Leaders of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries are meeting in London (NYT) today and tomorrow to mark the seventieth anniversary of the alliance.
 
The meeting will include discussions (NATO) on how to address Russian and Chinese power and on cost-sharing, with European states and Canada set to increase their defense spending by $130 billion by the end of next year. Ahead of the meeting, Turkey threatened not to defend (AP) Poland and Baltic allies if other NATO members do not back Turkish opposition to Kurdish forces in Syria. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald J. Trump criticized French President Emmanuel Macron over recent comments in which Macron said NATO was experiencing “brain death.”

A pipeline operated by Russia’s Gazprom that runs more than five thousand miles into China began transporting gas (CNN) yesterday. Leaders from both countries have said the project, valued at more than $400 billion, marks a strengthening of bilateral ties.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Bonnie Bley looks at how China is upping its international partnerships.
 
New Zealand: The country announced it will ban foreign donations (Guardian) of more than $32 to politicians and require greater transparency in political advertising as part of efforts to prevent foreign interference in its elections.

Demonstrators nationwide are calling for stronger laws (Guardian) to protect women after four men were accused of raping and murdering a twenty-seven-year-old woman in the southern city of Hyderabad. 
 
Bangladesh: A new Human Rights Watch report found that the country is prohibiting aid groups from providing education to almost four hundred thousand Rohingya children in refugee camps.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the forces that fueled the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Air strikes hit three towns (WaPo) held by rebels and Kurdish forces in Syria’s northwest, killing at least twenty civilians, according to the White Helmets civil defense group and a Kurdish military group. Some strikes were suspected to be carried out by Damascus, while others were blamed on Turkish forces.
 
This CFR explainer looks at Syria’s descent into civil war.
 
Lebanon: The White House announced it has lifted a monthslong freeze (NYT) of $105 million in military aid to the country. Officials had not provided a reason for the freeze.

Negotiators from the three countries met in Cairo (Al Jazeera) for a fresh round of talks aimed at resolving a dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Talks broke down earlier this year, but the parties agreed to further negotiations after a U.S.-brokered meeting last month.
 
Zimbabwe: The World Food Program, a UN agency, announced it will deliver food aid (Reuters) to 4.1 million people, roughly a quarter of the country’s population, in the first six months of next year amid a protracted economic crisis.

Prime Minister Antti Rinne resigned today (AP) after a coalition partner pulled its support, saying Rinne’s government mishandled a two-week postal worker strike. The country’s legislature is set to choose a new prime minister next week.

A Honduran court sentenced seven men (Guardian) to between thirty and fifty years in prison for the 2016 murder of environmental activist Berta Caceres.
 
Latin America: In a speech (State Dept.) on U.S. policy toward the region, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States will work with other governments to uphold democracy and prevent protests in several Latin American countries from turning into riots.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recommended tariffs (NYT) of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion worth of French goods in reaction to a French tax imposed on U.S. tech companies earlier this year. France’s finance minister said Europe would have a “strong response” to such a measure.
 
This CFR In Brief lays out what to know about France’s tech tax.