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Donald Trump’s assertions of executive and attorney-client privilege over certain documents that the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago resort appeared to lack evidence sufficient for him to rule in the former US president’s favor, the special master reviewing the records suggested on Tuesday. The special master, senior US district court judge Raymond Dearie, complained during a conference call in the case that the log of documents Trump is trying to withhold from the justice department did not give enough information about the validity of the privilege claims Dearie encouraged Trump’s lawyers to elaborate on why they believed the documents could be excluded from the justice department’s criminal investigation into the potential willful retention of national defense information, removal of government records and obstruction of justice. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/18/trump-mar-a-lago-documents-seized-fbi

More than 500 retired U.S. military personnel — including scores of generals and admirals — have taken lucrative jobs since 2015 working for foreign governments, mostly in countries known for human rights abuses and political repression, according to a Washington Post investigation. In Saudi Arabia, for example, 15 retired U.S. generals and admirals have worked as paid consultants for the Defense Ministry since 2016. The ministry is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, who U.S. intelligence agencies say approved the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist, as part of a brutal crackdown on dissent. https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2022-10-18/veterans-jobs-foreign-governments-7734595.html

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James Bond star Daniel Craig has received the same honour as his 007 character after being awarded a CMG at Windsor Castle for services to film and theatre. Craig was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George - the same honour held by Ian Fleming's iconic character - from the Princess Royal on Tuesday morning. The actor starred in the last five Bond films, first appearing in Casino Royale in 2006 and making his final appearance in No Time To Die in 2021. He also appeared in a sketch with the late Queen to mark the opening of the London 2012 Olympics. The royal family tweeted: "We’ve been expecting you… https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/james-bond-daniel-craig-honour-007-cmg/

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Igor Danchenko, the primary source for the infamous Trump-Russia dossier, was acquitted Tuesday of four counts of lying to the FBI in an embarrassing defeat for special counsel John Durham. Durham has taken two cases to trial, and both have ended in acquittals. After more than three years looking for misconduct in the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe, Durham has only secured one conviction: the guilty plea of a low-level FBI lawyer, who got probation. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/18/politics/durham-investigation-igor-danchenko-trial/index.html

In the blood red dust of central Australia, mining firm Arafura is planning to build a mine and processing facility for highly sought-after elements. Located 80 miles north of Alice Springs, the Nolans Project will be in one of the hottest and driest parts of the country. Despite the extreme conditions, Arafura believes the investment will be worth it. The planned mine and processing facility could satisfy up to 5% of global demand for neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), which are used in high-power magnets. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62760354

Berlin CNN — German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser sacked Arne Schönbohm, the head of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), with immediate effect from his duties, a spokesperson for the ministry told CNN on Tuesday, after recent media reports alleged he had links with people involved with Russian intelligence services. “There was no longer any confidence in Schönbohm’s leadership,” the spokesperson told CNN. In the wake of the “current crisis situation regarding Russian hybrid warfare,” the allegations “have permanently damaged the necessary public trust in the neutrality and impartiality of Schönbohm’s conduct of office as president of Germany’s most important cybersecurity authority,” the spokesman said in a statement. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/18/europe/germany-cybersecurity-russia-ties-intl/index.html

One of the potential 'consequences' for Saudi Arabia backing an oil production cut is coming into focus, with a report the Biden administration may urge U.S. businesses not to invest in Saudi Arabia. The move, while voluntary in nature, could chip away at longstanding U.S.-Saudi business ties, at a time when prominent Democrats are calling to reexamine the U.S. relationship with the kingdom after OPEC+ announced an oil production cut that goes into effect next month. The decision infuriated the administration, and President Biden vowed there would consequences. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11327983/Biden-considers-telling-American-business-stop-investing-expanding-Saudi-Arabia.html

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By Chris Mason, political editor & Paul Seddon, political reporter BBC News Liz Truss has insisted she will lead the Tories into the next general election, despite U-turns leaving her battling to salvage her authority. The PM apologised for making mistakes, after the new chancellor Jeremy Hunt junked almost all of her tax-cutting plans to stabilise market turmoil. She added her month-old premiership "hasn't been perfect," but she had "fixed" mistakes. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63293891

Former British military pilots are being lured to China with large sums of money to pass on their expertise to the Chinese military, it is claimed. Up to 30 former UK military pilots are thought to have gone to train members of China's People's Liberation Army. The UK is issuing an intelligence alert to warn former military pilots against working for the Chinese military. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63293582

The Trump Organization charged the Secret Service “exorbitant rates” – upwards of $1.4 million over four years – to protect the former President and his family at properties they owned, according to documents released by the House Oversight Committee on Monday. The committee found that the Trump Organization charged the Secret Service “excessive nightly rates on dozens of trips” as high as $1,185 per night despite claims by the former President’s company that federal employees traveling with him would stay at those properties “for free” or “at cost.” “The exorbitant rates charged to the Secret Service and agents’ frequent stays at Trump-owned properties raise significant concerns about the former President’s self-dealing and may have resulted in a taxpayer-funded windfall for former President Trump’s struggling businesses,” the panel’s chairwoman, New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney, wrote in a letter to the service’s director on Monday. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/17/politics/trump-secret-service-hotel-rates/index.html

Trump administration aides “usurped control of CDC communications and blocked public health officials from providing accurate information about the coronavirus to the American people,” the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, led by Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, said in a report released Monday. In its third wide-ranging investigation on the government response to the coronavirus pandemic, Democratic officials spoke with several senior officials who were at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention including former Director Dr. Robert Redfield, who said the Trump officials blocked the department from conveying information to Americans early on in the pandemic. The subcommittee also spoke to senior officials at the US Department of Health and Human Services during the Trump administration. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/17/politics/covid-19-report-house-democrats-trump-health-officials/index.html

Ukrainian officials said at least four people were killed when Russia launched a barrage of Iranian-made “kamikaze” drone attacks in Kyiv on Monday, setting off warning sirens across the capital. Four people were injured in the attacks and 19 people trapped under the destruction have been rescued, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official working for Ukraine’s president. The strikes on Kyiv appear to be part of a wider assault involving drones and cruise missiles aimed at critical infrastructure, especially power sources. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/17/europe/kyiv-kamikaze-drone-strikes-intl/index.html

Abu Dhabi CNN — Earlier this year, Iran flaunted a new patriotic song targeting school children around the country. Titled “Salute, Commander,” the song was a tribute to Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Imam Mahdi, a descendant of Prophet Mohammed who Shiite Muslims believe went into hiding in the 10th century and will reappear one day to end injustice. “Salute, commander,” goes the song. “I’m a child, but the life of my family and I, all belongs to you.” https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/17/middleeast/iran-school-children-protests-mime-intl/index.html

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There are a number of sources but most have a paywall. This is from Reuters and is a little more comprehensive: U.S. aims to hobble China's chip industry with sweeping new export rules Oct 10 (Reuters) - The Biden administration published a sweeping set of export controls on Friday, including a measure to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment, vastly expanding its reach in its bid to slow Beijing's technological and military advances. The rules, some of which take immediate effect, build on restrictions sent in letters this year to top toolmakers KLA Corp (KLAC.O), Lam Research Corp (LRCX.O) and Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O), effectively requiring them to halt shipments of equipment to wholly Chinese-owned factories producing advanced logic chips. The raft of measures could amount to the biggest shift in U.S. policy toward shipping technology to China since the 1990s. If effective, they could hobble China's chip manufacturing industry by forcing American and foreign companies that use U.S. technology to cut off support for some of China's leading factories and chip designers. https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-aims-hobble-chinas-chip-industry-with-sweeping-new-export-rules-2022-10-07/

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The Biden administration unveiled a comprehensive strategy last week to move the U.S. forward and hold China back in the production of advanced semiconductors, virtually eliminating China's semi industry overnight, escalating the high-tech battle with Beijing. “Every American executive and engineer working in China’s semiconductor manufacturing industry resigned yesterday, paralyzing Chinese manufacturing overnight,” wrote Twitter user @lidangzzz, translated by Rhodium Group analyst Jordan Schneider. “One round of sanctions from Biden did more damage than all four years of performative sanctioning under Trump.” https://www.benzinga.com/government/22/10/29273679/chinas-semiconductor-industry-decapitated-overnight-what-annihilation-looks-like