The United States has begun withdrawing troops (WaPo) from northern Syria in advance of an expected Turkish military offensive against Kurdish forces in the area. Washington has long backed the Kurdish fighters in its fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State in the country.
 
The move came after a phone call between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara considers the Kurdish forces a terrorist insurgency, and says it plans to create a zone for returned Syrian refugees where the Kurds are currently based. The U.S.-allied fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, warned that a Turkish incursion would threaten progress (NYT) against the Islamic State. Ergodan said he will likely visit Washington (Anadolu) early next month.

North Korea’s top nuclear envoy said U.S. denuclearization talks over the weekend broke down (WaPo) due to the United States’ “failure to abandon its outdated viewpoint and attitude,” while the U.S. State Department called the talks “good discussions.” Pyongyang said Washington must change its approach by the end of the year if it wants to resume negotiations.
 
Hong Kong: Dozens of protesters were detained under a new ban on face masks (Reuters). China’s People’s Liberation Army warned demonstrators they could be prosecuted after protesters shone lasers toward its Hong Kong barracks.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Jiwei Ci writes that the Hong Kong standoff shows that a nondemocratic political identity is China’s Achilles’ heel.

President Maithripala Sirisena did not register (Al Jazeera) for the country’s presidential election on November 16. Sirisena attempted last year to remove the prime minister, a move reversed by the Supreme Court, and his government was criticized over its handling of the Easter bombings. A record thirty-five candidates will vie for the presidency (AP).
 
Pakistan: A U.S. delegation including several senators and the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad visited Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PTI) to observe the situation amid India’s security lockdown in the region.
 
CFR lays out what to know about the disputed region of Kashmir.

Exit polls projected that the Ennahda Movement would take about 18 percent of the vote in a Sunday parliamentary election. The Qalb Tounes party, founded by jailed media mogul and presidential runoff candidate Nabil Karoui, was expected to fall short (Al Jazeera) with about 16 percent of votes.

Main opposition figure Maurice Kampto, who was imprisoned after protesting the results of last October’s election, was released from prison (Al Jazeera) along with more than one hundred other opposition members. UN chief Antonio Guterres praised the move (UN).
 
Mauritius: Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth dissolved parliament (Reuters) and called for new elections to be held on November 7.

The Socialist Party won 37 percent of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary election (AFP), growing its share of seats from 86 to 106, according to preliminary results. The expected win still puts the party ten seats shy of an outright majority.
 
Kosovo: Two opposition parties, the center-left Vetevendosje and center-right Democratic League, were on track to win around 25 percent of votes (BBC) in the country’s general election. The election was called in July after the prime minister resigned amid a war crimes investigation at The Hague.

Pope Francis, in Rome with more than 180 cardinals, bishops, and priests from across South America, began a three-week meeting on preserving rain forests (AP) and protecting indigenous groups.
 
This CFR InfoGuide explores deforestation in the Amazon.
 
Ecuador: Demonstrations across the country to oppose the end of fuel subsidies (Reuters) continued for the fourth straight day. While transit workers ended their strike, other sectors called for their own to begin on Wednesday.

An intelligence official with knowledge of events detailed in a whistleblower complaint now at the center of an impeachment inquiry against President Trump has been interviewed (ABC) by Intelligence Inspector General Michael Atkinson, the official’s lawyer said.
 
CFR’s Stephen Sestanovich discusses whether Russia is winning the Trump-Ukraine scandal.