The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ordered Poland to pay a record-high fine (Politico) of $1.2 million per day for failing to comply with a July order to suspend a controversial disciplinary mechanism for judges. The fine escalates the long-building tensions between the European Union (EU) and Poland over judicial independence.
 
The CJEU said the fine aims to prevent “serious and irreparable harm” (AP) to the EU’s legal order and values, while a Polish government spokesperson criticized the fine as “blackmail.” Critics of Poland’s disciplinary chamber say it allows for judges to be dismissed (DW) on political grounds. Last week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said it would be abolished but did not announce a date.

The fuel rationing adds pressure (Caixin) to an economy already struggling with coal and natural gas shortages that have caused electricity cuts.
 
Taiwan: In a CNN interview, President Tsai Ing-wen publicly confirmed for the first time that there are U.S. troops in Taiwan for training purposes. She also said she believed the United States would defend Taiwan if it were attacked.
 
At this virtual event, panelists discuss the risk of an armed conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.

Environment secretary R. P. Gupta said announcing such a target “in itself isn’t a solution” (AP). Instead, he said, countries should focus on having a plan to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere while getting to their net-zero goal.

For Foreign Affairs, Kelly Sims Gallagher argues that countries should focus on reducing emissions now rather than announcing net-zero targets for the future.

India: The country test-fired (Indian Express) a nuclear-capable ballistic missile amid rising tensions with China.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani tweeted the announcement (WaPo) and said a date for the negotiations would be revealed next week. For months, Tehran has said it would return to the negotiating table but never set a date.
 
For Foreign Affairs, Michael Singh writes that Washington should prepare for a scenario in which Tehran does not agree to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal.
 
Iraq: Election officials are conducting a manual recount (National) of certain polling stations’ votes from October 10 parliamentary elections after irregularities were reported. The final election results have yet to be announced.

The Sudanese ambassadors to the United States, the EU, and France were among those fired (AP).
 
Kenya: An energy ministry official said the country plans to convert (Bloomberg) all heavy fuel oil–fired power plants to run on liquified natural gas by 2030.

Shops, schools, restaurants, and nonessential services will be closed (AFP) for eleven days.

The Central Bank raised its benchmark rate (Buenos Aires Times) to 7.75 percent in an effort to curb inflation.
 
Ecuador: President Guillermo Lasso called for dialogue (Al Jazeera) after Indigenous demonstrators blocked roads to protest rising fuel prices.

A House of Representatives committee will question the CEOs (NYT) of BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell about allegations that they intentionally misled the public about their products’ impact on the climate.