U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Saudi Arabia today (State Dept.) and will travel to the United Arab Emirates tomorrow to discuss the weekend drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities and efforts to counter Iran.
 
Pompeo will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, and Saudi defense officials say they will present evidence (WaPo) of Iranian involvement in the attacks at a news conference today. While Pompeo has linked Iran to the drone strikes, President Donald J. Trump has said he would like to avoid a military conflict with Iran. The United States is reportedly considering (Reuters) seeking a response from the UN Security Council. Tehran warned Washington that it would retaliate against any attacks, state media reported.

South Korea has removed Japan (Yonhap) from its list of trusted trading partners, further escalating the bilateral trade dispute. Seoul said approval for shipping goods to Japan will now take an estimated fifteen days, up from five.
 
China: The country’s vice finance minister is leading a trip to Washington (AP) today to prepare for a new round of trade talks. China said last week that it will lift tariffs on U.S. soybeans after the United States announced it would postpone a tariff hike.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson argue that the trade war with China ignores the real threat from the country—innovation.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for suicide bombings (NYT) in Kabul and north of the capital yesterday that killed at least forty-eight people and wounded dozens. The first attack targeted a campaign rally for President Ashraf Ghani.
 
Eurasia: The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are participating in military exercises led by Russia (Dawn) this week. The drills include troops from China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

With more than 90 percent of votes counted in Israel’s parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party was projected to win thirty-one seats (Haaretz). The Blue and White coalition, Likud’s main challenger in the race, was on track to win thirty-two seats.

The neighboring countries have begun talks to resolve a political rift (VOA) in which they have accused one another of interference, including spying and political assassinations. Rwanda closed its border with Uganda over the dispute.

The two countries will resume hosting ambassadors (DW) after an eleven-year gap, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale announced in Minsk.
 
Spain: The country is expected to hold its fourth election (WSJ) in four years on November 10 after Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez failed to gather a parliamentary majority. Parties have until Monday to agree on a new government, though it is seen as unlikely.

A new Human Rights Watch report found that deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon is driven largely by criminal groups and that state measures against such groups have weakened under President Jair Bolsonaro. Of three hundred reported killings linked to land and resource conflicts in the Amazon in the past decade, only fourteen went to trial.
 
CFR President Richard N. Haass writes that what’s happening in the Amazon is not only Brazil’s concern.
 
Ecuador: The country is investigating a data breach (NYT) in which personal information of up to twenty million people was exposed online, the attorney general’s office said.

The Trump administration is expected this week to revoke an Obama-era waiver that allows the state of California to set auto emissions standards (NPR) that are stricter than federal guidelines.

The global migrant population now comprises 272 million people and its growth is outpacing that of the world’s population, according to a new report from the United Nations. The total number of migrants includes both those who have moved voluntarily and involuntarily.
 
This CFR InfoGuide looks at what has driven the number of refugees to historic highs.