Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas has been forced to cancel the launch of a high-level group made up of former political and military leaders following pressure from EU member countries, in what could prove another blow to the former Estonian prime minister- POLITICOEurope

Top Overnight News US Secretary of War Hegseth will extend troop deployments in the Middle East through 2027, increasing strain on US forces: WSJ. The US and Iran have intensified tit-for-tat military strikes, with Iran hitting merchant vessels and the US striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sites: BBG Trump aides seek 'quiet' in Iran war but say attacks may intensify after November elections: RTRS Putin cites chance of peace deal, Ukraine sees 'new dynamic': RTRS The Bank of Japan is leaning toward raising its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point this month in response to upward price risks: BBG Nvidia Corp. has agreed to acquire artificial intelligence startup Hugging Face in a transaction valued at about $13 billion. A lender alleged in a filing to Singapore's High Court that iron ore trader Radiant World used Glencore invoices that had already been paid, supported by fake contracts, to raise $31.7 million: BBG Norway seizes Russian ship to enforce $4.2 billion claim by Ukrainian energy firm: RTRS Chinese Warships Are Cruising Too Close for Comfort Off Japan’s Shores: WSJ A US judge blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the executive order restricting birthright citizenship. UK Business Secretary Reynolds seeks to quell fears of an exit tax on companies spun out from UK universities that move abroad: FT. Kennedy asked to remove Pennsylvania measles death from CDC tally: RTRS White House confirmed that US President Trump signed a stopgap funding bill into law, funding the government to December 11th. Hundreds of Colleges Are Sending Acceptance Letters to Kids Who Didn’t Even Apply: WSJ

Top aides to Trump are pushing to keep the Iran war from escalating before November's midterm elections to staunch Republican electoral losses, people familiar with the discussions said, a strategy that is already under strain as the US and Iran resume attacks

Top Overnight News Iran has gone about seven weeks without shipping meaningful crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz, as a U.S. naval blockade succeeds where years of sanctions failed by cutting off one of Tehran's main sources of foreign-currency earnings. Unlike ‌previous sanctions campaigns, when Iranian crude continued reaching buyers despite restrictions, the current blockade has stopped fresh crude cargoes reaching China, Tehran's only major remaining oil customer, increasing pressure on government finances and foreign-currency reserves. Reuters Fighting between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz intensified after a period of relative calm, triggering a fresh jump in oil prices. The US military carried out strikes targeting radar systems and mine-laying capabilities along Iran’s southern coast, and Iran retaliated with drone and missile volleys on US bases across the Middle East: BBG The U.S.-Canada trade standoff is threatening to stretch past the midterm elections. The White House is shrugging off the threat. With a week to go before Canada imposes its retaliatory tariffs, aimed at key industries in states like Ohio and Texas with competitive Senate elections, tensions between Washington and Ottawa are at a steady simmer, with no sign of de-escalation. Politico Russia since 2023 has been helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles, and Putin has vowed to continue to provide support to Iran. FT/Washington Post Bank of Japan Board Member Hajime Takata, one of the central bank’s most hawkish members, left the door open for an outsized interest-rate increase as well as back-to-back hikes, indicating he might push for a faster pace of tightening. The BOJ has raised its benchmark interest rate in quarter-point increments in the most recent three moves, while spacing the moves roughly six months apart. The size and frequency may change as circumstances evolve. BBG Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday that the Bank of Japan will debate raising interest rates including in ‌September with a focus on whether inflationary risks were heightening, signaling a strong chance of a hike this month. Reuters The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates Wednesday, warning that risks for higher inflation remain in play for the economy. The central bank raised the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.75%, in line with market expectations. BBG A closely followed measure of artificial intelligence token prices touched fresh lows this week, the latest sign of deflating prices in an increasingly competitive landscape. Anthropic is releasing a new version of its powerful Fable artificial intelligence model that it says is better at coding and science tasks, as well as more economical. BBG OpenAI is to restrict Astra model after rating it a critical cyber risk: WSJ. Dell became the latest company to reinforce optimism around the AI trade. The company increased its annual sales forecast by $25 billion in a further sign of surging demand for servers to run AI tasks. BBG