The coronavirus pandemic is expected to force 88–115 million people into extreme poverty this year, the World Bank announced in its biennial report on global poverty. The total could rise to 150 million people next year.

​This would be the largest increase since the bank began publishing the data in 1990, and it would end a more than two-decade decline (WSJ) in extreme poverty, which is defined as living on less than $1.90 per day. South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are the most affected regions, and the pandemic is also increasing income inequality (NYT), the report said. The World Bank had been aiming to lower the global poverty rate to 3 percent by 2030, but it is now expected to be more than double that by then.

Protests in Indonesia continued for the third day against a new law (BBC) the government claims will create jobs. Thousands of people have participated in strikes and demonstrations against the law, which they fear will harm workers and the environment by rolling back regulations.

​Vietnam: A prominent independent journalist was arrested (Guardian) in what analysts called a crackdown on free speech ahead of a January National Congress meeting held every five years.

The United States will reduce its number of troops stationed in Afghanistan to 2,500 by early next year (NYT), said U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien. President Donald J. Trump contradicted O’Brien, tweeting that troops could be home by Christmas.

​CFR’s Max Boot explains the riskiness of the United States leaving Afghanistan.

Kyrgyzstan: Parliament failed to gather a quorum (RFE/RL) to discuss the country’s power vacuum following the annulment of parliamentary elections. Only forty of the sixty-one members needed were present to discuss setting a date for an extraordinary session, naming an interim prime minister, and impeaching President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, who has not appeared in public for several days.

Two British members of the self-proclaimed Islamic State were brought to the United States to face charges (NYT) over the imprisonment and torture of hostages, including American journalists, some of whom were later killed. The men are part of a four-member, British Islamic State cell nicknamed “the Beatles.”

​Libya: Delegates from the country’s two rival administrations agreed on criteria (Al Jazeera) for choosing government leadership during talks in Morocco, which are expected to continue.

Two men were convicted in a Kenyan court (NYT) for their role in a 2013 terrorist attack on a mall in Nairobi that left 67 people dead and 175 injured. They are scheduled to be sentenced later this month. A third defendant was acquitted on all charges.

​Mali: A dozen military and political figures arrested during the country’s August coup were released (AFP) by the new transitional government. Among those released were former Prime Minister Boubou Cisse and a former national assembly speaker.

The French and German governments announced that they will propose sanctions (WaPo) on individuals they believe are responsible for the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, as well as on an entity involved with Russia’s Novichok chemical weapons program. Russia has denied involvement in Navalny’s poisoning.

​Armenia/Azerbaijan: Fighting in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh has displaced half the people living there (AFP), according to its rights ombudsman. International mediators are set to meet in Geneva on the ongoing conflict today.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced that he was ending “Operation Car Wash” (MercoPress), the biggest corruption investigation in the country’s history, saying there was no longer corruption in the government. The investigation, launched six years ago, led to the conviction of some of the country’s most prominent politicians, including former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

​Venezuela: Citing “widespread” political persecution, the UN Human Rights Council voted to extend its investigation (Buenos Aires Times) of alleged rights violations in Venezuela for two years.

Vice President Mike Pence and vice-presidential contender Senator Kamala Harris clashed over foreign policy, climate change, and the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic during their first and only debate (WaPo) last night in Utah. The debate was far less pugilistic than the previous one between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced today that the next Trump-Biden debate would be virtual (NYT), but Trump immediately said he would not participate.

​This CFR Backgrounder explains the vice president’s role in foreign policy.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria and Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea have advanced to the final round (Bloomberg) in the race to become the next head of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The winner will be the first woman to lead the WTO. The final phase of the selection process is slated to end on October 27.

​CFR’s Jennifer Hillman explains what to know about the WTO election.