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This is The World in brief from The Economist.

Our top stories. Donald Trump said he had not decided whether to launch land strikes in Venezuela, contradicting reports that such attacks were imminent.

The Miami Herald and Wall Street Journal had said the administration was preparing to hit military sites allegedly tied to drug trafficking.

A White House spokesperson said, quote, unnamed sources don't know what they're talking about,

and that any decision would come directly

from the president. The UN's human rights chief called the recent American strikes on alleged

drug smuggling boats a violation of international law. Volker Turk said the killings were, quote,

unacceptable and urged an independent investigation.

At least 61 people have been killed since Mr. Trump began ordering the attacks in September.

The latest, on Wednesday, killed four people in the Pacific.

A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to tap emergency money

set aside for food stamps, saying, quote, irreparable harm could occur. On Saturday, some 42 million

poor and disabled Americans are due to miss their monthly food assistance benefits because of the government

shutdown. On October 24th, the Agricultural Department said the program's emergency reserves,

totaling some $5 billion, were not, quote, legally available.

Scott Besant, America's Treasury Secretary, said China, quote, made a real mistake by threatening

to restrict exports of rare earth minerals.

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