South Sudan President Fires Deputy Seen as Successor

President Salva Kiir has dismissed Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel and cut his rank from general to private, signaling a sharp escalation in South Sudan’s political shake-up.

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JNIM Siege Triggers Mauritania Refugee Surge

A JNIM-imposed blockade has fully cut off Léré in Mali’s Timbuktu region, collapsing food and fuel supplies and driving more than 2,500 civilians into Mauritania within days.

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Newly released congressional emails show Jeffrey Epstein bragged in 2018 that he could give Russian officials insight into understanding Donald Trump.

Source: POLITICO

Responding to a 2017 message calling Trump “so gross,” Jeffrey Epstein replied that Trump was “even worse in real life and up close.”

Jeffrey Epstein:

I know how dirty Donald is.

UK GDP in Q3 grew just 0.1%, missing the 0.2% forecast.

A new lawsuit claims Google secretly activated its Gemini AI across Gmail, Chat, and Meet in October, allowing it to scan users’ private messages without consent.

Although Gemini can be turned off, the suit says the setting is hidden, leaving most users unknowingly exposed.

Source: Bloomberg

Turkish MoD:

Search efforts at the crash site of our military cargo plane on the Azerbaijan–Georgia border have recovered the body of our 20th fallen service member.

Mali: Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and Lt. Gen. Andrey Averyanov met President Assimi Goïta for talks on Sahel security.

They were joined by Mali and Burkina Faso’s defense chiefs to discuss deeper military cooperation.

Sudan: RSF adviser Al Basha Tabiq dismissed U.S. remarks on a possible RSF terror designation and UAE involvement, saying they are inappropriate and undermine ceasefire efforts.

Turkish MoD:

As of November 12, we’ve temporarily grounded our C-130 aircraft as a precaution.

Once detailed technical inspections are completed, the aircraft that pass inspection will return to service.

Sudan: Local sources say army air-defense units struck several RSF drones targeting Dongola, Merowe and Ad-Dabbah in Northern State.

NEW: Germany’s coalition has agreed: all 18-year-old men must report for military screening.

If not enough volunteers enlist, a lottery will decide who serves.

The parties also set growth targets for the Bundeswehr and may introduce a needs-based conscription if voluntary numbers stay too low.

Source: BILD

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s Development and Construction Coalition won Iraq’s parliamentary elections according to unofficial results.

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Zelensky:

We believe that if we apply strong pressure, the Russians will need a pause.

But we must recognize that they want a major war and are preparing to be capable, in 2029 or 2030 – during this period – of starting such a large war on the European continent.

Xi Jinping will skip this month’s G-20 summit in South Africa, sending Premier Li Qiang instead.

His absence — along with those of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin — means the meeting will miss leaders of the world’s top economies.

Germany is quietly shifting away from the troubled Franco-German FCAS fighter program and building its own alternative, the Combat Fighter System Nucleus (CFSN).

Source: Defense Archives

Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara has been quietly working with the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS and Al Qaeda since 2016, beginning when he seized territory in northwestern Syria.

Source: NYT

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani raises the Syrian flag over the Syrian Embassy in London.

Marco Rubio on Sudan:

The RSF has concluded that they’re winning and they are committing sexual violence and horrifying atrocities against women, children, innocent civilians.

Mali: Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop rejected fears militants could seize the capital, saying the fuel blockade is being managed and Bamako remains under control.