Fighting erupted on Sunday between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, their latest clash in a long-running territorial dispute. At least thirty people, including civilians, have reportedly been killed (BBC) and more than one hundred others have been wounded so far in the countries’ heaviest fighting since 2016.
 
Nagorno-Karabakh has been run by ethnic Armenians (Guardian) since 1991 but is internationally viewed as part of Azerbaijan. The conflict between the two former Soviet states threatens to escalate Russia-Turkey tensions. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who rebuked Turkey (Al Jazeera) for vowing to support Azerbaijan. Russia, an Armenian ally, called for an end to the violence, as did the United States, France, and the European Union, among others.

Hours before it would have gone into effect, a U.S. federal judge temporarily blocked (CNN) the Donald J. Trump administration’s ban on downloads of Chinese-owned video application TikTok. However, the judge did not block (Guardian) additional restrictions on the application due to take effect on November 12.
 
North Korea/South Korea: South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun called for a swift inter-Korean investigation (Yonhap) into North Korea’s killing of a South Korean official last week. North Korea accused South Korea (WaPo) of violating a demarcation line to find the official’s body.

Interim President Ba N’Daou appointed former Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane to be Mali’s new prime minister as the country rebuilds its government (Al Jazeera) after a military coup. The selection of a civilian prime minister, such as Ouane, was required for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to lift post-coup sanctions on Mali.
 
Nigeria: Militants linked to the self-proclaimed Islamic State attacked a government convoy in Borno State twice in less than three days. Eighteen people were killed (BBC) in the first attack on Friday, the military said, though local media reported (Vanguard) a higher toll. There were no casualties in the second attack.

Almost two-thirds of voters rejected a referendum (DW) to limit the free movement of people into Switzerland from the EU, of which the country is not a member. A populist, right-wing party proposed the change over immigration concerns.

EU officials met with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and with Juan Guaido, who the United States and over fifty other countries view as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, to discuss delaying the country’s controversial legislative elections. The United States accused the European bloc (WaPo) of subverting its isolationist policy toward Maduro.
 
CFR’s Paul J. Angelo looks at the humanitarian crisis facing Venezuela and outlines potential international responses in this Council Special Report.
 
Argentina/Bolivia: Interim Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric Rodriguez accused Argentina (FT) of meddling in Bolivia’s October 2019 elections to aid the political party of former Bolivian President Evo Morales. Morales resigned last year amid allegations of election rigging.

President Trump paid $750 in income taxes in 2016 and 2017, the New York Times reported, citing tax-return data for Trump and his business organization provided by unnamed sources. Trump paid no income taxes in ten of the past fifteen years, largely because he reported losses that exceeded his earnings, and has $421 million in loans and other debts, the newspaper said. If he is reelected, lenders could make an unprecedented decision to foreclose on a sitting president. Trump brushed off the accusation (Bloomberg) as “fake news” and claimed to “pay a lot” in taxes.