Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize (BBC) for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced, saying the laureates are “representative of all journalists who stand up for this ideal.” 

Ressa is a cofounder of the news site Rappler, which has probed (NPR) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly antidrug campaign. She has been convicted of libel charges, which journalism advocates say were part of an intimidation campaign (Bloomberg) by the government, though Duterte denied any role. Muratov cofounded the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, known for its hard-hitting reporting on Russia under President Vladimir Putin. The Russian government has carried out a sweeping crackdown (Moscow Times) on independent media outlets over the last year.

Around two dozen U.S. troops have been operating in Taiwan for at least a year, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal. In response to the report, Beijing called for Washington to cease military aid to Taiwan.

Japan: The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will call for an increase in defense spending of up to 100 percent in a manifesto to be unveiled (Reuters) before general elections on October 31.

For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR’s Sheila A. Smith looks at the road ahead for Japan’s new prime minister.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi about the situation in Afghanistan (Dawn). Pakistan has pushed for greater engagement with the Taliban government.

At this CFR meeting, Qureshi discussed the future of U.S.-Pakistan relations.

Sri Lanka: The government ended price controls (Al Jazeera) on goods including milk, wheat powder, and liquified petroleum gas in an effort to increase supplies amid both a food shortage and a currency crisis.

Bahrain, Russia, and other members of the UN Human Rights Council voted to shut down (Reuters) ongoing investigations into war crimes in Yemen. A Human Rights Watch director said the move is “a stain” on the council’s record.

This Backgrounder looks at the ongoing war in Yemen.

Gulf states/UK: The United Kingdom began negotiations (Bloomberg) on a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Security forces freed 187 people (Al Jazeera) in the country’s northwestern state of Zamfara, where they had been abducted in separate bandit attacks, police said.

Zambia: The country’s newly elected government said its foreign debt is around $2 billion more (AFP) than previously thought, with over $6 billion owed to China.

Countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) seek to advance (FT) a proposal that would make international firms pay an additional $100 billion in corporate taxes. Holdouts Estonia and Ireland said yesterday that they are coming on board.

Czech Republic: A two-day general election will conclude tomorrow (Bloomberg). Prime Minister Andrej Babis is poised to win but expected to fall short of a majority. Reports of Babis’s use of shell companies in the recently leaked Pandora Papers have led to public blowback.

Officials are meeting in Mexico City today to approve a deal to overhaul the Merida Initiative (WaPo), a thirteen-year, multibillion-dollar security accord that has failed to curb drug trafficking.

Haiti: Daniel Foote, the former U.S. envoy to Haiti who resigned last month, testified before Congress (CNBC) yesterday that he stepped down after learning about the administration’s mass deportation of migrants to Haiti, which he said is “too dangerous” to receive them.

After objecting to a previous bill to lift the debt ceiling, the Senate passed a new proposal (NPR) that the Treasury Department estimates will keep debt payments flowing until early December.

In this In Brief, CFR’s Roger W. Ferguson Jr. lays out what’s at stake in the debt ceiling showdown.