The Economist: “It is hard to know whether to laugh or panic. The 28-point peace plan that America is hawking around as a basis for ending the war in Ukraine is so poorly put together, so vague, unbalanced and impractical that, in a more normal world, it would never have seen the light of day—and once leaked it would have been quietly dumped.”

“The Trump administration has told Ukrainian and European officials there is little room to negotiate on its plan to end Russia’s war, as the US heaps pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign a deal drawn up with Moscow’s help by Thursday,” the Financial Times reports.

“Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro was arrested Saturday after a judge deemed him a flight risk following his conviction on charges that he attempted a coup after his 2022 election defeat,” Bloomberg reports.

“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman emerged from a White House visit this week as, in President Trump’s view, the undisputed leader of the Arab world,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“No Arab leader in recent memory has received such a lavish welcome from an American president—including a red-carpet welcome, a parade of horses and a black-tie dinner—and certainly not an authoritarian leader with such a scrutinized human-rights record. In the Oval Office, Trump even defended Mohammed from questions about the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which the Central Intelligence Agency concluded was orchestrated by him.”

“Crowning the visit: the designation of Riyadh as a major non-NATO ally and a promise that the U.S. would sell Saudi Arabia its most advanced jet fighter, the F-35.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Ukrainian people on Friday and said President Trump’s 28-point peace plan will force Ukraine to choose between “losing our dignity” or risking the loss of U.S. support, Axios reports.

The plan would force Ukraine to accept harsh concessions, including the loss of even more territory than Russia currently controls.

Nick Paton Walsh: “Trying the same thing over and over again, without success, is either the definition of insanity or Russian negotiation tactics, depending on your point of view.”

“The widely leaked draft of President Donald Trump’s 28-point plan is a terrifying leap backwards for Kyiv. It was co-conceived by Russians who wanted to pretend they were engaging in peace, and circulated by Ukrainians and Europeans who felt it was so ridiculous it would surely die on first contact with oxygen.”

“From the minute Donald Trump slapped tariffs on Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva bet the US leader was going all-in on a weak hand. The wager paid off Thursday, when Trump limped away from the battle,” Bloomberg reports.

“In an executive order, Trump exempted dozens of Brazilian food products, including coffee and beef, from the 40% increased tariffs he imposed in an ill-fated attempt to help former President Jair Bolsonaro dodge a coup attempt trial.”

“Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s high-stakes visit to Ukraine this week to deliver the Trump’s administration’s latest peace plan has placed the service leader into the role of major international negotiator — a sharp contrast from his boss, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who spent the time in Washington sitting through White House meetings and firing angry missives at Democrats on social media,” Politico reports.

“Driscoll, a close friend of Vice President JD Vance, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday and planned to talk to NATO allies. The high-profile role for Driscoll — whom President Donald Trump refers to as his “drone guy” due to his embrace of cutting-edge tech — is emblematic of the Army chief’s rising prominence in the administration.”

“Saudi Arabia’s leader on Tuesday downplayed the kingdom’s role in the 9/11 attacks. But an ongoing federal court case is revealing new details about Saudi officials’ alleged ties to the terror plot — and the potential liability that government faces,” Axios reports.

“The lawsuit unearthed evidence showing one Saudi official — who acknowledges aiding two men who became hijackers — made a drawing of a plane and a mathematical formula that allegedly could have been used to fly into the World Trade Center.”

“The White House is pressuring Ukraine to sign on to its new peace proposal by Thanksgiving or lose U.S. support to the country,” the Washington Post reports.

President Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine includes a security guarantee modeled on NATO’s Article 5, which would commit the U.S. and European allies to treat an attack on Ukraine as an attack on the entire “transatlantic community,” Axios reports.

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Thursday that he’s willing to work with the Trump administration on its new plan for peace in Ukraine,” Axios reports.

“The plan calls on Ukraine to make enormous concessions, including handing over territory to Russia that Ukraine currently controls. But rather than reject it outright, Zelensky agreed to negotiate — and his office said he expects to discuss it with President Trump in the coming days.”

The Guardian: “Two months after receiving a 27-year sentence for trying to ‘annihilate’ Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally looks jail-bound.”

“The convicted coup-monger – who has been living under house arrest in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and appeals play out – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the coming days, amid growing speculation that he will be sent to a notorious maximum security prison.”

“Mao Zedong once said that China must wield both the pen and the gun against its adversaries. It is a strategy China is now intensifying for Taiwan,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“With its so-called pen, China’s state television is preparing the domestic Chinese population for a new phase of pressure against Taiwan.”

“Its prime-time slot is filled with a new historical drama, ‘The Silent Honor,’ which lionizes Communist Party agents operating in Taiwan after the Nationalists fled to the island in 1949 following their loss of the civil war to Mao’s forces. The series frames the agents’ espionage—and eventual execution—as martyrdom for the cause of ‘unification.'”

“European officials pushed back against a U.S. proposal for ending the Ukraine war, saying that Kyiv must approve any plan and that the conflict must not end with a Ukrainian capitulation,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“European officials will now have to reprise a role they have played periodically since President Trump’s return to the White House in January: using connections in Washington to try to pull the administration back from a proposal they see as too favorable to Russia.”

“Lawmakers are quietly discussing how to quickly move new Russia sanctions legislation — this time with President Donald Trump’s blessing,” Politico reports.

“The new Trump plan to end the war in Ukraine would grant Russia parts of eastern Ukraine it does not currently control, in exchange for a U.S. security guarantee for Ukraine and Europe against future Russian aggression,” Axios reports.

Idrees Kahloon: “Across the democratic world, the postwar era’s dominant political parties are losing their grip.”