Why it matters: In September, manufacturers warned that the U.S. was weeks away from the production levels needed for President Biden's plan of mass-scale rapid COVID-19 testing.
President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have reached an agreement "in principle" to hold a virtual meeting before the end of the year, according to a senior administration official.
Driving the news: The White House announcement followed a six-hour meeting today in Zurich between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi.
Amman, Jordan — The bombshell “Pandora papers” disclosures about King Abdullah II's multimillion-dollar real-estate holdings don't currently look like a major blow to the king's domestic standing, in part because local media have steered clear.
Driving the news: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reported that King Abdullah had purchased several houses worth more than $106 million in the U.S. and U.K. during his reign, using offshore companies.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will travel to Washington next week for talks with senior Biden administration officials on Iran, Lapid’s office said.
Lapid is expected to meet with Secretary of State Tony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris between Oct. 12-14.
The Biden administration has been privately pressuring the Israeli government to show restraint ahead of a key decision on settlement building in the West Bank, Israeli and U.S. officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: Both sides want to keep this from becoming a point of tension between President Biden, who considers the settlements a threat to the two-state solution, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads a pro-settler party and is under political pressure on the issue.
NATO has removed eight "undeclared Russian intelligence officers" and reduced the number of accredited members allowed to work for the Russian mission from 20 to 10, a NATO official confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: It's the first time NATO has expelled Russians claiming to be diplomats since 2018, after Russian military intelligence officers were accused of poisoning former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the military alliance must "engage politically" with China despite its growing assertiveness, telling Politico's "Global Insider" podcast: "We don't regard China as an adversary or an enemy."
Why it matters: NATO, like the U.S., has been careful about the language it uses to describe a rising China — stressing the need for cooperation while acknowledging that Beijing's global influence, technological prowess and military activity in the South China Sea pose real security challenges.
The German government has agreed to extend compensation to Holocaust survivors who survived the Leningrad Siege in World War II and survivors from two other groups that had never previously received pensions.
State of play: The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which handles claims on behalf of Jews who suffered at the hands of Nazis, said around 6,500 survivors in Israel, North America, the former Soviet Union and Western Europe will be eligible for a monthly pension of $443 starting July.
European gas prices soared again today to fresh records, but then began falling after Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled Russia would boost supply — gyrations that come as European Union officials struggle with the immediate crisis and how to prevent the next one.
Driving the news: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said EU leaders will discuss creating a strategic natural gas storage reserve, per S&P Global Platts and other outlets.
President Biden told reporters Tuesday evening that he discussed Taiwan with China's President Xi Jinping in their phone call last month.
Why it matters: Beijing's growing aggression toward Taipei is drawing fresh concerns of a war in the region. Asked by a reporter Tuesday for comment on the provocation, Biden said he had "spoken with Xi about Taiwan," per a pool report. "We agree, we will abide by the Taiwan agreement," Biden said.
In the days before the Pandora Papers exposed details of his foreign real estate holdings, King Abdullah II of Jordan retained a white-shoe law firm from the U.S. with an eye toward potential defamation claims, records show.
Why it matters: The records provide a glimpse into how some of the world's most powerful people have braced for fallout from a massive media investigation. It's exposed the ways the ultra-wealthy manage — and, in some cases, conceal — their substantial assets.
President Biden knows his administration messed up with French President Emmanuel Macron and is scrambling to make amends, three sources familiar with the internal deliberations told Axios.
Why it matters: The White House's secret deal with Australia last month left the French feeling betrayed and blindsided, and furious about the loss of a $60 billion submarine contract. Secretary of State Tony Blinken visited Macron on Tuesday; national security adviser Jake Sullivan is on his way to Paris too.
