1. United States and Japan prepare for joint military exercises

On Friday, Oct. 21, the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced they are preparing for joint naval exercises with the United States. Exercise Keen Sword will involve roughly 30 ships and 270 aircraft from the two countries. In addition, there will be four ships and three aircraft involved from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. 

The exercise will take place from Nov. 10 to 19 in Japan. It will be spread across multiple locations, most notably including U.S. Forces’ Japan facilities and the southern islands of Amami Oshima and Tokonushima. The exercise will include five live-fire drills and also focus on a large number of training operations, including some training in space and cyber warfare.

The exercise’s goal is to improve interoperability between the military forces of the U.S. and Japan, with Japan providing the bulk of the personnel and equipment being used in the exercise. The most notable component which the U.S. will be providing is personnel from Space Force, since Japan does not have an equivalent department in their military.

Observers from eight different countries and the NATO organization have been invited to view the exercise.

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2. Pakistani election commission disqualifies former Prime Minister

In a unanimous vote on Friday, Oct. 21, Pakistan’s election commission has found former Prime Minister Imran Khan guilty of “corrupt practices” and disqualified him from being a member of parliament. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party immediately rejected the ruling on Friday and called for supporters to take to the streets in protest. 

A member of PTI’s legal team told Al Jazeera they were waiting for the detailed verdict before filing an appeal to the Islamabad High Court. Faisal Fareed Chaudhry also said they plan to challenge the commission’s legal authority to deliver such a ruling. 

“We will challenge their jurisdiction, their mandate in issuing this decision,” Chaudhry said.

The case in question was filed in August by a member of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, and contented that Khan had purchased gifts that were given to Pakistan by foreign dignitaries. He then failed to disclose these purchases to the election commission. Chaudhry called the commission’s decision “embarrassing” and a “slap in the face” for the Pakistani people.

Khan was originally removed from the Prime Minister office in April after a no-confidence vote passed in the parliament, and has since been holding rallies across the country, demanding early voting polls. His narrative of accusing the commission of bias has given him immense support and the PTI won massively in by-elections which took place in July and October.

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3. Woman arrested in Bradley County home intruder incident

On Oct. 19, Leslie Mason of Bradley County was arrested after she illegally entered a home and scared the homeowners who were sleeping inside. Police say the incident happened at around 4:30 a.m and that Mason is being charged with Aggravated Criminal Trespass.

The family was awoken by Mason when she turned the lights on in the bedroom, but was then able to convince her to leave. Police also state that the homeowners gave them security camera footage of Mason approaching various entry points to the home before she was able to find an unlocked door.

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