Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Hezbollah pagers explode in apparent attack across Lebanon Iran's ambassador to Lebanon injured by pager explosion The Free Press’ Eli Lake: Hezbollah’s exploding pagers UN to demand Israel end 'unlawful' presence in Palestinian territories within 12 months Palestinian poll finds big drop in support for Oct 7 attack Iranian president pledges deeper ties with Moscow, state media says US urges Iran not to escalate regional tensions following pager attack Journalist Nadav Eyal: West maneuvered by Iran, Muslim Brotherhood into war in Gaza and beyond North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles for second time in a week North Korea’s latest nuclear work sparks fears it may ship uranium for bombs Al Qaeda targets Russia's African ally, in rare attack on capital ISIS defeat means US Troops no longer needed in Iraq, says PM Al-SudaniIn The News
Israel
Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas’s militants, dismantled the command structure of nearly all its battalions and pummeled its tunnel network. The bombing campaign in Gaza has been so devastating that the urban landscape in the territory has become unrecognizable. – New York Times
A majority of Gazans believe Hamas’ decision to launch the Oct. 7 attack on Israel was incorrect, according to a poll published on Tuesday pointing to a big drop in backing for the assault that prompted Israel’s devastating Gaza offensive. – Reuters
The United Nations General Assembly will on Wednesday adopt a Palestinian-drafted resolution that demands Israel end “its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” within 12 months. – Reuters
Israel rarely takes responsibility for such attacks, and its military declined to comment Tuesday. However, the country has a long history of carrying out sophisticated remote operations, ranging from intricate cyberattacks to remote-controlled machine guns targeting leaders in drive-by shootings, suicide drone attacks, and the detonation of explosions in secretive underground Iranian nuclear facilities. – Associated Press
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Monday accused Israel’s military of striking schools, humanitarian workers and civilians in Gaza in a sign of growing American frustration with its close ally as the war approaches its first anniversary. – Associated Press
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged on Tuesday that the Biden administration has used military assistance to Israel as leverage to influence its conduct in the Gaza war – the most significant acknowledgment of such actions since she became the Democratic presidential nominee. – Haaretz
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said on Tuesday that it foiled a plot by Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior defense official. – Jerusalem Post
The Israel Air Force and IDF artillery struck numerous Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon since Tuesday, including a Hezbollah structure in the Majdal Selm area in which terrorists had been observed operating, the IDF reported on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
The military said it was on alert Tuesday after Hezbollah threatened revenge and blamed Israel for a vast coordinated attack using the terror group’s own pagers that killed several and maimed thousands, as the sides appeared to inch closer to a major confrontation. – Times of Israel
Editorial: There is one thing we cannot forget, however, and it is the residents of Israel’s North that have faced the brunt of the war with Hezbollah and taken hit after hit. While this new advancement gives Israel an advantage – or at least makes a bold statement in its name – it is undeniable: Hezbollah will retaliate, and Israel’s North will suffer the consequences.To whoever devised yesterday’s cunning attack, good job – but always bear in mind that broad repercussions are inevitable. – Jerusalem Post
Sarit Zehavi writes: The recent hostage deal – if it will be signed – offers only a temporary pause in the conflict at best, not a lasting solution. After the massacre of October 7, Israel cannot afford to live under the constant threat of terrorism on its borders. The international community, for its part, cannot afford to see the Iranian radical axis spread its dark and fanatical vision across the Middle East, and beyond. – Jerusalem Post
Paul Bachow writes: The U.S. policy of defending Israel from attacks but preventing the destruction of the attacking forces (and their sponsor, Iran) has and will continue to lead to a constant erosion of Israel’s economy, safety and munitions. It also requires Washington to maintain a large portion of its military assets in the Middle East, which weakens its presence in other parts of the world. To defend a country under attack, blocking attacks is not enough. Strong offensive action is required to eliminate the threats and end the war. Wars rarely end in stalemate. – Jewish News Syndicate
Marc Champion writes: I don’t know a lot about Sa’ar, but he has no military experience other than his compulsory military service decades ago. His sole qualification for the job appears to be the four seats he controls in the Israeli Knesset, an addition that would help secure Netanyahu’s fragile hold on power. It is hard to imagine a worse reason for switching your top security personnel during a war — all the more so if it’s about to be expanded to take on far more challenging opponents than Hamas. – Bloomberg
Uzi Baram writes: Gideon Sa’ar messed everything up. He almost had Israelis convinced that his resignation from the government in March was over a matter of principle, and since then he appeared from time to time in order to denounce Netanyahu. But he has proved once more that no principle is sacred principle when you don’t exist in the opinion polls. – Haaretz
Alan Baker writes: So much so that they permit such false and pernicious propaganda to dictate Canada’s foreign policies. As such, Canada is being dragged along by this group of sworn anti-Israel fanatics and propagandists. This betrayal of Israel is embarrassing for any true supporter of Canada as well as of true Canadian values. It should be roundly condemned. Canada should be ashamed of itself. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
Iran’s president committed his country to deeper ties with Russia to counter Western sanctions on Tuesday, state media reported, amid U.S. worries that Tehran is supplying Moscow missiles to hit Ukraine. – Reuters
Israel Atomic Energy Chief Moshe Edri told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday that Iran has continued to manipulate inspectors and the West, even as it has drawn dangerously close to crossing the nuclear weapons threshold.- Jerusalem Post
As Iran marks the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, it has become increasingly common to see women in Iranian cities walking without the mandatory hijab, a symbol of ongoing defiance and the protests sparked by her death.- Jerusalem Post
The United States warned Iran not to increase risks for a regional war in the aftermath of an unusual attack in which hundreds of Hezbollah pagers exploded in Lebanon, killing at least eight and wounding over 2,700 people. – Jerusalem Post
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Director General Moshe Edri said Tuesday that “a nuclear-armed Iran, equipped with delivery systems, is not an option that Israel, or the world, can, or should tolerate.” – Ynet
The Canadian government has expanded its ban on senior Iranian officials from entering the country, expanding a measure that now blocks tens of thousands of individuals tied to the Islamic Republic.- Iran International
Jason Rezaian: This week marks the two-year anniversary of Amini’s death. Iran’s new president will make his first appearance at the U.N. General Assembly next week. It is a moment to honor the country’s brave women and their struggle to build a more just future for their country – Washington Post
Russia & Ukraine
A long-awaited plan to help Ukraine rebuild using Russian money is in limbo as the United States and Europe struggle to agree on how to construct a $50 billion loan using Russia’s frozen central bank assets while complying with their own laws. – New York Times
A major Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered a giant blast and forced the partial evacuation of residents near the site of a large Russian arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday, war bloggers and some media reported. – Reuters
The International Monetary Fund has postponed its planned consultation mission with Russia indefinitely because of technical issues, TASS agency cited Alexei Mozhin, Russia’s director at the IMF, as saying on Wednesday. – Reuters
Russia said on Tuesday it had repelled five new attempts by Ukrainian forces to smash through its border into the Kursk region, bringing the total number of reported attacks on the border to 26 in just the past six days. – Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was briefed last week during his trip to Kyiv on elements of a Ukrainian plan to push Russia to end the war, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday. – Reuters
The head of Russia’s nuclear testing site said on Tuesday his secretive facility was ready to resume nuclear tests “at any moment” if Moscow gave the order, in rare comments likely to fuel concerns that the risk of such a step is rising. – Reuters
Russian forces captured the Ukrainian town of Ukrainsk in the eastern Donetsk region on Tuesday as they advanced westwards in a bid to take the whole of the Donbas, Russian state-run RIA news agency and pro-Russian war bloggers reported. – Reuters
Russia fired missiles at energy infrastructure in the northeast Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday hours after an overnight drone strike on the region, reducing power in some areas and forcing authorities to use back-up power systems. – Reuters
An ally of the United States and staunch supporter of Ukraine is using frozen Russian assets to finance Kyiv’s domestic weapons production. – Newsweek
Russia’s plan to add 180,000 troops will increase the risk of accidents like drones and missiles entering NATO territory, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and NATO Allied Air Command told reporters Tuesday. – Defense One
Alexander J. Motyl writes: All in all, it’s clear that Ukrainians aren’t giving up. Quite the opposite: They are rallying around the flag. Western policymakers who doubt their commitment and resilience, and Russia’s dictator, who expected a swift disintegration of the Ukrainian spirit, would be well advised to listen. – The Hill
Chris Miller and Caroline Nowak write: The experience of the Russia-Ukraine war has implications for potential sanctions in a conflict with China over Taiwan or the South China Sea. Both sides might use sanctions early in a conflict to try to shape the other side’s political calculus.Once both sides are committed to the conflict, however, sanctions are less likely to influence either party’s political calculus. – American Enterprise Institute
Kathryn Stoner writes: Ukraine cannot fight against a genocidal opponent without European and especially American support. The guile and guts of Ukrainian fighters in counterattacking Russian territory directly, with or without U.S. weapons, is a reminder to Ukraine’s allies that despite setbacks in the last twelve months, Ukrainians remain deeply dedicated to victory. We must match that commitment in providing them with what they need to win, not merely to survive. – National Interest
Hezbollah
Pagers carried by thousands of Hezbollah operatives exploded at about the same time Tuesday afternoon in what appeared to be an unprecedented attack that authorities said injured almost 2,800 and killed nine across Lebanon. – Wall Street Journal
Israel carried out its operation against Hezbollah on Tuesday by hiding explosive material within a new batch of Taiwanese-made pagers imported into Lebanon, according to American and other officials briefed on the operation. – New York Times
For months, concerns have grown that the war in Gaza might ignite a second conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the well-armed militia that is loosely allied with Hamas and based just across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. – New York Times
Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company that American and other officials named as the supplier of pagers used in attacks in Lebanon that killed at least 11 people, sought on Wednesday to distance itself from the devices. – New York Times
Iran-backed Hezbollah accused Israel of orchestrating an attack that killed several people and left almost 3,000 wounded across Lebanon, increasing fears of an all-out war. – Bloomberg
Israel said enabling residents displaced by Hezbollah attacks to return home is now a formal war objective, signaling the country is closer to an all-out offensive against the Lebanese militant group. – Bloomberg
Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was slightly injured on Tuesday by the explosion of an electronic pager, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported, as numerous such devices exploded across Lebanon. – Reuters
Militant group Hezbollah promised to retaliate against Israel after accusing it of detonating pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing nine people and wounding nearly 3,000 others who included fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut. – Reuters
“The US was not involved in it. The US was not aware of this incident in advance, and at this point, we’re gathering information,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing. – Times of Israel
Major airlines Lufthansa and Air France on Tuesday announced suspensions of flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran and Beirut until Thursday as tensions in the region soared following pager explosions targeting Hezbollah members in Lebanon. – Agence France-Presse
Hezbollah militants decided to switch from risky cellphones to old-fashioned pagers only months before the devices suddenly blew up across Lebanon on Tuesday, earlier reporting shows. – Business Insider
Editorial: But Israel can’t afford to let a terrorist militia backed by Iran and operating next door bomb its territory with impunity. The pager attack was discriminating, exploding in the hands and pockets of Hezbollah combatants. In the best case, the pager operation will persuade Hezbollah leaders that their lives are at considerable risk if a broader war breaks out. They can’t say they didn’t get the message. – Wall Street Journal
David Ignatius: Beyond its devastating effect on Hezbollah, the attack signals the beginning of a new and very dangerous era in cyberwarfare. Any device that is connected to the internet can potentially be transformed into a weapon. The circuits of a “smart” appliance can be manipulated so that they malfunction in a dangerous way. In the Stuxnet cyberattack against Iran’s nuclear program, malware caused centrifuges to spin so wildly that they became unstable and self-destructed. In the future of what’s called of the “Internet of Things,” the errant device could be your phone, refrigerator or television. – Washington Post
Yonah Jeremy Bob: Right now is the closest Israel has been to a full war with Hezbollah since October 7. This is true even in comparison to the period between July 30 and August 25, probably the second most dangerous period between both sides. – Jerusalem Post
Robert F. Worth writes: Photographs posted on Lebanese social-media sites showed burned-out pagers that appear to have been made by a small Taiwan-based company called Gold Apollo. The pagers could have been altered or had explosives added to them at any point along the supply chain, I was told by Mohammed al-Basha, an analyst with the Navanti Group, an international research and security company. Whatever the explanation, today’s attack achieved one of Israel’s most important goals: It left its enemies feeling that nowhere was safe. – The Atlantic
Eli Lake writes: But they will not deter Hezbollah from launching the missiles and rockets into Israel that make it impossible for 100,000 citizens to return home. As Gerecht said, “Israel’s tactical brilliance is no substitute for serious hard power and military interventions.” Put another way, Israel cannot defeat its enemies by waging war only in the shadows. – The Free Press
Turkey
Turkey and Sweden will hold their first meeting on Wednesday addressing a security pact the sides agreed to ensure Ankara’s approval of Stockholm’s NATO membership bid, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Ahead of Russia hosting the 2024 BRICS Summit from Oct. 22-24, Turkey’s application to join the group of major emerging economies is coming under scrutiny. – Voice of America
Robert Ellis writes: Then, there is also the question of Turkey’s NATO membership, its long-term dependence on Russia for nuclear power, and its export to Russia of military-linked goods. At the same time, Erdogan has declared Turkey’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and called for the return of Crimea to Ukraine. There seems to be no limit to Turkey’s cakeism. – National Interest
Arabian Peninsula
Qatar’s double game with Israel was particularly evident last week in two events that took place on Tuesday evening — one in Doha and the other in Paris. For nearly a year, Qatar has played a central role in mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and a hostage release deal. – Ynet
Nadav Eyal writes: But I was reminded of the unforgettable speak then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat made when he came to the Knesset on a historic visit in 1977. “The Palestinian problem is the foundation and essence of the conflict and as long as it remains unresolved, the conflict will continue to deteriorate,” Sadat warned. “There will be no peace without the Palestinians, and it is a grave mistake of untold magnitude, to ignore or neglect it.” The Saudi official expressed the same position now, 50 years on. – Ynet
Frederic Wehrey and Jennifer Kavanagh writes: Instead, these problems require patient and painstaking work by the region’s governments, with greater involvement from their citizens. Pushing these partners to take responsibility for their future and their own security through more inclusive, accountable, and transparent governance should be the centerpiece of the next U.S. administration’s Middle East policy. Helping tackle these endemic issues is more worthwhile than the pursuit of an illusory pact that will leave the United States worse off than before. – Foreign Affairs
Yemen
Yemen’s Houthi rebels shot down two American MQ-9 Reaper drones in under a week, the United States military acknowledged Wednesday, further highlighting the regional spread of the Israel-Hamas war. – Associated Press
Soon after war broke out in October between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas, the Houthi rebels who control northwestern Yemen joined in. The Houthis, who like Hamas are hostile to Israel and backed by Iran, began disrupting traffic in the Red Sea by attacking ships there, provoking a military response led by the US and UK. – Bloomberg
The short-notice surge of U.S. warships from the East Coast to take on missile and drone threats in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea is informing a model for how the Navy will surge ships to fight in future conflicts, the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command told a group of naval engineers on Tuesday. – USNI News
Middle East & North Africa
Algerian Prime Minister Nadir Larbaoui submitted the cabinet’s resignation but President Abdelmadjid Tebboune postponed his response in order to address urgent matters requiring knowledge from current ministers, the presidency said on Tuesday. – Reuters
In 1975, colonial power Spain abandoned Western Sahara, and Morocco swooped in to claim the territory as its own. Some of the indigenous Sahrawi population rebelled against their new rulers, supported by Morocco’s neighbor Algeria. […] Yet obstacles remain to a fuller resolution of the conflict that would ease political tensions across the wider region. – Bloomberg
Jordanian armed forces thwarted an attempt by a drone to cross the kingdom’s territory, Jordan’s state news agency Petra said on Tuesday, without clarifying the direction from which it was coming. – Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hopes to advance efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza as well as strengthen bilateral ties with Cairo when he visits Egypt on Wednesday amid concern about escalating Middle East tensions. – Reuters
M.A. Al-Asqalani writes: Building on the Philadelphi Accord—per its last article, only Egypt and Israel can resolve any disagreements without referring to a third party—it would do both parties good to deescalate their rhetoric. The United States should provide assistance to construct a state-of-the-art border fence with shared operation. The Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai should continue to conduct third-party monitoring. – Newsweek
Simon Henderson writes: Whether this diplomacy will give Moscow pause is unclear. It’s even less clear that in today’s Middle East, Iran and its regional proxies (never mind North Korea) will take notice. The IAEA general conference would be a risky place to propose another resolution condemning Iran—representatives from as many as 178 nations will be in attendance, and a fair number could view such a resolution as a case of a “non-aligned” state being picked on. – Washington Institute
Fadil Aliriza writes: Those currently in power within the state apparatus appear to be excising political tendencies that do not fall within a highly circumscribed arena of “acceptable” politics, i.e., they are not strictly adhering to the July 25, 2021, rhetoric of “correcting the path” of the 2011 revolution. In other words, the state is trying to send a signal that certain candidates are not so much a threat to the current governing system in themselves as that they are representative of a form of politics — contentious multiparty politics — that the state deems illegitimate. – Middle East Institute
Korean Peninsula
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday toward its east coast, South Korea and Japan said, days after Pyongyang unveiled a uranium enrichment facility and vowed to beef up its nuclear arsenal. – Reuters
New details about North Korea’s nuclear bomb-building activity have stoked fears that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un could supply nations pursuing illicit weapons programs. – Bloomberg
Mats Engman writes: Additionally, to convince North Korea that engagement with the United States is an acceptable option, Harris would need to comprehensively align U.S., South Korea, and Japanese policies on North Korea; encourage South Korea to form a bipartisan long-term policy on North Korea; and accept denuclearization as a long-term objective, after normalization of relations, a peace treaty, and the lifting of several sanctions. However, given the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the very polarized domestic political landscape in the United States and Pyongyang and the geopolitical rivalry with China, such a policy shift is unlikely. – National Interest
China
A Chinese aircraft carrier temporarily entered Japan’s contiguous waters for the first time on Wednesday, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported, the latest encounter that could further ratchet up tensions between the neighbours.- Reuters
Chinese warplanes tailed a U.S. military aircraft through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, China’s military said. – Associated Press
The United States is amassing an arsenal of abundant and easily made anti-ship weapons as part of American efforts to deter China in the Indo-Pacific region and gear up U.S. forces there. – Reuters
Elisabeth Braw writes: Until now, German industry, with its considerable dependence on China, has remained virtually silent on the geopolitical tensions between China and the West. That’s unsurprising since speaking up exposes companies to the risk of retaliation from China. However, businesses also operate on the basis of rules, and those rules are indeed being eroded. The Baden-Württemberg’s deployment is not just a journey: it’s an illustration that Germany is adapting to a fast-changing world. – Center for European Policy Analysis
South Asia
Thousands of civilians in Myanmar have been “killed at the hands of the military,” the United Nations said on Tuesday, including hundreds who have died from torture and neglect in the junta’s prisons. – New York Times
Two years ago, huge crowds forced the country’s deeply unpopular leader from office – now voters are just days away from choosing who they want for president. It’s the first election since the mass protests – called the “aragalaya”, Sinhalese for struggle – which were sparked by Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis. – BBC
Thousands of activists and leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party rallied Tuesday in the nation’s capital to demand a democratic transition through an election as an interim government has yet to outline a timeframe for new voting. – Associated Press
Bangladesh said on Tuesday the World Bank has committed to providing over $2 billion in new financing this fiscal year to support the country’s ongoing reform efforts, flood response initiatives, and improvements in air quality and healthcare. – Reuters
Afghanistan’s Embassy in Oman has reopened, an official in Kabul said Tuesday, the latest sign of the growing inclusion of the Taliban among Gulf Arab countries following the United Arab Emirates’ acceptance of a Taliban ambassador last month. – Associated Press
The backbone of India’s fighter jet fleet is the Russian-designed Sukhoi Su-30MKI, and the country recently ordered 240 engines to keep the fleet airborne for years to come. – Defence News
Hayat Alvi: The international community cannot rest while these horrors are being perpetrated against the women and girls of Afghanistan. New sanctions are immediately necessary against the Taliban regime to offer people in the country some hope of a better future. – Newsweek
Asia
The United States is urging Vietnam to avoid Chinese cable-laying firm HMN Technologies and other Chinese companies in its plans to build 10 new undersea cables by 2030, sources with knowledge of the talks said. –Reuters
Georgia’s parliament on Tuesday approved sweeping legislation that curtails LGBTQ+ rights, a measure that echoes laws adopted in neighboring Russia. – Associated Press
AUKUS partners Australia, Britain and the United States said on Wednesday they are in discussions with Canada, Japan and New Zealand about potential collaboration on defence technology projects. – Reuters
An assailant stabbed and wounded a student at a Japanese school in south China on Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry said, the second such attack involving Japanese educational facilities in the country in recent months. – Reuters
Vietnam’s president and ruling Communist Party chief To Lam is set to meet representatives from several U.S. corporations, including Google and Meta, during a visit to the United States next week, two people briefed about the plans told Reuters. – Reuters
Malaysia’s king Sultan Ibrahim will visit China from Thursday, the first by a Malaysian monarch in a decade, where he will meet President Xi Jinping and likely seek support for projects boosting connectivity to neighbouring Singapore. – Reuters
Europe
Catastrophic flooding has killed at least 19 people and forced thousands to evacuate from their homes in Central and Eastern Europe, where more severe weather is expected this week. – Washington Post
The European Union has nominated its first defense commissioner but he will not have an army under his command, weapons at his disposal or much money to spend. The job of Andrius Kubilius, a former prime minister of Lithuania, will be to fight political battles rather than military campaigns. But the outcome of those battles may have military significance. – Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron has emerged weaker on the European stage after agreeing to yield to Ursula von der Leyen and sacrifice his heavyweight EU Commission nominee, Thierry Breton, experts say. – Reuters
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled in Strasbourg on Tuesday her new senior team to lead the EU through the next five years. […]Another was Estonia’s ex-premier Kaja Kallas, who had already been selected as the bloc’s new foreign policy chief. She will replace Spain’s Josep Borrell, whose tenure was marked by pointed criticism of Israel. – Agence France-Presse
UK Labour party veteran Peter Mandelson faulted the former Conservative government for failing to sustain “proper channels of communication” with China and not living up to Britain’s responsibilities in Hong Kong. – Bloomberg
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Spain’s prime minister and king during a two-day visit to the European country that begins on Wednesday, his first since Madrid formally recognized a Palestinian state in May. – Agence France-Presse
Defense diplomacy is all the rage — and Britain’s new Labour government is at the forefront of the trend. Against a backdrop of renewed danger to Europe from Russian aggression, the U.K. is seeking fresh bilateral agreements with key partners on the Continent. – Politico
Africa
Somalia may be one of the poorest countries in the world and beset by violence, but it is “fixable”, according to its top climate official. The country has been torn apart by more than 30 years of overlapping conflicts – including an Islamist insurgency, a civil war, and a series of regional and clan confrontations. Yet Abdihakim Ainte, the Somali prime minister’s climate advisor, still regards his country as “as story of potential – of promise”. – BBC
Ghana’s main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party on Tuesday held nationwide protests against alleged voter roll irregularities, demanding an independent forensic audit to rid the register of errors for free and fair elections. – Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on Sudan’s warring parties to re-engage in negotiations to end a war that has been ongoing for more than 17 months. – Reuters
A militia attack killed over a dozen villagers in northeastern Congo, local authorities said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of violent assaults targeting civilians. – Associated Press
The billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates thinks the richest governments should increase their support for African countries that have been overshadowed by development funding increasingly going toward the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine as well as support for refugees around the world in recent years. – Associated Press
The lawyer for three Americans sentenced to death in Congo on charges of participating in a coup attempt filed an appeal Tuesday, he told The Associated Press. – Associated Press
The Americas
The authoritarian government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro arrested a fourth American citizen, a top official said Tuesday, the latest in a string of foreigners detained in the government’s post-election crackdown. – Washington Post
Donald Trump plans to appear in Pennsylvania on Sunday with Polish President Andrzej Duda in a show of support from one of his staunchest foreign allies in one of the must-win states of the presidential election, according to American and Polish officials familiar with the planning. – Wall Street Journal
An attack with explosives by Colombian leftist rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN), which left more than two dozen troops injured and two dead, has “practically” ended peace talks, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday. – Reuters
The U.S. State Department and other global leaders on Tuesday denounced the slaying of another environmental leader in rural Honduras, adding to mounting concern of ongoing violence against environmentalists in Latin America. – Associated Press
Cybersecurity
Social media services are intensifying their crackdown on Russian media outlets including RT, the state-owned television network that has come under scrutiny in the United States, saying the outlets had carried out covert influence campaigns across social media sites to manipulate discourse online. – New York Times
Australian police said Wednesday they have infiltrated Ghost, an encrypted global communications app developed for criminals, leading to dozens of arrests. – Associated Press
After President Joe Biden ended his campaign to return to the White House, Russian efforts to influence the US election shifted to smearing Vice President Kamala Harris with doctored and misleading videos, according to new research from Microsoft Corp. – Bloomberg
Defense
The Pentagon’s cost to develop and produce Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 has risen almost 10% to about $485 billion now that money needed for engine improvements has been included in the official estimate for the costliest US weapons system. – Bloomberg
The show of force between the United States and Russia continued to heat up as they conducted power projections in the air and on land around the freezing Arctic region. – Newsweek
The Air Force’s overall plan to reorganize under the heading of “reoptimization” for great power competition is inching forward, with officials using this week’s Air and Space Forces Association to make the case for why stark organizational changes are needed. – Breaking Defense
The Navy in August awarded a $587.4 million contract to L3Harris Technologies to develop the Next Generation Jammer Low Band system for select aircraft, according to a Navy release. – Defence News
The Pentagon announced today it will help lead a $3 billion U.S. Commerce Department initiative designed to make sure the U.S. military has access to a reliable domestic microelectronics supply chain. – Defence News
The recent addition of Sweden and Finland to the NATO alliance is opening up new opportunities for members to better work together in the Arctic, where Russian activity has been increasing. That could mean a new combined air operations center, or CAOC “fairly shortly,” U.S. Air Forces Europe and NATO Allied Air Command Gen. James Hecker said Tuesday at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air Space & Cyber conference. – Defense One
James Holmes writes: They dislike change, and grind down proponents of it. Given these dynamics it is possible, indeed all but certain, that there will be casualties among seafarers who challenge standard ways of doing things. Careers will end. But it must be done. It’s tough to counsel a youngster to put a promising career at risk for the sake of the larger good. But we need a fearless contingent to heal an ailing culture—and brighten the nation’s prospects in an out-of-control world. Make it so. – National Interest
Long War
Al Qaeda militants attacked security forces on Tuesday in Bamako, Mali, their first foray in years into the capital of a West African country already reeling from insurgent violence in rural areas. – Wall Street Journal
Iraq’s prime minister said US troops are no longer needed in his country because they have largely succeeded in vanquishing ISIS, and he plans to announce a timetable for their withdrawal soon. – Bloomberg
Jihadist groups in Burkina Faso have escalated attacks on civilians, often in retaliation against communities for refusing to join their ranks or allegedly collaborating with government troops, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Eldad Beck writes: All these cases indicate a growing violent religious radicalization and readiness to commit terrorist attacks by young descendants of refugee and immigrant families from the Balkan countries. Saša Ulic, a senior adviser to the Serbian member of the federal Presidency of BIH Željka Cvijanović, warns that the attempted attack on the Israeli consulate in Munich clearly indicates that “the seed of evil sown in BiH in the 1990s has long been spreading its toxic fruits throughout Europe. The problem won’t disappear if we ignore it. It will only increase.” – Jerusalem Post