| Middle East → President Donald Trump has set a “three to four day” timeframe for Hamas to respond to his 20-point peace plan for Gaza. Following a Trump-facilitated phone call between Israel and Qatar’s Prime Ministers on Monday – during which Netanyahu reportedly apologized for violating Qatari sovereignty to target Hamas earlier this month – the White House voiced optimism that a deal would come to fruition, ending the war. However, on Tuesday reports emerged suggesting that Israel may have made select changes to the deal terms, aggravating the mediators and potentially making Hamas’s acceptance of the agreement less likely. Some reports suggest Hamas is strongly considering the deal as is, though we have seen this movie before, as the saying goes. One side – often Hamas but in this case Israel – claims they have accepted a deal drawn up by the mediating countries only for the other side to claim that the deal includes substantive and unacceptable changes. Still, this is the most promising moment we have seen for the prospects of a comprehensive ceasefire. The Trump team seems eager to move the agreement forward and then to leverage that momentum to revive progress toward expanding the Abraham Accords. International Affairs →Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently occupied by Russia, has been running on emergency diesel generators for five days after losing external power due to Russian shelling. Greenpeace Ukraine warns Russia may be preparing to reconnect the plant to its own grid despite the risks. At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a $90 billion arms deal with the U.S. and revealed that Israel’s Patriot air defense system has been operating in Ukraine. He has also criticized Hungary for its alleged intelligence-gathering drone activity →On Sunday, Denmark’s defense ministry reported new unexplained drone sightings at multiple military sites and airports, prompting deployments to bolster surveillance. The reports came just a day after NATO announced plans to step up vigilance in the Baltic Sea region. These incidents add to a series of recent drone appearances across Europe, fueling security concerns and suspicions of possible Russian involvement. →On Monday, the Taliban imposed a nationwide internet and telecom blackout in Afghanistan, which has cut off more than 43 million people from global communications under what it calls “morality measures.” The shutdown is the largest blackout that the group has issued since its return to power in 2021. US →President Trump has announced new federal law enforcement crackdowns that include deploying troops to Portland, Chicago, and Memphis. The actions have triggered strong opposition and protests amongst some local residents and Democratic politicians. →On Saturday, a gunman, Thomas Jacob Sanford, attacked a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Grand Blanc, Michigan, killing four people and injuring eight before being killed in a shootout with police. Sanford drove his truck into the building, opened fire on worshippers, and set the church on fire, leading to both shooting and fire fatalities. The FBI is investigating the attack as targeted violence, with officials and President Trump urging patience and caution against speculation as they work to determine the motive. Cyber →On September 29, 2025 Japan’s largest brewer, Asahi Group Holdings, suffered a cyberattack causing a system failure affecting its domestic operations in Japan, including order processing, shipping, and customer service functions. The attack halted production at up to 30 plants, and the company has not given a timeline for when normal operations might resume, though its European and UK businesses remain unaffected. Asahi confirmed no personal information or customer data has been leaked so far, and investigations are ongoing to determine the cause. The disruption led to suspension of beverage shipments in Japan, but inventories held by wholesalers and retailers mitigate immediate shortages. |
| Resources: US Department of State Travel Advisories CISA: nation-state cybersecurity threats and other resources for cybersecurity matters. Our latest blog post examining data security on social media. |
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