“Ecuador’s voters on Sunday delivered a major blow to right-wing President Daniel Noboa by decisively rejecting the proposed return of foreign military bases to the South American country’s soil—including installations run by the United States. Around two-thirds of voters opposed the measure with most ballots tallied, a result that was widely seen as a surprise. Voters also rejected a separate effort to rewrite the country’s progressive 2008 constitution, which enshrined strong labor and environmental rights. The stinging defeat for Noboa, an ally of US President Donald Trump, comes as the United States carries out an aggressive military buildup and deadly airstrike campaign in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific—and weighs a direct attack on Venezuela.” (11/17/25)
“A hard-right former lawmaker and admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump held the upper hand as Chile headed to a polarizing presidential runoff against a member of Chile’s Communist Party representing the incumbent government. José Antonio Kast, an ultraconservative lawyer opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage, appears to be in pole position after nearly 70% of votes went to right-wing candidates in Sunday’s first round, as many Chileans worry about organized crime, illegal immigration and unemployment in one of Latin America’s safest and most prosperous nations. … He came in second with nearly 24% of the vote after campaigning on plans to crack down on crime, build a giant border wall and deport tens of thousands of undocumented migrants. Jeannette Jara, a former labor minister in President Gabriel Boric’s left-wing government, eked out a narrower-than-expected lead with 27% of the vote.” (11/17/25)
“An Indiana homeowner accused of killing a house cleaner was charged Monday with voluntary manslaughter in a case that raises questions about the limits of stand-your-ground laws. Curt Anderson, 62, could face anywhere from 10 to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if he’s convicted. He was being held in the Boone County Jail pending an initial court hearing. His attorney, Guy Relford, did not respond to voice messages seeking comment. Officers found Maria Florinda Rios Perez De Velasquez, 32, dead on the front porch of a home in Whitestown, an Indianapolis suburb, on Nov. 5. Authorities said the Guatemalan immigrant was part of a cleaning crew that had gone to the wrong house just before 7 a.m. Her husband told media outlets that he was with her on the porch and someone fired through the front door.” (11/17/25)
“President Trump lambasted Indiana Republicans who resisted his pressure to enter the mid-decade redistricting war, saying any party member who votes against redistricting ‘should be PRIMARIED.’ Indiana marks the latest setback in Trump’s drive to lock in a GOP House majority through mid-decade [re-]gerrymandering — part of his broader push to expand Republican power state by state. Republicans have pushed through aggressive maps in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Democrats benefited from a court-approved map in Utah and their own partisan redraw in California. Indiana joins Kansas, Nebraska and New Hampshire, other Republican-led states that have resisted reopening their maps so far.” (11/16/25)
“United States President Donald Trump has called on Congress to make public additional files related to the notorious late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in a reversal of his earlier opposition to the documents’ release. ‘House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,’ Trump wrote late Sunday on his Truth Social platform. … Trump’s shift comes as a growing number of Republican lawmakers have joined Democrats to back legislation that would compel the US Justice Department to unseal all remaining Epstein-related records. Democrats and a handful of Republicans reached 218 signatures on Wednesday to force a floor vote on a bill to release the files within 30 days. The Epstein Files Transparency Act appears poised to clear the House of Representatives, although its prospects in the Senate remain uncertain.” (11/17/25)
“A Bangladesh war crimes court sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death on Monday, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year. The ruling is the most dramatic legal action against a former Bangladeshi leader in decades and comes months ahead of parliamentary elections expected to be held in early February. … Hasina, 78, who has remained in India since she was overthrown in August 2024, challenged the legitimacy of the Tribunal in an email interview with Reuters last month.” (11/17/25)
“A Russian aerial attack on Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa has damaged port equipment and several civilian vessels moored at port, while causing fires at port and energy infrastructure facilities, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. One port suffered power outages following the attack, with technicians working to restore systems, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksii Kuleba wrote on Telegram … Russian missile strikes have killed at least three people and injured 10 more in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials say.” (11/17/25)
“Bitcoin dropped to a six-month low over the weekend mainly due to tightening liquidity, but analysts remain optimistic about a potential reversal. According to The Block’s crypto price page, bitcoin traded at a low of around $93,000 earlier on Sunday but has since recovered to about $95,285 at the time of writing. This price level was the lowest bitcoin has seen since early May. … This liquidity strain boosted the already bearish sentiment formed around the reduced likelihood of another interest rate cut in December. This combo has led $1.1 billion to move out from U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds last week, worsening the price action for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.” (11/16/25)
“U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including such staples as coffee, beef, bananas and orange juice, in the face of growing angst among American consumers about the high cost of groceries. The new exemptions — which took effect retroactively at midnight on Thursday — mark a sharp reversal for Trump, who has long insisted that the sweeping import duties he imposed earlier this year are not fueling inflation. ‘They may in some cases’ raise prices, Trump said of his tariffs when asked about the move aboard Air Force One on Friday evening. But he insisted that overall, the U.S. has ‘virtually no inflation.’ Democrats have won a string of victories in state and local elections in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City, where growing voter concerns about affordability, including high food prices, were a key topic.” (11/15/25)
“The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the M23 armed group signed a framework agreement in Doha on Saturday, setting out a structure for negotiations aimed at ending fighting in the country’s troubled east. The Doha framework comes after months of intense fighting in the North and South Kivu provinces, which escalated early this year with the M23 group capturing the regional capital, Goma, and seizing swathes of mineral-rich territory. Delegations from both sides said the document creates eight protocols that will be negotiated individually in the coming weeks. According to M23’s head negotiator Benjamin Mbonimpa, the protocols address the root causes of the conflict and must each be completed before a final peace deal can be signed.” (11/15/25)
