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The lobby of the CIA Headquarters Building in Langley, Virginia, U.S. on August 14, 2008.

REUTERS/Larry Downing

Hard Numbers: CIA keeps mum about sexual assaults, Oil prices fall, Europe cuts rates, Korea goes (back to) nuclear

648: How rampant is sexual misconduct at the CIA? The agency has produced a 648-page report detailing the problem, in the wake of an Associated Press inquiry that found accusations from dozens of women, as well as a number of ongoing trials and investigations of CIA officers accused of sex crimes. What’s in the report? Well, for now, that’s classified.

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Israeli take part in a gathering and prayer by the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Judaism's holiest prayer site, calling for the release of the hostages taken by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the October 7 attack, in Jerusalem, November 7, 2023

REUTERS/Dedi Hayun

Hard Numbers: The Hamas hostage deal that wasn’t, Brazil nabs Hezbollah agents, former US spook pleads guilty to sex crimes, Polish truckers block Ukrainian border, global warming reaches new record (again)

50: Just before Israel invaded Gaza, there was a potential deal to free 50 of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. According to the New York Times, Hamas was to release them in exchange for a pause in Israeli airstrikes, but the Qatar-brokered deal fell apart over disagreements about timing. Hamas now seeks fuel deliveries to Gaza as one condition for freeing any hostages. The fate of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israel — including hundreds of women and children held in administrative detention — is also part of the negotiations.
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Podcast: How to fix the US government's classified information problem with Jane Harman

Transcript

Listen: Maintaining secrecy can be invigorating, whether you're a child with hidden treasures or a CIA agent safeguarding classified information. However, the more secrets you bear, the heavier the burden becomes. This week’s guest, Jane Harman, who served nine terms in Congress and was a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee after 9/11, understands the weight of secrecy firsthand.

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Why CIA director Bill Burns visited Moscow; COP26 limited results
CIA Director Bill Burns Visits Moscow Amid Heightened Tensions | Europe In :60 | GZERO Media

Why CIA director Bill Burns visited Moscow; COP26 limited results

Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, shares his perspective from Europe:

What was the CIA director doing in Moscow the other day?

I think it was an attempt to bring more stability to the long-term relationship between the US and Russia. That does not hide that there are serious concern when it comes to the Russian intention versus Ukraine. And you never know, you might have a crisis there, if not any day, then at any time. But of course, stability and the long-term relationship is good anyhow.

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US on track for August 31 withdrawal; House passes $3.5T plan
US on Track for August 31 Withdrawal | House Passes $3.5T Plan | US Politics In :60 | GZERO Media

US on track for August 31 withdrawal; House passes $3.5T plan

Get insights on the latest news in US politics from Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington:

Is the US on track for the August 31st withdrawal from Afghanistan?

The US is actually doing a pretty good job, getting its own citizens out of Afghanistan despite the chaos that's been seen at the airport and across the country over the last two weeks. It's estimated on Wednesday afternoon, there were about 1,500 citizens of the United States, still in Afghanistan. And some of them, according to Secretary of State Tony Blinken, may not want to leave. The US has been evacuating enormous numbers in the last several days. Over 21,000 people have gotten out. And even though Biden sent his CIA director, William Burns, to potentially negotiate a longer withdrawal date than August 31st with the Taliban, he says, he's going to stick to this deadline. The people who may not get out are the interpreters and helpers that aided the American military, who are native Afghanis, who are probably going to be left behind when the US leaves at the end of the month.

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Why CIA director Bill Burns met with the Taliban
Why CIA Director Bill Burns Met With the Taliban | World In :60 | GZERO Media

Why CIA director Bill Burns met with the Taliban

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on the CIA director's secret meeting with the leader of the Taliban, the G7 emergency meeting on Afghanistan, and the future of vaccine mandates following the FDA's approval of Pfizer's COVID vaccine.

CIA director Bill Burns held a secret meeting with the leader of the Taliban. How will it impact the ongoing evacuations?

Well, at the very least, you have to think that America's top priority, ensuring that all Americans get out of Afghanistan, given that the US controls nothing on the ground but Kabul Airport, will be facilitated. I would think that that was the reason for him to be there, absolute top priority. That has been successful. If it was a failure, we would've heard something about it by now, and the situation on the ground would be quite different. That is very different though than what happens after August 31st, and whether or not all of the Afghan nationals working with the Americans and in physical danger are going to be let out. So far, I haven't heard that from the Taliban. Certainly that will be a big piece of the negotiations. But better that he's there than not.

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A Worldwide Threat Assessment

As we noted in the Wednesday edition, the US intelligence community has released its latest Worldwide Threat Assessment. Much of the media focus this week has fallen on President Trump's criticism of the US intel chiefs, but let's begin with the report itself. Here are its key findings:

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