International

Mali's Junta Retakes Kidal Without a Fight, but the Victory May Be More Symbolic Than Strategic

Mali

Mali's military government said this week that its troops had re-entered Kidal, the northern Tuareg stronghold that separatist rebels seized in April, after the rebels announced a withdrawal. The return of the town is a rare piece of good news for the junta of Gen. Assimi Goita, which has spent six months…

Two Armies, One River: Mexico Demands Proof as the US Surges Troops After a Disputed Coast Guard Firefight on the Rio Grande

World Politics 

Overview

A brief exchange of gunfire on the Rio Grande has grown into a diplomatic standoff between Washington and Mexico City. On September 26, according to the US Coast Guard, personnel on a patrol near Garceno, Texas, came under fire from the Mexican side of the…

Abiy Begins a Second Term With Tigray Back at War, Eritrea Estranged and a Red Sea Bloc Closing Ranks

Ethiopia

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took the oath for a second five-year term on Monday with his country fighting a renewed war in Tigray, cut off diplomatically from Eritrea and confronted by a four-nation Red Sea declaration that appears aimed squarely at Ethiopia's long-stated ambition to regain a sea outlet.…

Separatists Back in Power: The Parti Québécois Wins Quebec's Election and Puts a Third Independence Referendum on the Horizon

World Politics

Overview

Quebec voters ended eight years of Coalition Avenir Québec government on October 5 and handed the most seats to the Parti Québécois, the party whose founding purpose is to take the province out of Canada. The result, reported by CBC, CTV, Al Jazeera and others on…

Amnesty Report Lifts the Lid on Morocco's Surveillance Apparatus, Naming Politicians, Journalists and Diplomats

RABAT, Morocco 

A new Amnesty International investigation, published on October 1 and still reverberating this week, accuses Morocco's domestic intelligence service of running an expansive apparatus that combines spyware with older, analog methods to monitor and silence critics. The report draws on a former…

The Mecca Pact Goes Live: Turkey and Pakistan Commit Forces to Saudi Arabia as Houthi Attacks Escalate

World Politics 

Overview

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan activated their mutual defense treaty, known as the Mecca (or Makkah) Joint Defence Agreement, at an emergency meeting of defense and foreign ministers in Riyadh on Monday, October 5, 2026. The three governments agreed to "…