North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that regular hotline calls with South Korea, which Pyongyang ceased in August, will be restored (Yonhap) as part of efforts to improve inter-Korean relations. He announced the move during a speech to parliament in which he also denounced U.S. policy toward North Korea.
 
Kim’s statements could indicate his desire to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington as the United States continues to seek North Korea’s denuclearization, the Associated Press reported. A cabinet reshuffle on the sidelines of the parliament meeting promoted Kim’s younger sister (Reuters), Kim Yo-jong, to a position on the powerful state council. Meanwhile, recent North Korean missile tests have prompted the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting today.

The opposition proposed adding stronger protections (Straits Times) for freedom to criticize the government and increased oversight of executive powers to a draft bill that would allow the federal government to block internet content in the name of controlling foreign interference.
 
This Backgrounder discusses Singapore’s soft authoritarianism.

The number of foreign militants in the region has risen for the first time since New Delhi ended India-administered Kashmir’s autonomous status in 2019, an Indian security official told Nikkei. Many are reportedly associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, groups that fought with the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network in Afghanistan.
 
Afghanistan: U.S. generals, continuing their testimony to Congress (AP), said the Afghan government’s collapse can be traced to the complete troop withdrawal promised in the 2020 U.S.-Taliban peace deal.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is currently on the highest-level official visit (Al Jazeera) by an Israeli official to Bahrain since the countries reestablished ties last year.
 
Algeria/France: Algeria summoned the French ambassador (BBC) over France’s decision to cut the number of visas available to migrants from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, a decision Morocco’s foreign minister called “unjustified.” France was responding to the three countries’ unwillingness to take back undocumented migrants. 

Ethiopians who were unable to vote in June due to security concerns are choosing local and federal lawmakers today (Bloomberg), while a referendum in the country’s south will determine whether a new state is formed.
 
Kenya/South Africa: The countries’ national airlines signed a cooperation agreement (AFP) pledging to work toward the creation of a joint pan-African airline.

The meetings, which end Saturday, are the last before November’s UN climate conference in Glasgow, the twenty-sixth annual Conference of the Parties (COP). They are expected to discuss funding for poorer countries (BBC) to deal with climate change.
 
For Foreign Affairs, Kelly Sims Gallagher writes that countries need to cut emissions now to reach long-term goals for net-zero emissions.
 
France: Former President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to a one-year jail term (France 24) for illegal campaign financing in 2012.

Rejecting an appeal from Canada’s federal government, the court ruled that First Nations children who had suffered discrimination in the child-welfare system are entitled to more than $30,000 each (Guardian).
 
Haiti: U.S. officials are holding a series of meetings (State Dept.) in Haiti in the wake of the country’s political crisis and uproar over U.S. immigration policies.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said lawmakers agreed (NBC) on stopgap measures to fund the government past midnight tonight. The issue of government funding was decoupled from an increase in the U.S. debt ceiling, a shift from a previous version of the bill.
 
CFR’s Roger W. Ferguson Jr. looks at what’s at stake in the debt ceiling showdown.