Global Hotspots: DRC Former President Joseph Kabila Vows to Overturn Government

On today’s episode, Milos Maggiore, Sebastian Dittgen, Andrew Loftesnes and Jared Jeter discuss the new ideological front opening in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Elsewhere, in the Russia/Ukraine conflict, U.S. President Donald Trump stated Ukraine should elect a new leader after demanding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, while Ukraine’s access to Starlink satellites for combat operations was temporarily suspended.

In the Middle East, the Yemeni Houthi group bombed the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and two commercial vessels were sunk in the Strait of Hormuz in two separate unattributed attacks.

In the Indo-Pacific, the European Union and China reached a trade deal concerning Chinese exports of hybrid vehicles while North Korea test-fired submarine-based cruise missiles for the first time since 2024.

In the Americas, U.S. security officials raided Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home and are preparing to send 300 troops to Panama for military exercises.

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Photo: Former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila (C) sits with Rwanda-backed M23 armed group leaders Bertrand Bisimwa (R), Sultani Makenga (2nd R), Corneille Nangaa (2nd L) and AFC’s Freddy Kaniki during the signing of the founding document of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), a politico-military movement of which he is named president, at Kabila’s residence in Goma, the major city in eastern Congo that M23 has controlled since January 2025, on October 12, 2026. Corneille Nangaa, Bertrand Bisimwa and Freddy Kaniki are appointed FRN’s vice presidents, while Sultani Makenga is named chief of staff. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP via Getty Images)