The World

GENEVA — A UN-backed commission of inquiry said Monday that Israel is still committing genocidal acts in Gaza despite the ceasefire that took effect in October 2025. In a report to the General Assembly, it said Israeli forces have expanded their control of Gaza from 53 percent to at least 60 percent of the territory. It said fire along the advancing "Yellow Line" has killed at least 196 Palestinians, 43 of them children. The panel also accused Israeli forces of crimes against humanity in the West Bank and documented more than 34,000 people displaced, the largest displacement there since 1967. It criticized Palestinian security forces for excessive force as well. Israel's mission in Geneva rejected the findings as a misinformation campaign and urged that the commission be dissolved. The commission cannot prosecute anyone, but its findings could later serve as evidence in international proceedings.

ADDIS ABABA — War has returned to northern Ethiopia. Crisis Group's latest monthly tracker says the Tigray People's Liberation Front launched a multi-pronged offensive against federal forces in coordination with other rebels. Federal troops retook control of Mekelle's airport on Oct. 6. On Oct. 1 Ethiopia ordered ten Eritrean diplomats out and closed its embassy in Eritrea, and Asmara responded by cutting all diplomatic ties. Ethiopia also expelled an Egyptian diplomat, and Egypt reciprocated. Army commander Birhanu Jula has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of backing the rebels. Crisis Group says fighting that pushes close to the Ethiopia-Eritrea border could draw Eritrea in on the TPLF's side and set off an interstate war. It lists Ethiopia and Eritrea among its October conflict risk alerts and urges the EU to help broker talks.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government remain locked in a low-intensity conflict. Pakistan defended its strikes inside Afghanistan as self-defense against militants and rejected claims of civilian deaths. It says militant attacks inside Pakistan have caused more than 3,500 casualties so far in 2026. The Taliban call the airstrikes aggression. Pakistani security sources said fresh clashes on Oct. 18 in Kurram and nearby sectors destroyed a Taliban base camp, a claim that has not been independently verified. A Dawn editor told VOA the border is closed, trade has stopped and no negotiations are under way. Crisis Group listed both countries among September's deteriorating situations and flagged them as October risk alerts. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). The Taliban deny it.

TAIPEI — Taiwan's Coast Guard said China is pairing maritime militia vessels with coast guard ships to expand "battlefield preparation" around Taiwan and into the western Pacific. It added that the activity also pressures Japan and the Philippines. The statement responded to a Reuters exclusive on the first known sighting of a Chinese militia boat off Taiwan's Pacific coast in mid-August. The boat was operating with a Chinese coast guard ship and a research vessel, and Taiwan sent a patrol boat to drive it off. Taiwanese officials believe Beijing is practicing for a possible blockade using overlapping military, paramilitary and civilian assets. China says its operations east of Taiwan are lawful because they take place in Chinese waters, a position Taipei rejects. On Oct. 18, Taiwan also drove away 16 Chinese vessels in what it called hybrid warfare.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has designated Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes on American campuses as a national security threat. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the move in a video address on Friday. He said Congress banned the institutes years ago but that they returned under new names and charters. He put the number at 80 successor groups across 30 universities, and said the department had dismantled all of them over the past two months. The Pentagon said separately that research-security audits at 30 universities led to more than 80 actions to end ties, including precautionary ones involving entities not on its list. Hegseth did not cite a specific case of intellectual property theft by a Confucius Institute. China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it opposes smears targeting the institutes and defended educational exchanges.

CANBERRA — The Australian Signals Directorate published its annual cyber threat report on Tuesday, calling artificial intelligence the defining force in the threat landscape. Its cyber centre handled more than 1,500 incidents in 2025-26, up over 20%. It issued more than 4,400 notifications of possible malicious activity to Australian entities, almost 80% more than the year before. It received over 82,000 cybercrime reports. The report says state-sponsored actors are targeting government, critical infrastructure and business, and that the line between espionage, sabotage and crime is blurring. ASD director-general Abigail Bradshaw told ABC that more disruptions to essential services are likely. The agency also revealed offensive operations against criminals. In one, it accessed the back end of the Amadey malware network, which it said had reached 180,000 computers worldwide. In another, it destroyed about 4.8 million stolen files before they could be sold.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo last week forbidding all Defense Department personnel from financial transactions that use nonpublic information, directly or through third parties. The ban covers betting platforms and prediction markets, and the memo names Polymarket and Kalshi. It argues that hostile intelligence services can watch such markets to anticipate U.S. movements, targets and timing. A Pentagon official confirmed the memo's authenticity to Military Times and said the department may coordinate with the Justice Department on violations. The memo follows the case of a Special Forces master sergeant charged with winning $400,000 on bets tied to Nicolas Maduro's removal. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is set for early December. Lawmakers and experts have also raised concerns about wagers placed around the Iran war. Violations could bring administrative, disciplinary or criminal action.