Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) issued a statement Wednesday responding to reports that the Trump administration is planning to close the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and calling on the State Department to reconsider.
Why it matters: The bipartisan call comes amid alleged threats from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to close the embassy within weeks if Iraqi leaders do not prevent Iranian-backed militia groups from continuing to launch attacks at the massive, heavily fortified compound, the New York Times reports.
Some 70% of cyberattacks by cyber criminals are now phishing-related, according to a new report from Microsoft, which also found that attacks on critical infrastructure represent just a small slice of state-backed hacking efforts.
Why it matters: In the past, the report notes, "cybercriminals focused on malware attacks" to compromise their targets. The shift reflects cyber criminals’ skill at quickly adapting, in this case by pivoting to tried-and-true human engineering to trick people into handing over credentials.
Even before the recent New York Times bombshell on Trump's taxes, the president's financial entanglements raised the specter of foreign influence.
The big picture: Although Trump has said he turned over day-to-day management of the Trump Organization to his two sons, he hasn't divested from any of his businesses. Revelations from the Times report add to concerns that this state of affairs is shaping elements of Trump's foreign policy.
The House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday released a report finding that the U.S. intelligence community has failed to adapt to the growing threat from China, arguing that it will struggle to compete on the global stage for decades to come if it does not implement major changes.
The big picture: The 200-page report, based on thousands of analytic assessments and hundreds of hours of interviews with intelligence officers, determined that the intelligence community's focus on counterterrorism after 9/11 allowed China "to transform itself into a nation potentially capable of supplanting the United States as the leading power in the world."
Azerbaijan is using Israeli “kamikaze drones” in strikes against Armenian forces in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the foreign policy adviser to the president of Azerbaijan told me in an interview.
Why it matters: The latest round of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan is threatening to escalate into a war involving regional powers, with Turkey intervening alongside Azerbaijan. But Israel also has a strategic relationship with Azerbaijan involving cooperation on security and energy.
The U.K. and Canada on Tuesday announced they would impose sanctions on Belarus dictator Aleksander Lukashenko and members of his government for violence against protesters in the wake of August's rigged election.
Why it matters: The sanctions against the Belarus strongman represent the first major penalties enacted by Western powers since a post-election crackdown in which Lukashenko's security forces have brutalized protesters and detained major opposition figures.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented what he claimed were aerial photos of a Hezbollah "missile depot" in the heart of Beirut during a prerecorded speech Tuesday to the UN General Assembly.
The other side: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah quickly took to the organization’s TV station to respond to Netanyahu's speech, which he said was an effort to incite the Lebanese people against Hezbollah.
The U.K. reached a new high for total positive coronavirus cases this last week, per the country's Health Ministry, and reported a record number of COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, per the BBC.
Driving the news: Top scientific advisers warned last week that the U.K. could see up to 50,000 coronavirus cases per day by mid-October if current growth continues.
Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah died on Tuesday at the age of 91. The emir had been hospitalized at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic since July. He was flown there from Kuwait in a U.S. Air Force plane following a failed surgery.
The big picture: The late emir took power in 2006 following 40 years as Kuwait's foreign minister, and had been a highly active and influential figure in regional diplomacy.
People suspected of acting as foreign agents have sought the assistance of U.S. lawyers — and in some cases, the same lawyer who has represented top Trump administration officials during the course of the Russian inquiry.
The big picture: The phenomenon underscores the web of lobbying, money and court cases that have resulted from the Chinese government's efforts to influence U.S. decision-making.
The dollar strengthened against most of the world's currencies last week, as traders bought the greenback expecting an end to the reflation trade, but China's currency bucked the overall trend (pun intended) and is on pace for its strongest month against the dollar since 2008.
Why it matters: "What we do see is a strong Chinese economy, which is part of what’s behind the strong renminbi," Jason Brady, president and CEO of Thornburg Investment Management, told WSJ.
The global toll of confirmed deaths from COVID-19 crossed 1 million on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
By the numbers: More than half of those deaths have come in four countries: the U.S. (204,762), Brazil (141,741), India (95,542) and Mexico (76,430). The true global death toll is likely far higher.
