November 7, Tuesday, 2023

1. US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have discussed the idea of “tactical pauses” in the fighting in the Gaza Strip. In a statement on Monday, the White House said the two leaders discussed the possibility of tactical pauses for humanitarian reasons in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas. 2. Senior diplomats from the United States and China have met in Washington on nuclear arms control, ahead of an expected summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 3. A US research institute says that China is taking steps to de-risk its Belt and Road Initiative, as the country is moving to outflank its competitors. AidData, a research lab at William & Mary’s Global Research Institute, released a report on Monday saying it describes China as “the world’s largest official debt collector.”