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How a foreign government helped accused Saudi spy’s family flee US after OpenAI bug scandal

2026-10-19T12:11:15-04:00 / Fox News

Abdulrahman Alfozan allegedly planted listening devices inside OpenAI and searched records on Saudi government dealings

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Published October 19, 2026 12:11pm EDT

OpenAI employee arrested for allegedly planting recording device in conference room

Fox News chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt details the arrest of a Saudi OpenAI employee accused of secretly placing a recording device inside a San Francisco conference room. Hunt discusses the alleged security breach, how the device was discovered and OpenAI’s response to the incident.

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A former OpenAI engineer accused of secretly planting listening devices inside the artificial intelligence giant’s facilities was communicating with Saudi royalty and searching company records involving the Kingdom before his arrest, according to federal prosecutors who are investigating whether his alleged surveillance was intended to benefit a foreign government.

In a detention filing Sunday, prosecutors revealed that Saudi government officials helped arrange international travel for Abdulrahman Alfozan’s wife and three-month-old son shortly after his arrest.

They also raised concerns about Alfozan’s potential access to foreign government assistance if released.

Prosecutors disclosed that Alfozan had been in frequent contact with a member of the Saudi royal family who sought to recruit him for a Saudi artificial intelligence initiative. The filing does not allege that Saudi Arabia directed his alleged surveillance.

A man described as Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national formerly employed as an OpenAI engineer, looks behind a television where a recording device had been placed at a conference room in OpenAI offices, in a still image from surveillance video.(Reuters)

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The investigation remains ongoing and “may result in additional serious charges,” prosecutors said. Investigators are examining whether Alfozan sought to record sensitive OpenAI meetings to advance his own business interests, aid a foreign government or both.

According to the filing, Alfozan spent weeks researching how to construct an encrypted recording device with live-listening capabilities and where inside OpenAI he could capture sensitive conversations.

He allegedly used an internal OpenAI tool to identify meeting rooms used by company executives and outside partners before concealing a customized audio recorder behind a television in an executive conference room in late September.

The room regularly hosted leadership meetings, technical and product discussions, and briefings with government officials and business partners. Conversations frequently involved proprietary research, OpenAI’s technical capabilities, strategic decisions, government engagements and commercial relationships, according to prosecutors.

Government officials met with OpenAI executives in the room around the time of the alleged surveillance, prosecutors said, warning that Alfozan’s conduct “could pose a danger to the national security of the United States.”

Investigators also uncovered evidence suggesting his alleged surveillance extended beyond a single device.

OpenAI security personnel discovered a second similar recorder inside a bag Alfozan left in a printer room. Searches of his home and electronic devices subsequently uncovered similar components and photographs that appeared to show reconnaissance of other locations inside OpenAI, including another conference room used for sensitive meetings.

President Donald Trump and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia pause for photographs along the West Wing Colonnade at the White House on Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Getty Images)

Investigators say Alfozan was also showing particular interest in OpenAI’s dealings with Saudi Arabia.

His browsing history showed that he accessed a folder titled “Saudi Gov Docs” on Oct. 4, 2026, and used an internal OpenAI tool to search for engagements involving Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Among the subjects he searched were planned OpenAI visits to Saudi Arabia, an upcoming visit by the Saudi ministry and a meeting labeled “HUMAIN x MCIT @OpenAI,” according to prosecutors.

At the same time, Alfozan maintained frequent contact with an unidentified member of the Saudi royal family, including just four days before his arrest.

“Saudi needs you more then [sic] the US!” the royal told Alfozan in May, according to the filing. Alfozan responded “100,” which prosecutors interpreted as agreement.

The royal repeatedly tried to recruit Alfozan for an artificial intelligence initiative in Saudi Arabia and asked when he planned to leave OpenAI. Alfozan said he would not leave until his stock vested, according to prosecutors. He was also allegedly pursuing other opportunities in Saudi Arabia, including applying to the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation’s “2030 Leaders” program.

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The Saudi connections have become a focus of prosecutors’ argument that Alfozan poses a serious flight risk.

At the time of his arrest, Alfozan had one-way tickets from San Francisco to Riyadh for Oct. 12, 2026, and was scheduled to begin two months of parental leave from OpenAI. The FBI arrested him Oct. 9, 2026.

The accused’s wife and infant son initially had a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia booked and paid for by the Saudi government, prosecutors said. Then a Saudi military official purchased business-class tickets for the pair en route to Qatar. They departed San Francisco roughly 36 hours after Alfozan’s arrest.

Prosecutors cited the travel arrangements as evidence that Alfozan could receive substantial assistance from the Saudi government if released.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Saudi Embassy, OpenAI and Alfozan’s attorney for comment.

Man accused of attempting to ‘bug’ OpenAI offices had ties to Saudi government, prosecutors say.(Kenneth Cheung/Getty Images)

The government also pointed to a previous federal case in which prosecutors alleged that a former Twitter employee received Saudi assistance leaving the United States after being confronted over his access to internal user data.

After Twitter confronted employee Ali Alzabarah in 2015, prosecutors alleged, calls were exchanged with a Saudi foreign official and the Saudi consul general in Los Angeles to coordinate a flight to Saudi Arabia the following day.

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Alzabarah later went to work for the Misk Foundation, according to the filing. Charges against him remain pending.

Prosecutors argued that Alfozan similarly has access to “considerable support from a foreign government” with no extradition treaty with the United States and the resources to provide extraordinary travel assistance.

Alfozan, a legal permanent resident, was earning $385,000 annually at OpenAI and had received a $2.2 million equity grant, according to prosecutors. OpenAI fired him following his arrest.

He is charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to keep him behind bars pending trial, arguing that he poses a serious flight risk and an ongoing danger to the community.

From almost nothing to $140 million. AI-generated political ads explode in one election cycle

1:48 PM EDT, Mon October 19, 2026 / CNN Politics

By Dana Bash, CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/19/politics/video/inside-politics-ai-ads-pennsylvania-shapiro-garrity

From almost nothing to $140 million. AI-generated political ads explode in one election cycle

Inside Politics

Pennsylvania Republican candidate for governor Stacy Garrity is the latest to spoof her opponent using AI—with an ad showing an AI-generated Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro proudly confessing to scandals and support for data centers. The Inside Politics panel breaks down whether nearly $140M in ad spending using AI, more than 80% of it by Republicans, could change the shape of key midterm races.

2:36 • Source: CNN

‘No more income tax cuts’: Troy Jackson pressed on plans to raise taxes on wealthy Americans

2026-10-19T17:28:29.538Z / CNN

By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 1:28 PM EDT, Mon October 19, 2026

‘No more income tax cuts’: Troy Jackson pressed on plans to raise taxes on wealthy Americans

Inside Politics

Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson talks to Dana Bash about his tax proposals and specifics to raise taxes on richer Americans. “No more income tax cuts and rolling back the cuts that they’ve already got,” Jackson tells Bash, but adds, “I’m sure we’ll figure out what that percentage is going to be when I get there.”

1:14 • Source: CNN

The (very red) pattern of Trump’s 2026 campaign rallies

2026-10-19T16:43:19.172Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/19/politics/trump-midterms-red-state-travel

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll over the weekend featured a telling stat.

Other recent polls have generally shown voters prefer Democrats over Republicans for Congress by close to 10 points on the all-important “generic ballot.”

But when President Donald Trump is invoked — i.e. choosing between a Democratic-controlled Congress that could act as a check on Trump, versus a GOP-controlled Congress that could pass his agenda — that gap balloons. Registered voters preferred the blue side by 19 points, 58%-39%, in the Post-ABC News poll

It’s clear from those numbers why Republicans in swing areas would be reluctant to campaign with Trump — and why he’s hitting such red territory.

With the president’s midterm travels now in full swing, a number of patterns have emerged: 1) He’s campaigning overwhelmingly in red states that voted for him by double digits in 2024, and 2) when he does campaign in more competitive areas, it’s generally for candidates in red states who are struggling — and seem to need to roll the dice on Trump driving up turnout among a dejected GOP base.

There are exceptions to both, and Trump’s travel schedule is evolving. But that’s about the shape of it.

Vice President JD Vance has traveled to many of the same places as Trump — sometimes going to more politically challenging areas before the president does.

It’s certainly a far cry from when Trump said during the Republican midterm convention last month that he would travel to all 35 of the biggest “swings” in the country. NPR calculates he’s been to less than one-third of them.

The first pattern is unmistakable. Trump’s decision to use his limited time before the election to travel to dark-red states like Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky raised plenty of eyebrows

But it’s not just those states. Since the GOP’s midterm convention, the nearly 20 states that Trump has visited or is planning to visit this week voted for him by 14 points, on average.

That list includes as many states that voted for him by about 30 points (the four states named above) as presidential swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina).

Including New York — the lone state Trump lost in 2024 that he’s visited recently — Trump has traveled to or is planning to travel to only five states that didn’t vote for him by double digits.

The candidates who will campaign with him seem to need help

That doesn’t mean that every Republican in key races has avoided campaigning with Trump.

But the ones who have appeared with him generally seem as though they could use a boost. Those in better shape and in swing-to-blue-leaning states haven’t welcomed him or have been scarcer when Trump comes around, including skipping his rallies.

Thus far, the two bona-fide presidential swing states where Trump has rallied with the Senate hopeful are Georgia and North Carolina. But in both cases, the polls and the two parties’ ad spending suggest those seats are likely lost to the GOP.

The other key GOP Senate candidates who have rallied with Trump or will rally with him in the coming days either come from states he won by at least 16 points (Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts, South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham and Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall), or come from double-digit Trump states but have trailed in more quality polls than they’ve led (Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Ohio Sen. Jon Husted and Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan).

Polls in those states are sometimes within the margin of error and have no clear leader, but the Republicans have trailed in some of the other polls.

There is no sign yet of Trump campaigning for Senate candidates in blue-leaning states like Maine, Minnesota and New Hampshire. He travels to Iowa and Michigan this week, but we don’t yet know who will attend.

The story is similar in governor’s races.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo and Georgia GOP nominee Rick Jackson have both campaigned with Trump in competitive, marquee races. Trump will also go to Florida this week to stump for Rep. Byron Donalds in a red state. (Donalds recently made headlines for scrubbing his website of Trump mentions.)

But the other gubernatorial candidates to appear with Trump are Republicans who have sometimes looked more like underdogs — in Alaska, Arizona and Ohio. And there is no sign yet of Trump campaigning with hopefuls in Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Wisconsin.

And when Trump visited Texas to campaign with Paxton earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — who has polled better than Paxton — very notably didn’t appear.

Absences have been a trend too. Sometimes when Trump shows up, the GOP candidates just … don’t.

That was true not only of Abbott, but also a bunch of New York GOP officials including vulnerable Rep. Mike Lawler when Trump visited that state, a pair of key House candidates in Arizona last week, and another GOP House candidate in Kentucky (who, like Donalds, scrubbed his website of Trump mentions) on Saturday.

And when Vance visited Iowa last month, GOP Senate nominee Rep. Ashley Hinson didn’t attend — and Vance barely mentioned the Senate race.

A big question for this week is who shows up when Trump visits Iowa on Thursday and Michigan on Sunday.

In Michigan, former Rep. Mike Rogers has gone further than most top GOP Senate candidates to distance himself from Trump, including recently on Trump’s trade war with Canada. The president’s visit will take place on the Canada border in Port Huron, which could make for some difficult optics for Rogers.

In Iowa, Hinson has also sought distance from Trump on issues including the Iran war, importing foreign beef and, most recently, importing Russian diesel fuel. And as noted, she skipped the Vance event.

But she also comes from a redder state, and she has suggested she’d welcome Trump to Iowa — including when he put her on the spot during an Oval Office event in late September.

That could be a dilemma that awaits other Republicans. What happens if they’d prefer Trump not come, but he does anyway? He’s made clear he doesn’t like Republicans giving him the cold shoulder, nor does he appreciate the narrative that he’s a liability.

But that new Post/ABC News poll number speaks volumes. By showing his face in crucial states and making himself and his agenda the issue, Trump often appears to be doing his party no favors.

Ex-OpenAI engineer accused of planting bug in office was in contact with Saudi royal family, preparing to leave U.S.

October 19, 2026 12:14 PM EDT / CBS News

A former OpenAI engineer who allegedly installed a sophisticated listening device in an executive conference room was in close contact with a member of the Saudi royal family and was planning to leave the U.S. for Riyadh when authorities arrested him, federal prosecutors said Sunday in a court memorandum.

Abdulrahman Alfozan is accused of tapping artificial intelligence tools to help him develop encrypted recording devices and identify meeting rooms used by OpenAI executives, government officials and business partners.

The Saudi national earned an annual paycheck of $385,000 at OpenAI and received a $2.2 million equity grant when he first joined the company in July 2025.

In an 11-page filing, prosecutors wrote that investigators recovered evidence suggesting Alfozan may have planned to place even more devices inside OpenAI offices. Prosecutors also revealed that the suspect engaged in WhatsApp messages with an unidentified Saudi royal who repeatedly encouraged him to return to the kingdom and join a Saudi AI initiative.

The filing also shows photographs of other potential surveillance locations, internal searches concerning meetings between OpenAI and Saudi government officials, and notes suggesting he planned to take back the devices before leaving the company.

Investigators allege that on Sept. 28 Alfozan installed a “surreptitious audio recording device into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive OpenAI conference room, where the device remained for at least multiple days.”

Prosecutors allege that he “modified the device to prevent data transfer between it and the television into which it was inserted” and “had also encrypted the content stored on the device’s microSD.”

Federal prosecutors allege this photo, dated Oct. 5, 2026, shows former OpenAI employee Abdulrahman Alfozan looking behind a TV in an executive conference room where a recording device had been inserted. Department of Justice/Government Exhibit

In the days before the device was installed, investigators claim that Alfozan used an AI chatbot account belonging to his wife to research how to customize the recording device, including how to: “build a continuous audio recorder,” “captur[e] microphone audio and save compressed WAV recordings to an SD card,” “improve audio and live listening,” “develop … speech-triggered recording,” “add browser access and controls” including “live listening,” and “encrypt the SD card” and “decrypt and recover recordings from the removed card.”

Meetings in that executive conference room, according to prosecutors, “frequently involve discussions of highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information, including proprietary research, as well as nonpublic information about OpenAI’s technical progress and strategic decisions, capabilities, priorities, government engagements, and commercial relationships.”

According to the filing, investigators determined that in the “days surrounding the time period that the device was installed, OpenAI executives met with government officials in that very room,” alleging the “defendant’s conduct could pose a danger to the national security of the United States.”

Prosecutors also disclosed that his cellphone contained photographs of at least one other concealed recorder as well as electronic equipment in other OpenAI meeting rooms.

Prosecutors allege that throughout 2025 and 2026, Alfozan “was in frequent communication via WhatsApp with a member of the Saudi Royal Family, including as recently as October 5, 2026.”

The Saudi royal, according to prosecutors, told Alfozan that an artificial intelligence initiative was being launched in Saudi Arabia and enticed him to join it.

“Saudi needs you more than the US!” the member wrote, part of a campaign to recruit the defendant. Alfozan agreed but said he wouldn’t leave until his stock vested.

The suspect was arrested Oct. 9, three days before he was scheduled to depart San Francisco with his wife and infant son on a one-way flight to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Instead, his wife and 3-month-old son left the country the following day on business-class tickets purchased by a Saudi military official, prosecutors allege. Before his arrest, the defendant had been scheduled to take two months of parental leave beginning in October 2026.

Alfozan, who has no prior criminal record, according to the filing, became a U.S. permanent resident in September 2020 and applied for citizenship thereafter. OpenAI fired him after his arrest. A detention hearing was scheduled for Monday, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse.

The government has argued that Alfozan should be detained pending his trial, alleging that his wealth, connections and apparent assistance from Saudi government officials put him at risk of fleeing the country.

Democratic senator sparks controversy over comments on investigating the Trump administration

2026-10-19T19:23:25.731Z / CNN

Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin is drawing criticism from a Republican lawmaker and other conservatives after suggesting congressional investigations could deter recent graduates from joining the Trump administration.

The controversy stemmed from Slotkin’s remarks at a University of Chicago event last week, when she was asked how Congress could reassert its role as a check on the Trump administration. Slotkin said if Democrats regained the majority in Congress, they should look to pass major domestic bills and use their oversight powers to focus on “signature” examples of corruption by the Trump administration, targeting not just the president, but also aides who did his “bidding.”

“I wanna look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president but on the people who enabled him,” she said. “I want young people coming out of school to say, ‘Should I go work for the Trump administration?’ … I want them to be like, ‘Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don’t want. And so let me avoid participating in that.’ I want that deterrence message sent.”

The remarks sparked backlash from Republicans, including Sen. Mike Lee, who accused her of threatening young, politically inclined Americans, and Mike Davis, the head of a conservative legal group, who accused Slotkin of trying to scare young people away from government and wrote she should “learn about the Second ​Amendment, sweetheart.”

Slotkin said Davis, in those comments, was suggesting she be shot, and that it amounted to the mobilization of “death threats” against her and her staff “for sport.”

The controversy over the comments comes in the final sprint to the midterm elections with Democrats increasingly optimistic they could win the House and potentially even the Senate. Both parties are already bracing for what is expected to be an outpouring of congressional investigations into the Trump administration if Democrats prevail.

A group that identifies itself as the University of Chicago’s “leading student-run conservative & libertarian publication” clipped a portion of Slotkin’s comments in an X post, which has been viewed over 7 million times. In response to that clip, Lee wrote, “It is absolutely disgraceful to threaten young Americans for participating in politics and serving their country.”

Slotkin said in response on X that the Utah Republican was “lying about what I said,” and wrote, “spare us the manufactured outrage.”

The Michigan senator noted she was the target of Trump’s Justice Department, which investigated her and other Democratic lawmakers after they posted a video urging service members and intelligence officials to disobey any illegal orders from the administration.

“If not for an anonymous group of grand jury members standing up for America’s laws, I’d be criminally indicted for sedition. President Trump has turned the government against people, with raucous support from you and virtually all D.C. Republicans,” she wrote in a post to Lee.

“If you have aided in the corrupt use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to benefit the President or his family, or you have violated the law in order to carry out guidance from the President, you should be held accountable,” she wrote. “And given how rampant that corruption appears to the average American, people looking to work for his Administration should realize that while the Supreme Court has granted the President immunity, it has not done the same for those who do illegal things at his behest.”

Other Trump administration officials, including Director of the Office of Personnel Management Scott Kupor, have chastised Slotkin’s comments.

“This is incredibly disappointing and unprofessional coming from a US Senator – endorsing political prosecutions to dissuade patriotic Americans from serving their country,” he wrote. “In contrast, we at @USOPM believe in recruiting the best and brightest early career prospects.”

七涉烟霾公司未回应 环境局追查企业联系

2026-10-19T23:30:18+08:00 / 联合早报

国务资政兼国家安全统筹部长及内政部长尚穆根（右一）、永续发展与环境部长傅海燕（右三）以及数码发展及新闻部兼保健卫生部政务部长拉哈尤（右二）星期一到兀兰关卡视察，了解前线执法人员如何应对烟霾。 （邬福梁摄）

国家环境局日前向七家涉及印度尼西亚林火的公司发出预防措施通知书，至今未收到任何回应。当局将进一步追查这些公司与新加坡或海外其他企业的联系，并研究下一步行动。

永续发展与环境部长傅海燕星期一（19日）与国务资政兼国家安全统筹部长及内政部长尚穆根，以及数码发展及新闻部兼保健卫生部政务部长拉哈尤，到兀兰关卡视察后接受媒体访问。

她说，环境局正密切关注这七家公司的行动。它们都位于苏门答腊，分别为：Bumi Andalas Permai、Bumi Mekar Hijau、SBA Wood Industries、Paramitra Mulia Langgeng、Sumatera Alam Anugerah、Hutan Lestari Raya，以及Bangkanesia。

其中，前三家公司曾在2015年烟霾危机期间接到环境局发出的类似通知书，相关调查至今仍在进行。

环境局星期一也向另外三家在加里曼丹运营的公司发出通知，要求它们扑灭林火、停止焚烧，并采取措施防止火患再次发生。它们是：Buana Megatama Jaya、Mananjung Hayak，以及Baratama Putra Perkasa。

傅海燕说，环境局会追查这些公司在本地或其他国家的企业联系，如关系企业、股东、客户和子公司等，并研究可采取的下一步行动。当局也会把收集到的证据提供给其他政府机构，让它们进行各自调查。

亚洲纸浆纸品公司被要求加强监督供应商

尚穆根受访时则指出，涉嫌公司都在印尼，可能会针对新加坡采取的行动提出技术或法律上的异议。

他说，如果这些公司不愿配合，当局将进一步调查它们与其他企业的联系，包括可能在背后控制它们的大型企业集团和个人。

例如，调查发现亚洲纸浆纸品公司（Asia Pulp and Paper）向其中三家接获环境局通知书的印尼公司采购产品，当局将进一步调查这些商业联系。

新加坡环境委员会星期一发文告说，已在星期天（18日）向亚洲纸浆纸品公司发出绿色标签认证临时限制通知，要求它加强监督木料供应商的防火和灭火工作，并每日提交林火应对报告。若未遵守要求，公司的认证资格可能吊销。

环境委员会也要求其他获得绿色标签认证的企业检查供应链，并申报是否向接到环境局预防措施通知书的印尼公司采购木料、纸张或纸浆产品。

亚洲纸浆纸品公司回答《联合早报》询问时说，正评估环境委员会的要求，并会遵照申报框架，提供所需资料。公司也尊重我国政府加强监管的举措，并承诺配合有关当局，支持防火和灭火工作。

尚穆根：企业不能只靠声明证明环保

尚穆根也透露，一些林火或烟雾源头似乎与印尼油棕种植企业First Borneo Plantations，以及在新加坡上市的益资源（First Resources）和布米达马农业（Bumitama Agri）有关。当局将要求这些公司提供更多资料。

他以益资源为例说，公司已发声明，说明零焚烧政策和灭火工作，“但声明写得再好，也不能只凭几句话就算数”。“拿出证据来，火从哪里烧起？那些土地属于谁？能查出是谁放的火吗？他们究竟采取了什么措施灭火？”。

尚穆根说，我国会要求这些公司交代所有事实，并根据事实采取行动。“我们会公平审视所有证据。”

省级党代会时间开启 为中共二十一大人事布局提供观察窗口

2026-10-19 23:43 / 联合早报

• 中共安徽与新疆分别召开党代会，标志中国进入新一轮省级换届周期，十余省份将在今年末陆续开会。 – 各省级党代会预计明年6月全部结束，会期一般四到五天，主要制定未来五年规划并完成党委换届。 – 美国智库分析人士王晟宇指出，新一届省委常委名单可为研判中共二十一大中央委员会人事布局提供依据。 – 台湾学者洪耀南认为，9月多省区密集调整党委书记是为本轮换届铺路，由新书记带领新班子完成交接。

中共安徽省第十二次代表大会星期一（10月19日）在合肥开幕，标志着中国进入新一轮省级党代会时间。 （新华社）

中共安徽省和新疆维吾尔自治区分别召开党代表大会，标志着中国进入新一轮省级党代会时间，并将陆续完成党委换届。这也将为中共二十一大人事布局和地方干部梯队变化提供重要参考。

据中共安徽省委机关报《安徽日报》报道，安徽省第十二次党代会星期一（10月19日）上午在合肥开幕，星期四（22日）下午闭幕。

大会听取和审查安徽省第十一届委员会的报告，审查第十一届纪律检查委员会的工作报告，并选举新一届省委委员会和省纪律检查委员会。

另据《新疆日报》报道，中共新疆第十一次代表大会也于星期一在乌鲁木齐开幕，并在星期五（23日）上午闭幕。自治区党委书记陈小江在会上作报告。

中国其他省份也陆续宣布了党代会时间，10多个省份将在今年最后一个季度举行省级党代会。其中，河南省和山西省的党代会星期二（20日）分别在郑州和太原开幕，江西、湖南、河北、广西和福建将在11月召开会议，辽宁则在12月开会。

按惯例，省级党代会一般要开四到五天，主要制定该省区市未来五年发展规划，完成党委换届。各省级党代会预计将在明年6月全部结束。

本轮省级党代会召开前夕，中国多地密集展开省级大员调整。西藏、甘肃、青海、安徽、河南以及福建六个省区上月先后更换党委“一把手”，安徽和河南也同步调整政府“一把手”。

美国智库亚洲协会政策研究所中国分析中心研究助理王晟宇向《联合早报》指出，省级党代会是提前研判中共二十一大中央委员会人事布局的重要窗口。

他说：“新一届省委常委名单能够提前为中央委员会的组成提供重要依据。通过观察哪些干部获得晋升、哪些人被调往关键岗位，以及哪些人退出领导班子，前瞻性地判断二十一大后中共的政治格局。”

他指出，省级党代会对过去五年经历人事变动和反腐整肃的地方党委班子进行调整，也是观察中央干部选拔和地方权力格局重组的重要窗口。

他以此前经历大规模反腐的贵州为例指出，持续的反腐导致部分省委委员缺位，也使这一届省委人员构成发生变化，新一轮党代会因此也成为重新组建省委班子的制度性契机。

台湾淡江大学两岸关系研究中心主任洪耀南受访时说，省委书记人选由中共中央决定，“党代会是让新书记带着新班子完成换届”。

他以李乐成和周祖翼为例指出，两人分别履新安徽和河南省委书记不到一个月就主持党代会，“可见9月那轮调整是为这一轮换届铺路”。

澳洲新型无人潜艇长“利齿” 可部署水雷与无人机提升作战能力

2026年10月19日 20:04 / 联合早报

澳洲超大型水下无人潜航器“幽灵鲨”（后），可配备美国安杜里尔公司生产的Altius无人机，进行空中监视和攻击。 （路透社）

（悉尼综合电）澳大利亚计划为超大型水下无人潜航器“幽灵鲨”配备空中无人机和水雷，以提升水下作战能力。

澳洲国防工业部长康罗伊星期一（10月19日）在悉尼说，幽灵鲨（Ghost Shark）最多可部署12枚水雷，或投放用于空中监视和攻击的无人机，也可为特种部队运载装备。

幽灵鲨由美国国防科技公司安杜里尔（Anduril）与澳洲国防科学家共同研发。公司也正根据一份价值18亿澳元（约16亿新元）的合同，为澳洲政府打造一支“幽灵鲨”编队。

康罗伊说，幽灵鲨能够在远离澳洲海岸的海域执行多种复杂任务，目前正加快生产并陆续下线，交付澳洲海军使用。

康罗伊对潜在对手发出警告说，澳洲码头上的任何一个集装箱内，都可能藏着一台幽灵鲨，“而且这些幽灵鲨现在还长出了利齿”。

出于对中国海军迅速扩张以及南中国海局势紧张的担忧，澳洲正在大幅增加对无人机领域的投资。

除了幽灵鲨之外，澳洲政府也在投资其他无人系统。康罗伊上周宣布，将增加对“蓝瓶”（Bluebottles）无人艇的拨款。

他星期一宣布，将在这款体型较小、可长期在海上执行任务的监视艇上部署拖曳式声呐阵列（towed-sonar array），以执行搜寻潜艇行动。

澳洲新型无人潜艇长“利齿” 可部署水雷与无人机提升作战能力

2026年10月19日 20:04 / 联合早报

澳洲超大型水下无人潜航器“幽灵鲨”（后），可配备美国安杜里尔公司生产的Altius无人机，进行空中监视和攻击。 （路透社）

（悉尼综合电）澳大利亚计划为超大型水下无人潜航器“幽灵鲨”配备空中无人机和水雷，以提升水下作战能力。

澳洲国防工业部长康罗伊星期一（10月19日）在悉尼说，幽灵鲨（Ghost Shark）最多可部署12枚水雷，或投放用于空中监视和攻击的无人机，也可为特种部队运载装备。

幽灵鲨由美国国防科技公司安杜里尔（Anduril）与澳洲国防科学家共同研发。公司也正根据一份价值18亿澳元（约16亿新元）的合同，为澳洲政府打造一支“幽灵鲨”编队。

康罗伊说，幽灵鲨能够在远离澳洲海岸的海域执行多种复杂任务，目前正加快生产并陆续下线，交付澳洲海军使用。

康罗伊对潜在对手发出警告说，澳洲码头上的任何一个集装箱内，都可能藏着一台幽灵鲨，“而且这些幽灵鲨现在还长出了利齿”。

出于对中国海军迅速扩张以及南中国海局势紧张的担忧，澳洲正在大幅增加对无人机领域的投资。

除了幽灵鲨之外，澳洲政府也在投资其他无人系统。康罗伊上周宣布，将增加对“蓝瓶”（Bluebottles）无人艇的拨款。

他星期一宣布，将在这款体型较小、可长期在海上执行任务的监视艇上部署拖曳式声呐阵列（towed-sonar array），以执行搜寻潜艇行动。