“Last month roughly 10,000 NATO troops carried out drills just miles from Ukraine’s border to test a new quick-reaction force created after Russia’s large-scale invasion of its neighbor. The show of military muscle was unusual for who was absent: the U.S.,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Now people in and around the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are wondering whether Europeans could handle more than just an exercise on their own.”

Politico: The head of NATO is struggling for relevance.

“A Russian negotiator rejected a proposed cease-fire in Ukraine brokered by the U.S., as the Kremlin said its forces were in the final stages of ousting Ukraine’s army from Russia’s Kursk region,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Yuri Ushakov, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the 30-day cease-fire would allow Ukraine’s forces time to regroup.”

Axios: Trump’s envoy arrives in Moscow for Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks with Putin.

New York Times: “The unpopular president, long derided by critics as aloof, all-controlling and arrogant, looked certain to ride out the final three years of his term as a lame duck atop an unstable government of his own creation, with a rotating cast of prime ministers, and little to show for it.”

“But President Trump has changed that. The American leader has abruptly reversed 80 years of friendly policy toward Europe, withdrawing support for Ukraine and siding with Russia, leaving European leaders panicked and lost. In doing so, he has made this Mr. Macron’s moment.”

“The French president, who once seemed on the verge of disappearing, is now in the headlines daily. Mr. Macron has gathered European leaders repeatedly in Paris, rushed to Washington and later to London, and generally become the focal point of Europe’s struggling effort to stand on its own feet.”

New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s sweeping tariffs and threats to the trans-Atlantic alliance have breathed life into centrist leaders, who are regaining popularity for their willingness to stand up to the American president. His clash with Ukraine and tilt toward Russia have thrown right-wing populists from Britain to Germany off balance, blunting, for the moment, their efforts to capitalize on Mr. Trump’s restoration to the White House.”

Said scholar Constanze Stelzenmüller: “One of the great ironies of Trump is that he turns out to be the great unifier of Europe. It is impossible to overstate how shocked Europeans are by what’s happening.”

Canada will announce more than $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s metal tariffs, the AP reports.

“The European Union hit back hard as U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25 percent global steel and aluminum tariffs on Wednesday, announcing a two-stage retaliation covering €26 billion in EU exports that far exceeded a trade fight that blew up in his first term,” Politico reports.

New York Times: “The E.U., which is already struggling with a lackluster economy, said its retaliatory tariffs were proportionate to about $26 billion in tariffs applied by the United States. But European officials emphasized that they were ready to strike a deal with the Trump administration, with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, saying: ‘Jobs are at stake, prices up, nobody needs that.’”

“Vice President J.D. Vance will travel to India later this month alongside Second Lady Usha Vance,“ Politico reports.

“It marks Vance’s second foreign trip as vice president after making his world stage debut in France and Germany last month.”

“Ukraine agreed Tuesday to an immediate 30-day ceasefire negotiated by the United States if Russia accepts the plan,” CNBC reports.

New York Times: “The United States agreed on Tuesday to immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume military assistance to Ukraine after more than eight hours of meetings in Saudi Arabia where Kyiv said it would support the Trump administration’s proposal for a 30-day cease-fire with Russia.”

“The talks in the coastal city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, brought fresh momentum to cease-fire negotiations that faltered following a public confrontation at the White House between the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents. The Trump administration had paused all military assistance and intelligence sharing in the aftermath of the meeting.”

“Military officials from more than 30 nations will take part in Paris talks on the creation of an international security force for Ukraine,” the AP reports.

“Such an international force would aim to dissuade Russia from launching another offensive after any ceasefire in Ukraine comes into effect.”

“Talks between the US and China on trade and other issues are stuck at lower levels, with both sides talking past each other and failing to agree on the best way to proceed,” Bloomberg reports.

“While representatives from the two countries have had contact, officials in Beijing say the US hasn’t outlined detailed steps they expect from China on fentanyl in order to have the tariffs lifted… The second wave of duties imposed last week took working-level officials on both sides by surprise.”

“Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, was arrested on Tuesday in Manila, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity in his war on drugs in which, human rights groups say, tens of thousands of Filipinos were summarily executed,” the New York Times reports.

“He was taken into custody at the airport in Manila after returning from a trip to Hong Kong.”

New York Times: “There were only four dinner guests: the defense minister and three army generals. President Yoon prepared the meal for them himself at his hilltop residence overlooking South Korea’s capital, where hours earlier they had watched columns of troops marching in a military parade to celebrate the Oct. 1 Armed Forces Day. They talked about the political opposition, the left-wing news media and labor activists — all of which the conservative leader detested. Then they discussed a subject South Koreans had thought no longer possible: imposing martial law.”

“It was a critical moment in a plot that had begun six months before, bringing together all the key players to discuss a military takeover of the country.”

“Those involved hatched bold plans, often over meals at a safe house inside a heavily guarded government compound and at a burger chain outlet, to incapacitate the National Assembly and arrest Mr. Yoon’s critics…”

“Few saw it coming, and Mr. Yoon and his allies came close to achieving the unthinkable.”

Canada’s oldest and largest independent brewery is offering Canadians a “Presidential Pack” of its lager, calling it “just enough to get through the full presidential term,” The Hill reports.

The offering comes complete with 1,461 Canadian Lagers from Moosehead Breweries.

“A former Australian prime minster said the Trump administration’s treatment of longtime allies was providing an opportunity for China, in remarks that came shortly before the US president delivered a personal rebuff,” Bloomberg reports.

“Malcolm Turnbull, who led Australia from 2015 until 2018, said the world is seeing a more ‘undiluted’ version of Donald Trump in his second term in office. Such behavior would be viewed as an ‘advantage’ for China’s President Xi Jinping in international relations over the next four years.”

“Beijing began imposing tariffs on Monday on many farm products from the United States, for which China is the largest overseas market. It is the latest escalation of a trade fight between the world’s two largest economies,” the New York Times reports.

“The Chinese government announced the tariffs last week, shortly after President Trump raised tariffs on Chinese products for the second time since he took office in January. The Chinese tariffs will include a levy of 15 percent on U.S. products like chicken, wheat and corn, as well as 10 percent on products like soybeans, pork, beef and fruit.”