Reuters
Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has been inaugurated for a second term, following a monthslong crackdown and string of arrests against his political opponents. – Associated Press
Yemen’s Houthis claimed to have targeted an Israeli military base in Tel Aviv with ballistic and cruise missiles, the Houthi-owned Yemeni news outlet Al-Masirah reported on Tuesday afternoon. – Jerusalem Post
Korean Peninsula
North Korea has sent hundreds of special forces to eastern Russia for training in recent weeks, according to South Korea’s main intelligence agency, as Moscow relies on Pyongyang and other partners, including Iran, to support its war effort in Ukraine. – Wall Street Journal
South Korea warned Tuesday it could consider supplying weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea allegedly dispatching troops to Russia, as both North Korea and Russia denied the movements. NATO’s secretary general said that would mark a “significant escalation.” – Associated Press
South Korea’s spy chief told lawmakers Wednesday that North Korea has sent another 1,500 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. – Associated Press
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected strategic missile bases and ordered the military to stay ready to deal a counterblow to enemies “at any time,” just weeks ahead of the US presidential election in an apparent move to raise its profile. – Bloomberg
Ukrainian officials are warning that North Korea plans to expand its assistance by dispatching troops. South Korea’s chief intelligence agency said on Oct. 18 that it had monitored the Russian navy moving North Korean forces to Russia as a first step toward sending them to the frontlines in Ukraine. The Kremlin has dismissed reports of the troop deployment as a hoax. – Bloomberg
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un referred to South Korea and Ukraine as “lunatics” after they warned that Pyongyang was sending troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine. – Bloomberg
Arius M. Derr and Hannah Cho write: Expanding ties between Australia and South Korea is an opportunity to bring skeptics on board with the AUKUS deal. Both countries share common liberal values, are similarly anxious about an assertive China, and want the United States to expand its security presence in Asia to defend the former and deter the latter. AUKUS, U.N. Command, and weapons trade provide platforms for middle power cooperation and alignment between South Korea and Australia while defanging accusations that these platforms are exclusionary. – War on the Rocks
China
Chinese residents have been illicitly moving billions of dollars out of the country under authorities’ noses as a cratering property market and economic uncertainties push people to find safer places to park their wealth overseas. – Wall Street Journal
India and China have reached a breakthrough in discussions over their disputed Himalayan border, signaling room for improved ties after a high-altitude skirmish froze relations between the Asian giants. – Wall Street Journal
China said it would carry out live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the latest in a recent drumbeat of military activity that has once again heightened tensions in the region. – New York Times
A real Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be an act of war and have far-reaching consequences for international trade, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday after drills by China last week practiced such a scenario. – Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russia’s Vladimir Putin that the international situation was gripped by chaos but that Beijing’s strategic partnership with Moscow was a force for stability amid the most significant changes seen in a century. – Reuters
Australia, the United States and 13 other countries criticized China at the United Nations on Tuesday over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet, prompting China to denounce them for ignoring the “living hell” in the Gaza Strip. – Reuters
European companies that deal closely with China would be most negatively affected by a Republican victory at the upcoming U.S. election given Donald Trump has said he would hike tariffs on Chinese products, a top official at Norway’s sovereign wealth fund said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Taiwan’s imports of liquefied natural gas could be vulnerable if China someday imposed a blockade, the archipelago’s defense chief said — highlighting the concern Beijing’s military activity is raising in Taipei. – Bloomberg
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold their first bilateral meeting since 2022 on Wednesday, after the two countries eased a four-year border stalemate earlier this week. – Bloomberg
In 2012, China had less than 100 satellites in orbit. Last month, the country launched its 1,000th spacecraft. That milestone, according to the U.S. Space Force’s top intelligence officer, demonstrates the evolution and growth China’s space enterprise has undergone in the last decade. – Defense News
Ruth Pollard writes: Officials in New Delhi have been laying the groundwork for warming ties for months now, with talk of easing investment restrictions and speeding up visa approvals for Chinese technicians. There is a tacit acknowledgment that India cannot advance as quickly as it would like without Beijing’s money and expertise. The government’s own annual Economic Survey report released in July argues that to boost its manufacturing sector, India has two options: increase imports from China, or attract more foreign direct investment from the country. “Is it possible to plug India into the global supply chain without plugging itself into the China supply chain,” the report asks. – Bloomberg
Andrew Harding writes: Eighty years ago, the Battle of Peleliu resulted in an American victory, but it came at the terrible cost of more than 10,000 U.S. casualties across a two-month battle. The U.S. can honor the citizens who gave their lives in Peleliu by successfully implementing a long-term strategy, guided by its national interests and engagements with its Pacific partners, that keeps the Pacific prosperous and safe from America’s most dangerous adversary. – Heritage Foundation
South Asia
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday at the BRICS summit in Russia, India’s foreign secretary said, their first meeting since 2020 when ties nosedived after their forces clashed on their disputed frontier. – Reuters
India will retain investment curbs on bordering nations, the finance minister said, days after it struck a pact with China on patrols along their disputed Himalayan frontier, with the leaders of both countries expected to meet on Wednesday. – Reuters
A high court in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad granted bail to the wife of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case pertaining to the illegal sale of state gifts, local broadcaster Geo TV reported on Wednesday. – Reuters
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday recommended a judge who was third on the seniority list of a panel of judges to head the Supreme Court of Pakistan, government officials said, a move which virtually blocked the elevation of the senior-most judge and is likely to further deepen a lingering political crisis. – Associated Press
Asia
Lee Hsien Yang, a member of the family that led Singapore for decades after its independence from British rule, said on Tuesday that he had been granted political asylum in Britain and accused his nation of persecuting him throughout his brother’s tenure as prime minister. – New York Times
King Charles III ends the first visit to Australia by a reigning British monarch in 13 years Tuesday as anti-monarchists hope the debate surrounding his journey is a step toward an Australian citizen becoming head of state. – Associated Press
Australia announced this week it was buying $4.7 billion in American-made SM-2 and SM-6 missiles — two of the world’s most advanced air defense interceptors — in a colossal foreign military sale. – Defense News
Gearoid Reidy writes: The sudden dissolution of parliament also gave Noda no chance to coordinate a strategic alliance with other parties and means the anti-LDP vote will be split in many districts. The two leaders sound and even look quite alike, and indeed were both members of the short-lived New Frontier Party in the mid-1990s. But even assuming he somehow engineers a better-than-expected showing on Sunday, Ishiba will need more than luck if he’s to survive. – Bloomberg
Jeffrey W. Hornung writes: Ishiba is an intelligent and politically savvy figure. It would be premature to write his political obituary or sound the alarm bells over Japan’s foreign policy. Ishiba will set Japan’s foreign policy agenda based on his political vision. But when faced with the realities of governing, and the deteriorating security environment within which Japan exists, more likely than not, Ishiba’s vision will not depart too much from the trajectory with which we are most familiar. – The Hill
Europe
Britain and Germany have agreed to strengthen military cooperation and develop sophisticated weapons in a move that reflects growing concern in Europe over global security threats, particularly from Russia. – New York Times
Ireland’s government is seeking to introduce a bill restricting trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories after it said a UN court decision freed Dublin to make trade decisions independently of the European Union. – Reuters
Poland is shutting down the Russian consulate in the western city of Poznan due to suspected Russian attempts at sabotage, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Tuesday. – Reuters
France’s government on Tuesday defended its decision to bar Israeli companies supplying the wars in the Middle East from exhibiting at an upcoming trade fair outside Paris. – Associated Press
The European Union should gradually build a fully fledged intelligence body to better counter threats from foreign actors and respond more forcefully to espionage within its borders, according to a recent draft of a report requested by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. – Bloomberg
Polls show that Babis, who has consistently attacked the political establishment and is an ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, is well placed to have another shot at premiership in next year’s election. In the interview at his party headquarters in Prague, he also said he would seek to buy out shareholders of state-controlled utility CEZ AS and stick to his stance on not adopting the euro. – Bloomberg
Editorial: Democrats tried to pin Hillary Clinton’s 2016 defeat on the Trump-Russia collusion fable, and now many Republicans assume claims of Moscow’s interference elsewhere are also bogus. The Kremlin benefits from American skepticism about Russian meddling as it seeks to undermine U.S. interests around the world. Moldova and Georgia reveal what real Russian election interference and political meddling look like. – Wall Street Journal
Africa
Lwiro, a small settlement in eastern Congo surrounded by banana and cassava fields, sits at the center of a spiraling epidemic caused by a new version of the Mpox virus—one that is disproportionately infecting, and sometimes killing, children. – Wall Street Journal
The annual Ibrahim Index of African Governance report found that despite positive progress in 33 countries, overall governance was worse in 2023 in 21 countries, accounting for just under half of Africa’s population, compared with 2014.. – Reuters
At least eight people including children were killed and 20 injured in a drone strike at a fair in Mali’s northern Timbuktu region, Tuareg rebels said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Ten bodies were recovered from the scene of a fuel tanker explosion in Uganda’s capital Kampala on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said. – Reuters
Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have attacked villages in the east of Sudan’s El Gezira state, killing at least 25 people, following the defection of high-ranking RSF officer Abuagla Keikal who is from the area, activists said. – Reuters
South Africa sees Russia as a valued ally, President Cyril Ramaphosa said at a bilateral meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, on the eve of the BRICS summit of emerging economies that will take place in the Russian city of Kazan. – Reuters
The mystery surrounding a crashed cargo plane in Sudan purportedly downed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces deepened Tuesday as authorities insisted the aircraft had been de-registered in Kyrgyzstan. – Associated Press
Mozambican opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane brandished the threat of “revolution” and called for a two-day protest after alleged fraud in this month’s elections and the murder of his legal adviser. The southeast African nation’s Eurobonds fell. – Bloomberg
South Africa’s business-friendly ruling coalition risks being disrupted by political infighting in the country’s economic heartland, said a cabinet minister from the second-biggest party in the government. – Bloomberg
The Americas
Peru’s government will monitor money transfers sent abroad from Venezuelans living in Peru, President Dina Boluarte announced on Tuesday, describing the measure as a response to rising crime that she linked to Venezuelan migrants. – Reuters
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Tuesday urged Colombia’s president to be decisive and recognize her faction’s victory in her country’s contested July presidential election. – Associated Press
Javier Milei became world famous for the radical economic policies he’s implementing in Argentina, but it’s his lesser known views on gender equality and climate change that are angering Group of 20 leaders who are set to meet in Rio de Janeiro next month. – Bloomberg
North America
A shootout near the capital of Mexico’s Sinaloa state killed 19 suspected gang members, while one local cartel leader was arrested, Mexico’s defense ministry said on Tuesday, as intra-cartel violence intensifies. – Reuters
Haitian gangs are ramping up attacks on areas they do not yet control, the head of the United Nation’s Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) warned on Tuesday, after days of renewed violence from an alliance of armed gangs in the Caribbean nation. – Reuters
Haiti’s Justice Ministry called Tuesday for a boost in security for Prime Minister Garry Conille and other Cabinet officials in response to unspecified threats that they could be targeted by malicious parties. – Associated Press
Gangs in Haiti have escalated their violence and expanded operations outside the capital, even attacking small boats and kidnapping personnel from cargo shipping companies, the top U.N. official in the country said Tuesday. – Associated Press
Wilson Beaver and Elizabeth Tarr write: Prime Minister Trudeau would have done better to spend Canadian resources to strengthen Canada’s military readiness and ensure Canada could defend itself and its allies. Canada’s continued underinvestment leaves its NATO obligations unmet and weakens the overall defense of both the alliance as a whole and the North American continent. Canadians deserve better. – National Interest
United States
The FBI is investigating a leak of top-secret U.S. intelligence documents that show Israeli military preparations for an expected strike on Iran, the agency confirmed on Tuesday. – Wall Street Journal
Russia is considering actions to stoke protests and even violence over the U.S. election results, intelligence officials said on Tuesday, as foreign powers appear to be moving aggressively to undermine the democratic process during what is already expected to be a contentious vote count. – New York Times
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld the use of a criminal trespassing charge against nearly all of the 1,500 defendants accused of taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, rejecting an attempt to further restrict the charges available to prosecutors. – Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday Republican Donald Trump is a threat to Democracy and should be locked up “politically,” as he exhorted Democrats at a New Hampshire campaign office to win the Nov. 5 election. – Reuters
Groups in Russia created and helped spread viral disinformation targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday. – Associated Press
Russia and Iran may try to encourage violent protests in the U.S. after next month’s election, senior intelligence officials warned Tuesday in a declassified memo, citing two recent examples of foreign intelligence agencies seeking to sow discord ahead of the vote. – Associated Press
Michael Rubin writes: America’s diplomatic decline is not inevitable, and it was not the result of other powers’ rise. Rather, a generation of American leaders made a conscious choice to become the diplomatic equivalent of the world’s used car salesmen, saying what they needed to win short-term agreement with little regard to the damage they did to America’s broader reputation. – Washington Examiner
Seth Mandel writes: Harris has a terrible habit of treating all Jewish issues as Israel issues. Public institutions are ostentatiously violating civil rights laws by refusing to apply them to Jews. Harris’s support for Sinwar’s elimination isn’t relevant here. But you know what is? Saying those braying mobs are “showing exactly what the human emotion should be.” Street violence against American Jews isn’t going anywhere if our leaders indulge anti-Semites’ stated motivation for their anti-Semitism. – Commentary Magazine
Cybersecurity
Italy’s influential parliamentary committee on security will hold a round of hearings on data storage following a major breach at the country’s biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), opens new tab, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. – Reuters
Ransomware attacks on the health care sector are rising and putting lives at risk, led by Iranian hackers, Microsoft said in a report Tuesday. – Cyberscoop
The British government is “considering all options” to strengthen its response to cyberthreats, according to a speech on Tuesday by the country’s security minister, Dan Jarvis. The speech is one of the first indicating the Labour Party’s approach to the issue following this summer’s general election. – The Record
Defense
Lockheed Martin expects to strike a deal with the U.S. government by the end of the year to build the 18th and 19th lots of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, company officials said in an earnings call Tuesday. – Defense News
A test Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned combat aerial vehicle deployed last week in a first-ever joint force data link integration test during Emerald Flag 2024 last week. – USNI News
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) conducted a second set of drills with the Italian carrier ITS Cavour (CVH-550), this time in U.S. Central Command on Friday. – USNI News
An Army sergeant at Fort Cavazos in Texas is facing a staggering 27 criminal charges, including attempted murder and rape, after a string of violent attacks targeting fellow soldiers in their barracks. – Military.com
Brandon J. Weichert writes: China has little incentive to abandon its pursuit of high-tech weapons. With each successful innovation, China’s war machine grows more powerful, especially relative to the power of the U.S. military. And because local actors, like Japan, becoming more threatening militarily to China, Beijing will continue to push the development of these incredible technologies even as the Americans fail to adapt. – National Interest