Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Netanyahu returns to familiar U.N. stage more isolated than ever Iran says it has given Trump administration new proposal for peace talks Britain warns Iran it will not tolerate hostile activity on UK soil, Sky News reports Colombia cuts diplomatic ties with Iran UANI’s Jeb Bush and Mark D. Wallace: Malaysia is a lifeline for Iran Russian strikes kill eight in Ukraine, damage maternity clinic France to deploy forces to protect Saudi Red Sea oil port Saudi Arabia downs Houthi missiles targeting kingdom, official says North Korea rejects call to halt nuclear tests Trump welcomes Xi to White House with pageantry but few concrete gains WSJ Editorial: Mr. Xi makes his Taiwan ‘Independence’ move Trump administration presses China on suspected nuclear tests in confidential talksIn The News
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revels in his annual appearances before the United Nations General Assembly, defiantly excoriating the world body. In 2024, he called it a “house of darkness” and a “swamp of antisemitic bile.” – Wall Street Journal
The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas renewed his call for a two-state solution in a videotaped address to the General Assembly on Thursday, as he accused Israel of prosecuting “a genocidal war” against Palestinians “that has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.” – New York Times
The British government on Thursday said it was providing an £88 million ($116.25 million) package of support for humanitarian relief and early recovery in Gaza. – Reuters
Norway’s government said on Thursday it will give an additional 125 million Norwegian crowns ($13.17 million) in aid to the occupied Palestinian territories through the United Nations and the World Bank, including public sector budget support. – Reuters
As the U.S.-created Board of Peace pushes ahead with plans to rebuild Gaza, it has said there’s no place for the U.N. body that for decades has provided support to displaced Palestinians. But the agency’s last chief says that behind the scenes, board members and others have been more open to working with the U.N. agency for Palestinians than it seems. – Associated Press
The U.S.-backed Board of Peace is proposing a six-month, $2.45 billion plan to begin reconstruction and governance in Gaza as President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan struggles to stay afloat. – Associated Press
Gaza will need an estimated $71.5 billion to recover and reconstruct, according to a report published on Thursday by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, or UNCTAD. – Agence-France Presse
An Israeli official has claimed that another round of strikes against Iran is “only a matter of time,” saying Tehran is racing to reactivate and fortify its nuclear program in anticipation of a possible attack, Saudi news channel Al-Hadath reported on Thursday. – Times of Israel
Twenty people previously included in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ’s) database of journalists and media workers killed in the Israel-Gaza war were removed after CPJ determined they had engaged in combat, the organization said on Thursday. – Jerusalem Post
Two IDF soldiers were killed when a drone that they were operating landed and exploded within their military outpost in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said on Friday. – Jerusalem Post
One month before the elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is outlining the strategy of the right-wing bloc and raising concerns that the Hamas terrorist organization will attempt to disrupt Israel’s elections. – Arutz Sheva
Mohammed Altooll writes: Could Palestinians who have also suffered from Hamas and from war sit with Israelis who suffered on October 7, under the same olive tree? I believe it can happen. Not necessarily tomorrow. Not easily. Perhaps not for years. But history is full of things people once considered impossible that became possible when ordinary people decided to break the cycle of fear. For me, the olive harvest is not only about olives. It is about an opportunity. An opportunity for a Palestinian to extend his hand to an Israeli – not to fight him, but to carry an olive basket together […] Perhaps peace sometimes begins in a place we do not expect. A hospital. A drop of blood. An olive tree. And two people who decide to meet as human beings. – Jerusalem Post
Leah Benoz writes: If the BBC, for example, employed a simple formulation every time civilians died in Gaza because of Hamas strategy, “Hamas routinely embeds in civilian areas for strategic reasons,” it could, in nine words, strike a hammer blow to the incentive structure. If Hamas were being held to account for this horrific tactic, how long would the tactic remain useful? The idea that being careful about context somehow diminishes compassion is backward and must be abandoned. The truth is more protective than ever. The media must fully commit to it, not just for the sake of Palestinians in Gaza, but for all of us. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
Iran has given the Trump administration a proposal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart talks over an end to the broader war within seven days, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday. – Washington Post
An Iranian American organization filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday arguing that the Trump administration usurped Congress’s power to declare war through its roughly seven months of military operations in Iran. – New York Times
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said it was up to the United States to choose when the Iran war will end, when asked if the conflict could end by the end of the year. – Reuters
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a meeting that Britain will “not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil” from groups linked to his country, Sky News reported on Thursday. – Reuters
Iranian airlines were barred from neighbouring countries including the UAE and Oman on Thursday in response to new US sanctions, the first big impact of a shift in US policy to target companies in third countries that do business with Iran. – Reuters
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed Thursday that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been absent from public view for months, is “completely” healthy despite reports that he could be deceased or brain-dead. – The Hill
Colombia announced Thursday that it has severed diplomatic relations with Iran, joining a growing number of US partners in Latin America taking action against Tehran. – Arutz Sheva
Jeb Bush and Mark D. Wallace write: Our organization will document each and every one of these vessels and the continued Malaysian support to the Iranian regime, until Iran realizes it can’t hide with impunity in the darkest corners of the South China Sea. Malaysia’s foreign minister will speak at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday. He should hear a clear message from the U.S. and its allies: It’s time for his country to deny Iran a safe harbor. – Wall Street Journal
Erfan Fard writes: Perhaps Pezeshkian will return to the United Nations next year. Perhaps another representative of the Islamic Republic will stand behind that green marble podium and repeat the same exhausted slogans of resistance, justice, and victimhood. But history does not guarantee regimes another speech. The U.S. heard the Islamic Republic this week; the White House should finally hear the Iranian nation. The Islamic Republic is not Iran, and it is not immortal. Behind its missiles, intelligence apparatus, prisons, and propaganda stands an exhausted and increasingly frightened political order sustained not by national consent, but by coercion. The world should begin preparing for the day after it. – The Hill
Russia and Ukraine
The escalating air war between Russia and Ukraine is threatening to ratchet up prices at your local supermarket. Waves of drone and missile attacks on ports and vessels in the Black Sea region have throttled both countries’ exports of wheat, corn and other key ingredients. – Wall Street Journal
An agreement with Russia to halt attacks on energy infrastructure would deliver a significant boost to Ukraine’s battered economy, as would the restoration of grain exports through the Black Sea, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said Thursday. – Wall Street Journal
An explosive-laden drone at a German airport. A strike on a passenger train near the Polish border. A rush of warnings about more chaos to come. – New York Times
Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and its northeast killed eight people on Thursday in attacks that included a maternity hospital and a farm, officials said. – Reuters
Russian forces carried out a series of strikes across Ukraine overnight and later on Thursday, targeting facilities and vessels that Moscow said were linked to the Ukrainian military. – Reuters
The Kremlin said on Thursday that no decision had been taken yet on a possible summit in December between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, and that it was too early to talk about the agenda for such a meeting. – Reuters
Vladimir Kara-Murza writes: It’s long past time that a similar platform for dialogue with the non-Putin Russia — a Free Russia Caucus in opposition to Nikonov’s proposed Russia Caucus — is established in the U.S. Congress, as well as in other democratic parliaments around the world. Next month, Putin turns 74, well past the average male life expectancy in Russia, and the median age of his inner circle approaches that of Leonid Brezhnev’s geriatric Politburo in the early 1980s. Political change in Russia is not only inevitable, it is a matter of the foreseeable future. It is important for the West to build bridges with those who may become the agents and the leaders of that change. – Washington Post
James Stavridis writes: The second layer is more controversial and risky: The alliance must be prepared to conduct its own brand of hybrid warfare. While NATO would not copy Putin’s techniques that are clearly illegal and immoral — threatening civilian transportation systems, for one — going after his military assets is fair game. I’d start by using cyber to disrupt operations at Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave on the shores of the Baltic Sea that has become Moscow’s front line for sophisticated electronic warfare and intelligence collection against Europe. – Bloomberg
Arabian Peninsula
President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France plans to send troops to Saudi Arabia to help protect a refinery and crude oil pipeline in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, ramping up France’s military efforts to contain the impact of the Iran war. – Wall Street Journal
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold an urgent, high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, while Saudi’s top religious authority told troops to be ready to lay down their lives to fight their Iran-aligned enemy. – Reuters
The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Thursday that it had shot down six ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthi militia, in what appeared to be one of the largest cross-border attacks by the group since its conflict with Saudi Arabia spiraled back into war. – New York Times
Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority called on soldiers in the kingdom to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Iran-backed Houthis until the group is ousted from power, a statement posted on the Saudi state news agency said. – Reuters
Saudi Arabia is building up crude pumping volumes through its East-West Pipeline that runs to its Red Sea export hub of Yanbu, although crude tanker loadings have yet to resume, according to industry sources, satellite imagery and shipping data. – Reuters
An air defence system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone on Thursday in the wider Yanbu region, home to major oil refining facilities, Greek security sources told Reuters. – Reuters
Ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman for Middle Eastern oil from inside the Strait of Hormuz have reached their limits after Saudi Arabia diverted exports from the Red Sea, adding to shipments from other producers, trade sources and analysts said. – Reuters
Tarek’s father carried him on foot from the southwestern city of Mokha as Iran-backed rebels swept in this month, bringing a return to civil war. The boy reached a hospital two days later in the government-held city of Aden, 270 kilometers (170 miles) away but it said it had no beds. Like others, it was overwhelmed by the wounded. – Associated Press
Yemen’s internationally recognized government pressed world leaders anew Thursday for help defeating the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, saying that their new perch along one of the world’s busiest waterways presents an international economic risk. – Associated Press
Middle East & North Africa
Efforts to rekindle talks to end the war between the U.S. and Iran are running into resistance from major Persian Gulf oil producers that have swung against any accommodation of Tehran, people familiar with the matter said. – Wall Street Journal
Oil prices rose in a volatile session amid renewed Middle East escalation concerns after Saudi Arabia said it intercepted six ballistic missiles launched at the kingdom, while U.S.-Iran talks showed little sign of progress. – Wall Street Journal
Early results from legislative elections in Morocco put a party close to the country’s monarchy in the lead on Thursday. But voter turnout was the lowest in nearly two decades as disillusioned young people stayed away from the polls. – New York Times
Vessel transits at the Strait of Hormuz fell on Thursday to 9, compared with the previous day’s 14, preliminary shiptracking data showed on Friday. Of those, eight ships exited, according to the data. – Reuters
Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek will hold a series of meetings on Thursday and Friday to discuss the process of the liquidation of 131 investment funds worth around $18 billion, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. – Reuters
Syria’s interim president harshly criticized Israel’s occupation of southern Syria and said the Golan Heights is an inseparable part of his country. – Associated Press
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday that Lebanon does not want to be an arena for regional wars, after the Tehran-backed Hezbollah terror group once again drew it into conflict earlier this year. – Agence-France Presse
Korean Peninsula
North Korea said on Friday that South Korea would become a “decisive target” for collective retaliation if it served as a central hub in a US-led collective defence system, state media KCNA reported. – Reuters
North Korea’s foreign ministry on Thursday rejected an international statement urging it to halt nuclear tests, with a spokesperson calling it “a grave political provocation against our state” by “hostile forces”. – Reuters
Vietnam and North Korea will deepen their defence cooperation after some recent “positive results”, Vietnam’s defence ministry said after talks between the countries’ deputy defence ministers in Hanoi this week. – Reuters
China
President Trump’s meeting with China’s Xi Jinping started with an extravagant welcome ceremony and continued with a glitzy state dinner by candlelight, as Washington and Beijing look to ease tensions over the war in Iran, artificial intelligence and trade. – Wall Street Journal
China’s overwhelming chokehold over rare earths — metallic elements essential to consumer electronics, green energy and the defense industry — has inflected nearly every major aspect of bilateral relations. – Washington Post
The families of two Americans who have been listed by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained in China are urging President Trump to press President Xi Jinping for their release when the two leaders meet this week. – New York Times
US President Donald Trump will follow up his summit with Xi Jinping by taking the Chinese leader on Friday to the US National Archives, where they are expected to stress views about the history and direction of ties between their countries. – Reuters
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during a meeting in Washington to support each other in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 summit in 2026, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday. – Reuters
Mike Gallagher writes: Beijing has systemically violated its World Trade Organization agreements, abrogated a 2015 cyber agreement, and let several years of U.S.-supported gain-of-function research spiral into a global pandemic. It isn’t pacing its AI frontier, it is stealing America’s frontier capabilities through covert industrial distillation and the illegal use of advanced chips. The biggest threat to humanity isn’t rogue AI; it is AI controlled by China, which would use this transformative technology to take Taiwan and displace America as the world’s dominant superpower. – Wall Street Journal
Ellen Bork writes: The U.S. State Department has designated both Min Zin and Youlin Chen, an American seismologist held by China since 2024, “wrongfully detained” a status which raises the priority on their cases and commits resources to help them and their families. China mocked that finding with its foreign ministry spokesman claiming, “China is a country governed by the rule of law, and there is no such thing as so-called wrongful detention.” Only consequences for detaining American citizens will lead China to free Min Zin and Chen. Trump should inform Xi of these when they sit down to talk and insist that the men be sent on their way home before Xi’s plane takes off from the U.S. – The Hill
Nico Lange writes: Beyond the obvious question of where European—or more broadly, middle-power—interests lie in such a G2 world, a more pressing one emerges: what happens if an American president does not engage in strategic competition with China but instead avoids it? What if he does not address conflicts with China but ignores them? What if Trump allows a G2 that is not a balance of power, but a global shift toward China? While the spectacle at the UN in New York pretends to shape global affairs, the talks between Trump and Xi are reshaping the international order. Unfortunately, so far not in the West’s favor. – The National Interest
South Asia
When Prime Minister Balendra Shah of Nepal addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday […] “Climate change does not recognize borders,” he told the General Assembly on Thursday, describing the deadly glacial floods in Nepal last month as “a warning to the world.” – New York Times
The leaders of India’s “cockroach” youth movement said on Thursday that they would launch nationwide protests if India’s chief election officer does not resign within 48 hours, after a newspaper report said he had been questioned by his deputies over changes to voter lists. – Reuters
Pakistan has thwarted an attempted Afghan attack in its border area of Gulistan, killing several members of the Afghan Taliban, Pakistani security sources said on Friday, without detailing the planned attack. – Reuters
Pakistan is turning its capital into a garrison, deploying thousands of security personnel, blocking roads with shipping containers and banning public gatherings to prevent supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan from marching on Parliament to demand his release. – Bloomberg
Asia
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Friday he had granted a pardon to Mary Jane Veloso, who is serving a prison sentence in the Philippines after receiving a last-minute reprieve from execution by firing squad for drug trafficking in Indonesia in 2015. – Reuters
Jailed former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has asked a court to suspend a 15-year prison sentence imposed on him for his involvement in a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal, his lawyer said on Friday, a week after he received a royal pardon on a separate conviction. – Reuters
Twelve Kazakh military personnel died after being swept out to sea during a naval training exercise, authorities said on Thursday. – Reuters
Indonesia’s navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier Thursday after acquiring the former Italian vessel to strengthen its maritime defenses and disaster response. – Associated Press
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government faces its biggest survival test yet when one of Thailand’s top courts rules Monday on a case that could invalidate the election that brought it to power. – Bloomberg
More than 1,000 workers rallied peacefully in Jakarta on Thursday, pressing lawmakers to include stronger protections in a new labor law ahead of a court-imposed deadline next month. – Bloomberg
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for early elections of regional councils, aiming to complete an overhaul of political institutions in Central Asia’s largest energy producer. – Bloomberg
Editorial: The U.S. change would also shock its East Asian allies that count on American deterrence against Chinese aggression. That includes Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, assorted Pacific island nations and even Australia. With its high-quality computer chip fabrication plants, Taiwan is a crucial part of the U.S. economic and security supply chain. Let’s hope Mr. Trump doesn’t fall for Mr. Xi’s Taiwan independence deception. – Wall Street Journal
David Fickling writes: With the government attempting to finalize a trade deal with the Trump administration, Vietnam is in a prime position to be one of the biggest beneficiaries as the world decouples from China. If it can’t generate the electrons needed to power its production lines, however, multinationals are likely to conclude that other countries — or even China itself — represent better bets. Vietnam’s chaotic first renewables boom has proved the country can increase its electricity generation at a prodigious rate. The long hangover that followed has demonstrated it’s going to need to tempt private capital back in the door if it’s ever to repeat the trick. – Bloomberg
Eric Wargotz, Cheryl-Ann, and Lee-Llacer Wargotz write: Geopolitical reality points to one conclusion: An independent Taiwan is the only viable option for the region. Taiwan is already an independent nation in every practical sense. Its sovereignty is the linchpin of security in the Western Pacific, backed by the U.S. Taiwan Relations Act. The U.S. and its allies should not treat Taiwan’s independence as a negotiable variable or a dangerous provocation. It is the baseline reality. The preservation of an independent, democratic Taiwan is the only path that ensures regional stability and honors human liberty. – Washington Examiner
Jonathan A. Czin writes: But the long lead times only underscore the need for the administration to make haste now, when it has a willing partner in Taiwan with the fiscal space to make these purchases, and when Xi is waiting to see what 2028 will bring. The next administration may not have such a good opportunity to enhance Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities, and Taiwan will need all the capacity it can muster to deal with an aging and potentially more cantankerous Xi. If the KMT wins in 2028, it may also lack the DPP’s enthusiasm for defense cooperation with Washington. Meanwhile, Xi is in the midst of a painful renovation of his military high command, which, when finished, could change the calculus in its own way. Thus, the fragile gentleman’s agreement between Trump and Xi could afford the diplomatic space to take advantage of this window without precipitating a crisis. – Foreign Affairs
Europe
A joint venture between two of Italy’s biggest defense players signed an agreement with a total value of around 3.7 billion euros ($4.21 billion) to supply two destroyers to the Italian navy. – Wall Street Journal
Pope Leo XIV arrives in France on Friday as a nation long regarded as a graveyard of Catholicism is experiencing a sudden surge of converts — turning this fiercely secular country into an unlikely laboratory for reviving the church’s fortunes in the West. – Washington Post
Italy’s government on Thursday adopted a raft of measures directed at immigrant schoolchildren, among them a limit on the number of foreign students per class who don’t speak Italian proficiently and a ban on many religious head coverings for women. – New York Times
The police in southeastern Poland arrested a citizen of Ukraine on suspicion of carrying out a knife attack on Thursday that, according to state-owned news media, killed a priest and wounded four others at a Roman Catholic abbey near the border with Ukraine. – New York Times
France defended its decision to let Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane cross its airspace en route to the United Nations on Thursday, saying international law did not require action despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes. – Reuters
NATO is stepping up intelligence-sharing in response to a wave of sabotage and other incidents apparently linked to Russia but should be “calm and confident” that it can handle any threat posed by Moscow, the alliance’s top commander told Reuters on Thursday. – Reuters
The European Union is not rearming quickly or effectively enough to meet its goal of being ready to defend against Russia by 2030, according to the executive summary of an EU report prepared for the bloc’s leaders and seen by Reuters. – Reuters
Russia is likely to intensify its hybrid war against the West in the coming months, Denmark’s defence intelligence service said in a new threat assessment on Thursday. – Reuters
When Poland stopped registering asylum applications from migrants entering from Belarus in March 2025, authorities presented it as a temporary emergency measure to counter what they saw as a push by Russia and its ally Belarus to destabilize the country by directing tens of thousands of migrants toward the European Union. – Associated Press
The US and Poland are working to open a first permanent American military base in the country that could host about 10,000 troops, Poland’s foreign minister said, as Warsaw seeks to bolster its security and Washington looks to reshape its military presence in Europe. – Bloomberg
Lithuania’s president warned that Russia is becoming “more reckless” and that drone incursions, provocations and sabotage had become “business as usual” on NATO’s eastern flank. – Bloomberg
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the US will pay for any new military bases it establishes in Greenland, sparring with President Donald Trump’s earlier comment that the new security deal would not cost Washington anything. – Bloomberg
Moldova has no plans to join NATO and wants to remain neutral, said Prime Minister Vasile Tofan, pushing back against Russian claims that it’s seeking membership in the western military alliance. – Bloomberg
Voters in Switzerland will decide in a referendum Sunday whether to enshrine a stricter definition of the country’s centuries-old neutrality into the constitution. – Politico
The CIA has warned European countries of a suspected Russian plot to launch Gerbera-type drones from aboard commercial vessels in the Mediterranean, a new report says. – Defense News
UK Chief of the Air Staff announced today that Britain will stand up a new space squadron focused on countering enemy threats and defending local “interests.” – Breaking Defense
Fuad Shahbazov writes: In this context, Azerbaijan has drawn lessons from Ukraine’s wartime experience, which profoundly reshaped perceptions of naval drones in modern warfare. Kyiv’s effective deployment of inexpensive drones demonstrated that even a smaller state lacking a powerful navy could inflict serious damage on a comparatively stronger adversary. That emboldened Baku to enhance its relationship with Kyiv, especially in drone technology, despite vocal Russian discontent. By investing in the development of local unmanned systems both in naval and land forces, Azerbaijan seeks to deter by making itself too well-armed to attack. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Sharon Hudson-Dean writes: The deal still requires parliamentary approval in both Copenhagen and Nuuk, a process that has historically taken months if not longer: the 2023 US-Denmark Defense Cooperation Agreement took two years to clear Denmark’s parliament. With Danish and Greenlandic public warmth toward Washington at historic lows (earlier this year, 60% of Danes said they consider the US to be an adversary while 76% of Greenlanders do not want to be part of the US) and US midterms likely to hand Democrats a stronger congressional hand within six weeks, the ratification process — not this week’s signing — is where this agreement’s durability will actually be decided. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Hugh De Santis writes: For all the excitement the de Gaulle biopic has generated in France, European independence is more illusion than reality. Strategic autonomy requires collaboration, driven by the belief that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Ironically, however, de Gaulle’s concept of national sovereignty (l’Europe des patries), not supranational federalism, underpins the European response to defense and economic modernization. This does not mean Europe cannot adopt a more integrated approach to American retrenchment, which will almost certainly persist after Trump departs, or to the competitive economic challenge the United States and China present. But that will require a renewed threat to European security, which further Russian expansionism westward would likely provide. – The National Interest
Africa
Secessionist rebels in Ethiopia’s north have shattered a four-year truce with government forces, seizing three airports and returning the East African nation to civil war. – Wall Street Journal
Flights to the historic Ethiopian town of Lalibela were suspended on Thursday due to fighting nearby, seven sources said, as residents in the Tigray region to the north stocked up on food and cash, fearing that renewed fighting could trigger another major war. – Reuters
Ethiopia, Djibouti and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote plan to build a $660 million refined petroleum pipeline that will connect Ethiopia and Djibouti, a spokesperson in Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said on Thursday. – Reuters
One person was killed and several others wounded after security forces fired shots to contain unrest during the burial of a suspected Ebola victim in northeastern Congo on Thursday, two sources said. – Reuters
Nigeria and the United States have signed a framework agreement aimed at deepening US investment in the West African country’s mining sector, Nigeria’s solid minerals minister Dele Alake said on Thursday. – Reuters
As in years past, African leaders attending the U.N. General Assembly this year are demanding a reform of the powerful Security Council that would include permanent seats for countries from the continent in the global body’s highest decision-making structure. – Associated Press
The Americas
He cracked down on a deluge of online lies. He punished rioters falsely claiming a stolen election. And he jailed a former president who tried to stage a coup. – New York Times
Costa Rica President Laura Fernandez dismissed Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar on Thursday after he attended a high-level regional security meeting led by US President Donald Trump without notifying her, preventing her from participating in the gathering. – Reuters
The Bahamas accused “rogue” DEA agents of operating illegally on its soil and raised the issue with the Trump administration last week, the country’s ambassador to the US told Reuters on Thursday. – Reuters
Overflowing soup kitchens, a resurgence of cash-free barter clubs and families taking out short-term loans for groceries are highlighting growing social strains in Argentina, as official data on Thursday showed the first increase in poverty since President Javier Milei brought inflation under control. – Reuters
US forces using high-tech equipment helped Ecuadorian police track down and arrest dozens in an anti-cartel operation, according to the South American nation’s government. – Bloomberg
Anja Manuel writes: The answer is not another Monroe Doctrine where Washington seeks to dominate the hemisphere. It is to compete, be the better partner, invest more, trade more. It is to help build ports, power grids, and mineral-processing plants — and, unlike the Chinese, respect local workers and the environment. It is to share intelligence where interests align and strengthen local security forces — as Rubio wisely did on this trip — rather than threatening to fight criminal gangs ourselves. Treat sovereign governments as partners, not squares on a geopolitical chessboard. America should not seek to control its hemisphere, but it can no longer afford to neglect it. – The Hill
North America
Few people have better access to the White House than Roger J. Stone Jr., a close friend and associate of President Trump. Even so Mr. Stone’s latest lobbying deal, worth nearly $800,000 with the government of Haiti, is raising eyebrows. – New York Times
The Trump administration was considering imposing new restrictions on Cuban officials who travel to the United Nations, another step to squeeze the government in Havana as its top diplomat accused the United States on Thursday of unleashing collective punishment on Cuba’s people with its intensifying measures. – Associated Press
The shooting outside the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, was a “premeditated and targeted” attack against the Jewish community, Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd said Thursday, describing the Sept. 20 incident, which took place during Kol Nidre prayers on the eve of Yom Kippur, as a hate-motivated crime. – Arutz Sheva
United States
The Trump administration has been quietly holding talks with China about its rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal amid doubts over Beijing’s compliance with a 30-year test ban, U.S. officials said. – Wall Street Journal
With just weeks to go before midterm elections, Senate Republicans beat back a resolution to curb President Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran, even as a growing number of GOP incumbents and candidates in tough races insist they want the war to end soon. – Wall Street Journal
An industry group representing the country’s largest tech companies is urging the Trump administration to withdraw its proposal to charge companies $103,265 for most new H-1B visa applications, reigniting a fight between the White House and Silicon Valley over a popular program for highly skilled immigrants. – Wall Street Journal
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a video of himself planting an olive tree with Palestinian families from Gaza at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, in an apparent rebuke to Benjamin Netanyahu shortly before the Israeli prime minister’s address Thursday to the U.N. General Assembly. – Washington Post
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is just days away from starting work on a $125 million contract with Thomson Reuters Special Services that will enable it to monitor 1 million individuals and identify potentially criminal and fraudulent behavior before it happens. – Fedscoop
Ahmed Charai writes: Iran wanted a channel. Arab leaders wanted coordination. Zelensky needed American engagement. Macron came to discuss Ukraine and transatlantic security. Xi came to Washington. That is the continuing reality of American power. But New York offered one clear reminder: American power remains most consequential when others believe Washington can both apply pressure and open a path to agreement. Trump understands leverage. The question now is whether he can turn it into lasting outcomes. In the end, that is the promise of American leadership: the strength to defend its interests, the confidence to bring others to the table, and the vision to turn power into peace. – The National Interest
Cybersecurity
The U.S. is facing a memory-chip conundrum. With a lack of domestic facilities for making the chips, which are vital for artificial intelligence and skyrocketing in price, the Trump administration is readying tariffs on imports to spur investment in new capacity. – Wall Street Journal
Cambodia is gathering evidence against suspected “masterminds” of massive cyber fraud operations, the country’s anti-scam minister said, amid criticism that the government’s crackdown has failed to reach those ultimately responsible. – Reuters
The US is seeking to join a legal challenge filed by SpaceXAI Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk seeking to dismiss a €120 million ($136.5 million) European Union fine for breaches of online rules by his social media platform X. – Bloomberg
A new Democratic bill in Congress would establish a federal Cybersecurity and AI Board of Investigations to provide independent government oversight of cyberattacks carried out by AI agents, following recent hacks by models run at companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta and others. – Cyberscoop
Biotechnology doesn’t fall neatly into any one of the 16 government-designated critical infrastructure sectors that receive specialized and focused attention from feds, leading some lawmakers to worry that it’s not getting the protection from cyberattacks and other risks that it needs. – Cyberscoop
Vitor Melo writes: Asking the right question is crucial for better policy outcomes. Rather than legislating against an AI job apocalypse not seen in the data, lawmakers should ask whether the technology is reaching the people who stand to gain most, and clear any barriers in the way. Human flourishing has never been measured in job titles. It is determined in suffering avoided, time returned and problems solved that once seemed intractable. Ask whether AI will take our jobs, and the honest answer is: not yet. But ask whether it is helping people prosper, and the answer is an easy yes. – Wall Street Journal
Defense
NATO’s top commander said on Thursday the United States would continue to provide “critical but more limited capabilities” to the alliance as Europeans take up a greater role in defending the continent. – Defense News
The U.S. Army awarded a subsidiary of Palantir Technologies a $48.1 million contract to develop software designed to improve how the service tracks and manages ammunition. – Defense News
BAE Systems delivered two concept infantry fighting vehicles to the Army’s top armored division earlier this year, a self-funded project the company has since billed as an example of adapting existing platforms with new tech — in this case, without the service explicitly asking for it. – Defensescoop
Mike A. Guetlein writes: The threats confronting the U.S. are evolving faster than ever before. Golden Dome is a national commitment to never allowing our homeland to become vulnerable to coercion, intimidation or surprise attacks. It is a commitment to peace through strength, to deterrence and to ensuring that future generations inherit the security and quality of life that previous generations worked so hard to provide. Thanks to the president’s vision and decisive leadership, that is a commitment we can now keep. – Washington Post
Burak Oktenli writes: The recent shift toward a more explicit warfighting posture raises the cost of getting attribution wrong in either direction. Collapsing ambiguous multi-system degradation into hostile action can accelerate an unsupported conclusion. Treating every correlated failure as environmental can hide a real attack layered on top of a storm. The useful test is whether AI can preserve both possibilities while helping operators protect the mission according to the quality of the evidence available. The sun can create an enemy-shaped picture without an enemy. As AI moves deeper into space command and control, the Space Force should know whether its systems can recognize that possibility without becoming blind to a real attack layered on top of it. – Washington Examiner
Michael C. Horowitz writes: Ideally, Washington would start scaling precise mass, investing heavily in low-cost defenses, and, crucially, adapting its organizational structures to use these tools effectively. American defense officials—accustomed to fighting only with exquisite systems—may struggle to accept this needed shift, especially if the defense budget shrinks, which could easily lead Washington to prioritize older and proven legacy capabilities, no matter their limits. […] Americans should hope that Washington will find a way forward. New innovations have, at least for now, closed the military gap between rich states and poor ones when it comes to offensive capacities. If the United States wants to maintain its military edge, it has no choice but to embrace precise mass—and stop carrying on as if the Cold War just ended. – Foreign Affairs