A substance similar to the Novichok family of nerve agents was used to poison (NYT) Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed. The finding makes it increasingly likely that sanctions will be imposed on Russia, which has been accused of using the Soviet-era chemical weapons in the past.

​The OPCW’s findings resemble results from labs in France, Germany, and Sweden. Navalny, who is recovering in Germany, said in a video interview on Monday (WaPo) that he was poisoned because Russian authorities believe he will be a threat to President Vladimir Putin’s ruling party in next year’s elections. Moscow has denied involvement. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said today that Berlin and its European Union partners will soon coordinate a joint response (Reuters) to the poisoning. Navalny has called on the EU to ban Russian oligarchs (RFE/RL) from entering the bloc.

World Bank President David Malpass urged creditors including China to suspend debt payments (SCMP) from low-income countries, accusing them of not fully participating in the Group of Twenty’s (G20) debt-suspension program. Malpass said that several of China’s “well-capitalized creditors” were contributing to the debt problems of emerging economies, including some in Africa.

CFR’s Brad W. Setser explains how low-income countries can deal with coronavirus debt.

​South Korea: Former senior North Korean diplomat Jo Song-gil, who went missing in late 2018 while serving in Rome, has been living in South Korea (Yonhap) since July 2019, a South Korean lawmaker confirmed. Jo is the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect to South Korea since 1997.

Both the Afghan government and the Taliban denied a Reuters report (TOLO) that cited three official sources and claimed they had agreed on ground rules for their peace negotiations. The two sides are reportedly still debating the religious basis for the talks and the pertinence of the U.S.-Taliban deal.

​CFR’s Max Boot explains the pitfalls in the Afghan peace talks.

Kyrgyzstan: Thousands gathered in the capital of Bishkek to call for a “clean” government (RFE/RL) following the annulment of the country’s parliamentary election. Demonstrators demanded that businessman Tilek Toktogaziev be named prime minister instead of Sadyr Japarov, who parliament nominated yesterday after protesters freed him from prison.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that the fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where more than three hundred people have been killed, could lead to a regional war (Reuters). Turkey and Russia, allied with Azerbaijan and Armenia, respectively, could be drawn into the conflict.

​Saudi Arabia: In a televised address, a senior member of the Saudi royal family accused Palestinian leaders of failing the Palestinian people, a sign of waning Saudi support (NYT) for their cause in the wake of Israel’s agreements to normalize relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) lifted sanctions on Mali (Al Jazeera) that were imposed following the August military coup that deposed former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The sanctions were lifted after a transitional, civilian government was announced, though many top cabinet posts have gone to military officials.

​CFR’s Michelle Gavin examines the post-coup prospects for democracy in Mali.

Ethiopia: The country’s Senate voted to cut ties (Africanews) between the federal government and the regional government in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, raising ethnic tensions. The move comes after authorities in Tigray unilaterally decided to hold elections. 

After a five-year trial, a Greek court ruled that the far-right Golden Dawn party was operating as a criminal organization (AP). Golden Dawn was founded as a neo-Nazi organization in the 1980s but rose to become Greece’s third-largest party during the country’s financial crisis.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government weathered a confidence vote (WaPo) in Parliament, averting a snap election. Trudeau’s party was reduced to a minority in last year’s election and survived with support from the left-leaning New Democratic Party.

​Mexico: Hurricane Delta struck the Yucatan Peninsula’s northeastern coast as a powerful Category 2 storm (AP) and is expected to grow larger before hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The Donald J. Trump administration announced an overhaul of the H1B visa program (NYT) for high-skilled workers, requiring higher wages for foreign hires and narrowing the eligibility criteria. The administration says the changes will protect American jobs during the pandemic. Immigration lawyers expect the rule, which takes effect in sixty days, to be challenged in court.

Jennifer Doudna, a biochemist at the University of California, Berkeley, and Emmanuelle Charpentier, a French microbiologist, won the Nobel Prize in chemistry (WaPo) for their work developing the revolutionary gene-editing tool CRISPR. It can remove specific segments of genetic material and is being used to treat cancer and cure genetic diseases.