The World

BEIRUT — A Lebanese judge on Oct. 20 summoned two Hezbollah officials over an explosives shipment seized by security forces. The case followed Hezbollah's admission that the material was its own. Authorities said on Oct. 12 that they had intercepted 780 kilograms of explosives heading for Beirut. A Hezbollah lawmaker later said the material was meant for use against Israeli forces, denied any assassination plot and asked for its return. Times of Israel reported that Secretary of State Rubio told President Aoun this was out of the question. Separately, the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL is due to end its mandate in December. Beirut has asked for an extension and warns of a security vacuum in the south. Crisis Group says talks on implementing the June Israel-Lebanon framework have stalled, and that Hezbollah refuses to disarm while Israel occupies parts of the south.

GOMA, DR CONGO — Former President Joseph Kabila announced a new political-military coalition in Goma on Oct. 12. The Front for the Refoundation of the Nation replaces the AFC-M23 alliance. Kabila leads it, and M23-linked figures including Corneille Nangaa are deputies. A coalition adviser said it would end what it calls tyranny 'by any means necessary,' including force. Kinshasa accuses Kabila of preparing a 'general attack.' A military court sentenced him to death in absentia last year, and he calls the case political. The U.S. sanctioned him earlier this year. Semafor reports that the move complicates Washington's efforts to end the fighting and secure access to Congolese minerals. The announcement came after protests over proposed constitutional changes that opponents say would let President Tshisekedi seek a third term. His second term ends in 2028. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera fear more fighting and possible army defections.

BAMAKO — Mali's army, backed by Russian Africa Corps fighters, re-entered Kidal on Oct. 6 after the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front said it was pulling out. The front had held the town since April. Crisis Group's Ibrahim Maïga calls the recapture significant but says it is unlikely to bring lasting resolution without a political process. Violence elsewhere continues. The Council on Foreign Relations tracker, citing AP, reports that gunmen killed at least 40 civilians in a village in Menaka on Oct. 18, with local leaders blaming Islamic State Sahel Province. In September the al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM overran a military camp at Dioura. Security and diplomatic sources put the toll at over 120 soldiers killed and 100 taken hostage. Amnesty International separately accused Malian soldiers and Russian fighters of war crimes against pastoralist civilians.

TOKYO — Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi marked a year in office on Oct. 21 with relations with Beijing still strained over her November 2025 statement that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan's survival. China responded with travel warnings and trade curbs, including reported disruption of rare-earth supplies to Japanese firms. Al Jazeera reported in August that a cross-party Japanese delegation went to Beijing to restore contact, and that Takaichi had not retracted her remarks. China's state news agency Xinhua, an interested party, summarized Japanese newspaper editorials that questioned her economic and diplomatic results and her military buildup. It also summarized criticism of her leadership style, with the Asahi Shimbun likening the government to a bus with no one on the brakes. Crisis Group lists China-U.S. among its items of note for October.

WASHINGTON — The FBI arrested Ian A. Brinksman, 42, of Washington on Friday. He is charged by criminal complaint with unlawfully transmitting national defense information, the Justice Department said. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Brinksman was a contractor who provided services to the agency, and that the CIA referred the case to the FBI. According to the complaint, Brinksman held a Top Secret clearance with SCI access. He worked as a systems-integration developer for a contractor serving an agency based in the Eastern District of Virginia. Prosecutors allege he repeatedly opened classified reports outside his duties. They say he then spoke with a romantic partner who runs a Substack newsletter and who had posted that she accepts leaks. The affidavit reportedly cites more than 800 calls or attempted calls this year. The writer is not named in the complaint and has not been charged. Brinksman is presumed innocent. The charge carries up to 10 years in prison.

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal court on Monday ordered detention of Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national and former OpenAI engineer. He is accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office. A Sunday filing from prosecutors says he was in frequent WhatsApp contact with a member of the Saudi royal family through 2025 and 2026, most recently on Oct. 5. He was arrested Oct. 9. Prosecutors argued he is a flight risk with considerable support from a foreign government that has no extradition treaty with the United States. The Justice Department complaint says the device was concealed in toilet paper, installed around Sept. 28 and found Sept. 30. A second device was reportedly found in his bag. He is charged with intercepting oral communications and faces up to five years in prison. The FBI investigation is continuing.

Kaspersky has published a technical report on a new UEFI bootkit called BlackX, used in early 2026 against diplomatic organizations in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The researchers suspect the activity was run by APT41, a China-linked state-sponsored group. According to The Hacker News, the bootkit defeats Secure Boot even on patched Windows machines that lack specific revocations. That means organizations that applied routine updates but skipped the revocation step may still be exposed. UEFI-level implants load before the operating system, so they are hard to detect and can survive a reinstall. The attribution to APT41 is Kaspersky's assessment and has not been independently confirmed. No Chinese government response was found in the reporting.