Halloween was celebrated in much of the Western world this week. (We at FP find the news spooky enough.) Did you find time to follow the latest headlines between candy bars and horror movie marathons?
1. The World Bank said on Monday that the price of what commodity could spiral out of control if the Israel-Hamas war continues to escalate?
Israel began sending its ground forces into Gaza last weekend, pushing the conflict into its next stage, which Daniel Byman analyzed in Foreign Policy on Saturday.
2. Why did Slovakia’s new government on Monday announce a major deployment of soldiers and police along its border with Hungary?
Across Europe, anti-migrant sentiment formerly associated with the far right is moving into the mainstream, FP’s Anchal Vohra writes.
3. The United Nations said on Monday that nearly how many people are internally displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
The crisis in Congo is a result of violence between M23 rebels and militia forces loyal to the government in the eastern province of North Kivu, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi reports in Africa Brief.
4. Which South American country severed diplomatic ties with Israel on Tuesday due to its “aggressive and disproportionate” war in Gaza?
Western countries risk losing credibility among the nations of the global south if their hypocrisy on the Israel-Hamas war is not contained or reversed, Oliver Stuenkel writes.
5. Why did Pakistani forces on Wednesday deport dozens of Afghans living in the country?
The deportations are the first in a new national policy to remove unauthorized immigrants from the country, the largest group of which is Afghan immigrants, FP’s Michael Kugelman writes in South Asia Brief.
6. Russian President Vladimir Putin withdrew his country from which international accord on Thursday?
The Cold War-era treaty banned the testing of nuclear weapons. Moscow justified the move by mentioning that the United States never ratified the accord, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reports in World Brief.
7. Which global city “earned” the top spot on a list of most polluted cities on Friday?
Pollution is a persistent problem in the Indian capital. In 2019, Dean Spears wrote about the government’s lack of progress on addressing this health hazard. Four years later, little appears to have changed.
8. This coming weekend, Anthony Albanese will be the first Australian prime minister in seven years to visit which country?
The visit comes a month after Albanese traveled to the United States amid growing doubts about Canberra’s commitment to the Australia-United Kingdom-United States defense pact, known as AUKUS, which John Lee wrote about at the time in FP.
9. Which national team won the Rugby World Cup in Paris on Saturday?
The win marks the Springboks’ record fourth title, which they earned in a close match against New Zealand’s All Blacks, the BBC reports.
10. Which male soccer player won the annual Ballon d’Or award for best global player this week?
This was Messi’s record eighth Ballon d’Or, coming a year after he led Argentina’s national team to its first men’s World Cup title in 36 years, Reuters reports.
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