World News at a Glance

Recording Is Seen to Link Saudi Crown Prince More Strongly to Khashoggi Killing

Shortly after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed last month at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, a member of the kill team instructed a superior over the phone to “tell your boss,” believed to be Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that the mission was successful, according to three people familiar with a recording of Khashoggi’s killing collected by Turkish intelligence. The recording, shared last month with CIA Director Gina Haspel, is seen by intelligence officials as some of the strongest evidence linking the crown prince to the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist whose death prompted an international outcry.

Cost of Botched Gaza Spy Mission? Israel’s Back at Brink of War

On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Israelis weary of conflict that he was “doing everything I can in order to avoid an unnecessary war." Twenty-four hours later, Israel appeared to be on the brink of just that. After a botched intelligence mission by undercover commandos left seven Palestinian fighters dead, the militant group Hamas and other armed factions mounted an intense and escalating rocket and mortar barrage across much of southern Israel. With air-raid sirens wailing from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, and after a Palestinian anti-tank missile blew up an Israeli bus, Israel retaliated with airstrikes.

Trump Renews Attacks on NATO and Trade Imbalance

President Donald Trump, fresh off an international display of unity among global leaders to mark the end of World War I, renewed his attacks on the United States’ longtime allies Monday and demanded fair treatment for the United States. In a trio of Twitter posts, Trump said that the United States pays “for LARGE portions” of other countries’ military protection and loses money on trade with the same countries. Trump has frequently criticized what he asserts are the unbalanced costs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the military alliance whose core includes mutual defense.

Taliban Slaughter Elite Afghan Troops, and a ‘Safe’ District Is Falling

Last week, Afghanistan’s finest troops, the Special Forces commandos trained by the United States, were airlifted in to rescue what is widely considered Afghanistan’s safest rural district, Jaghori, from a determined assault by Taliban insurgents. Early Sunday, their company of 50 soldiers was almost entirely destroyed on the front line. And suddenly, Jaghori — a haven for an ethnic Hazara Shiite minority that has been persecuted by extremists — appeared at risk of being completely overrun. "This is genocide,” said Nazer Hussein, the militia’s commander. “If they don’t do something soon, the whole district will be in the Taliban’s hands.”

Merkel Antagonist Quits Party Post but Stays On as Interior Minister

Horst Seehofer, the defiant German interior minister whose provocations have undermined Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government and eroded support for his own conservative party, said Monday that he would retire as head of the Christian Social Union, a key part of Merkel’s governing coalition. Seehofer’s announcement, although he said he would remain in his more powerful government post, comes after Merkel shocked the country by announcing that she would retire. The Christian Social Union, which exists only in Bavaria, is the sister party to Merkel’s Christian Democrats, which operates across the rest of the country.

U.S. Navy Carrier Suffers Second Aircraft Crash in Weeks

A U.S. Navy warplane crashed into the sea northeast of the Philippines on Monday, the second crash in less than a month involving aircraft from the carrier the USS Ronald Reagan. The aircraft, an F/A-18 Super Hornet, had a mechanical problem during routine operations over the Philippine Sea in the Western Pacific, the Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement. In October, an MH-60 Seahawk helicopter, also assigned to the Ronald Reagan, crashed shortly after takeoff, injuring a dozen sailors. The two aviators in the jet Monday were brought back to the carrier in good condition, the Navy said.

China, After Outcry, Reinstates Ban on Rhino and Tiger Parts in Medicine

The Chinese government, bowing to pressure, said Monday that it would temporarily reinstate a ban on the use of rhinoceros horns and tiger bones in medicine. The State Council, China’s Cabinet, said that it had decided to postpone an order made last month to undo a 25-year ban on the trade. “The Chinese government has not changed its stance on wildlife protection and will not ease the crackdown on illegal trafficking and trade of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts,” said Ding Xuedong, a top official with the council. Environmentalists celebrated the change, though some warned that it might be temporary.