Saudi Arabia will host a U.S.–Saudi investment summit in Washington on Nov. 19, coinciding with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit.

Source: CBS News

Colombian President Petro has suspended all intelligence and security cooperation with the U.S., protesting ongoing U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific that he says are causing civilian deaths.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping met Spain’s King Felipe VI in Beijing — the first visit by a Spanish Monarch to China in 18 years.

Syria has officially joined the U.S.-led international coalition against ISIS, becoming its 90th member.

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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to WaPo:

We were in war against Russia for 10 years, and it was a hard, difficult war.

They announced that they killed me several times.

We need Russia because it’s a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

We need their vote to be on our side in some issues, and we have strategic interests with them.

We don’t want to push Russia to take alternative or other options in dealing with Syria.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to WaPo:

Israel occupied the Golan Heights in order to protect Israel, and now they are imposing conditions in the south of Syria in order to protect the Golan Heights.

So after a few years, maybe they will occupy the center of Syria in order to protect the south of Syria.

They will reach Munich on that pathway.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to WaPo:

Israel has always claimed that it has concerns about Syria because it is afraid of the threats that the Iranian militias and Hezbollah represent.

We are the ones who expelled those forces out of Syria.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to WaPo:

Fighting is not something shameful if it’s done for noble objectives, especially if you are defending your own land and the people who are suffering from injustice.

I have fought so many wars, but I’ve never caused the death of an innocent person.

Serbian President Vucic:

I am analyzing the facts and coming to the conclusion that a war between Europe and Russia is becoming increasingly inevitable.

This is not empty talk. Everyone is preparing for it.

Trump will host a private White House dinner Wednesday with top Wall Street executives, including the CEOs of Nasdaq and JPMorgan.

Source: Reuters

France will help the Palestinian Authority draft a constitution for a future Palestinian state, President Macron said after meeting Mahmoud Abbas in Paris.

A joint French-Palestinian committee will work on legal and institutional frameworks.

NEW: A new Human Rights Watch report alleges that Venezuelans deported from the U.S. to El Salvador were tortured and abused at the country’s Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) prison.

Detainees described beatings, sexual violence, squalid conditions, and psychological torment.

Bulgaria says it has about one month of gasoline and 50 days of diesel left as U.S. sanctions on Russia’s Lukoil take effect on Nov. 21.

Lukoil operates Bulgaria’s Burgas refinery and much of its fuel network.

Officials are seeking U.S. approval for the refinery to keep running and have banned some fuel exports to protect domestic supply.

Source: Reuters

Australia and Indonesia Sign New Security Treaty

Australia and Indonesia agreed to a landmark defense pact committing both nations to consult if either faces a security threat, expanding on the 1995 and 2006 Lombok frameworks to strengthen Indo-Pacific stability.

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Downing Street is in “bunker mode” as fears grow of a Labour leadership challenge against Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the budget or May local elections.

Rumours swirl that Health Secretary Wes Streeting and others are positioning for a future contest, though Streeting denies plotting a coup.

Source: The Guardian

Ukraine’s Kharkiv has been under attack by Russian drones since early morning.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies charged eight people tied to state nuclear firm Energoatom in a major graft probe involving alleged kickbacks worth over $100 million.

Those implicated include Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, former Deputy PM Oleksiy Chernyshov, and ex-Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

Investigators say film producer and Zelensky associate Timur Mindich led the scheme, taking 10–15% in kickbacks from contractors and laundering the funds through Kyiv offices linked to pro-Russian figures.

Five suspects are detained; Mindich and businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman have fled.

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