Lawmakers have backed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s proposed Brexit deal but rejected his request (FT) to push it through by October 31. European Council President Donald Tusk recommended that EU leaders accept an extension until the end of January.
 
Johnson said on Tuesday that he will seek a general election (Guardian) if Britain’s exit from the European Union is delayed by three months, a move that would require (BBC) Parliament’s backing. Opposition leaders have suggested that they would not approve an election until the possibility of a no-deal Brexit next week has been ruled out. Johnson met with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Wednesday to discuss a new Brexit timetable.

Beijing is planning to replace Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam by March, according to a Financial Times report. Possible successors include the former head of Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority and a former financial secretary. The Chinese foreign ministry denied the report, calling it a “political rumor with ulterior motives.”
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the democracy movement in Hong Kong.
 
North Korea: Leader Kim Jong-un ordered the removal of South Korean facilities (Yonhap) at the North’s Mount Kumgang resort, a historic inter-Korean cooperation project.

Representatives from the United States and several European countries, as well as the European Union, issued a joint statement (TOLO) calling for a cease-fire in Afghanistan and intra-Afghan peace negotiations.
 
Malaysia: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he will not retract his criticism (Al Jazeera) of India’s recent actions in Kashmir despite trade penalties India imposed against Malaysian palm oil.

Under the new agreement, Kurdish forces must withdraw from a twenty-mile-deep strip along the Syrian border by October 29, after which Russia and Turkey will jointly patrol (AP) part of the region. Turkish forces alone would control the area it captured in its recent incursion.
 
CFR President Richard N. Haass writes that the U.S. withdrawal in northern Syria reinforces doubts that Washington is a reliable ally.
 
Iraq: U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is in Baghdad for meetings with his Iraqi counterpart and Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. Iraq’s defense minister said that U.S. troops exiting Syria to Iraq (RFE/RL) will only stay in the country for up to four weeks.

The election is one of the country’s most tightly contested (DW) since its 1966 independence, with a new opposition party started by former President Ian Khama challenging the ruling Botswana Democratic Party.
 
Guinea: Five opposition and civil society leaders who organized protests (Al Jazeera) against extending presidential term limits were given prison sentences of six months to one year.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at “constitutional coups” across Africa.

More than forty African leaders are in Sochi for a two-day summit (DW) that will include discussions on trade and military cooperation.

The overhaul to the pension system, a major campaign promise of President Jair Bolsonaro, passed its final vote (FT) in Brazil’s senate. The social security secretary said it will lead to more than $190 billion in savings over the next ten years.
 
Chile: In response to nationwide protests, President Sebastian Pinera pledged (NYT) to boost pensions, implement a monthly minimum income, raise taxes on the wealthy, and introduce new insurance programs.

William B. Taylor Jr., the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, told congressional investigators that President Donald J. Trump aimed to condition (NYT) U.S. support for Ukraine, including military aid, on a promise by Kyiv to investigate the Biden family.