DevelopingFrance: fifth Saturday of 'cost of living' marches under heavy policing
Gilets jaunes and youth groups called an 'Act V' across France on Nov 14, with the interior minister expecting 50 to 60 marches and about 70,000 police and gendarmes deployed. A police source told franceinfo 70,000 to 120,000 people were expected outside Paris, and a Paris police intelligence note put the capital at 30,000 to 60,000. The main unions did not file march routes, focusing instead on their Nov 17 strike, which the minister warned leaves marches without stewards.
Sources: franceinfo live · Ouest-France live · France 24 · The Local France
DevelopingEU names its Ukraine negotiating team, but the Kremlin has not said yes
At a Dublin summit on Nov 13, EU leaders agreed that the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the EU institutions will represent Europe in future Ukraine talks. US envoys said Putin had agreed to include Europe, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow first wants to understand Europe's 'real intentions'.
Sources: AFP · DW live · Al Jazeera
ConfirmedUkraine fires about 1,200 drones at Russia; Russian drone damages a Kyiv hospital
AP reports Ukraine launched almost 1,200 drones at Russian targets overnight into Nov 13, one of its biggest aerial attacks of the war; Russian officials said oil infrastructure was among the targets (Al Jazeera). In Kyiv, drone debris set fire to the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, injuring three and forcing 30 evacuations, and the Kyiv Independent says Russian strikes killed 10 people across Ukraine on Nov 12.
Sources: AP via PBS · Kyiv Independent · Al Jazeera
ConfirmedSpain's election campaign opens with polls favouring the right
Campaigning for the Nov 29 snap election began at midnight on Nov 13. A 40dB poll for El Pais and Cadena SER projected 190 seats combined for the PP and Vox, above the 176 needed for a majority, while Pedro Sanchez opened in Seville calling for an 'epic comeback'. Housing, migration and corruption probes dominate.
Sources: Anadolu Agency · EFE · Canal Sur
DevelopingGermany: 'Gen Z regelt' youth protests return to several cities
The youth movement has called new marches for Nov 14 in Berlin, Dusseldorf and cities in Baden-Wurttemberg, citing crumbling schools, climate policy, high prices and rents, and possible conscription. A wider European youth strike is being promoted for Nov 20.
Sources: Suddeutsche Zeitung (dpa) · tagesschau (SWR) · WDR
DevelopingAlbania: student-led protests reach day 168 with a national rally in Tirana
Students and citizens kept up daily protests outside the prime minister's office and called a national protest for Nov 14 demanding Edi Rama's resignation, rejecting his calls for dialogue.
Sources: Balkanweb · Albanian Telegraphic Agency · CGTN Europe
DevelopingBelgium: De Wever heads into a make-or-break budget weekend
Core cabinet talks on closing a roughly 10 billion euro budget gap broke up without a deal overnight into Nov 14, and Prime Minister Bart De Wever switched to one-on-one meetings with coalition partners. Social security and health cuts, new taxes and a planned tax reform remain the sticking points, and De Wever is due to report to the King on Nov 16.
Sources: RTBF · BelgiumNow · La DH
DevelopingSerbia: tense consultations before the new parliament sits on Nov 17
Ahead of the first session of the parliament elected on Oct 25, the Student List set out its demands at consultations in the assembly, which Al Jazeera Balkans described as heated.
Sources: Al Jazeera Balkans · Euronews Serbia
DevelopingHormuz: Iran claims mine strikes on tankers as US and Iran trade fire
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers and an LNG tanker hit mines on routes it calls unauthorized; these claims have not been independently confirmed. After the IRGC claimed to have destroyed a US early-warning radar in Bahrain, US Central Command said it intercepted two Iranian attack drones heading toward Bahrain, with no injuries or damage. At least 10 ships were hit in the first 10 days of November despite a rebound in traffic, Reuters reports, citing Washington Institute data.
Sources: Anadolu Agency · Jerusalem Post (Reuters)
ConfirmedTrump says Gulf allies asked him to hold off on bigger Iran strikes
In an interview, Trump said Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf states asked him to keep things as they are for a while, that he was 'not sure' he agreed, and that he would otherwise have attacked. He also acknowledged that war-driven fuel prices hurt Republicans in the midterms.
Sources: Dawn (citing Al Jazeera) · Middle East Eye · NPR
ConfirmedGaza: floods and cold deepen the crisis as the UN demands winter supplies
UN agencies said on Nov 13 that more than 150,000 tents are waiting outside Gaza and that storm damage was worsened by policy decisions. OCHA estimates about 46,000 households were affected by flooding, and a nine-month-old baby died of hypothermia in Khan Younis, according to medical sources cited by AFP. Israel says Hamas diverts aid.
Sources: UN News · OCHA · Middle East Eye · ABC News (Australia)
DevelopingFirst Trump-Putin-Xi summit planned at APEC, with Ukraine off the joint agenda
The White House said Trump will meet Putin and Xi together at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on Nov 18-19 to discuss nuclear arms cuts and Iran, and does not expect an agreement. Moscow says a separate Putin-Trump meeting will cover Ukraine, and German Chancellor Merz asked Trump for 'no surprises'.
Sources: bne IntelliNews · Euronews (German)
ConfirmedChina's huge drills around Taiwan simulated a blockade but did not impose one
France 24 Observers found viral claims that China had 'taken over' Taiwan were false: Taiwan reported about 100 Chinese navy and coast guard ships in the western Pacific on Nov 3, at the drills' peak, but civilian shipping kept moving and activity near Taiwan later dropped sharply. ISW assesses that the unannounced exercise, which simulates isolating Taiwan, is likely still continuing east of the island.
Sources: France 24 Observers · ISW
ConfirmedUS: nationwide FAA ground stop snarls air travel
The FAA halted departures at all US airports on Nov 13 after overloaded analog switches and routers disrupted air traffic control communications. The ground stop was lifted after more than five hours.
Sources: Aviation Week · FAA statement
ConfirmedNew Orleans: tanker slams into a docked river cruise boat; everyone survives
A tanker that apparently lost steering hit a docked river cruise boat with about 129 passengers plus crew aboard on the Mississippi on Nov 13, sending people into the water as the boat rolled over. Everyone aboard both vessels was accounted for with no deaths reported, and the NTSB has opened an investigation.
Sources: CBS News · NTSB
ConfirmedNvidia turmoil drags tech stocks after Jensen Huang's resignation
Nvidia named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO after Huang resigned on Nov 12 after revelations of extramarital affairs, including, Reuters reports, a relationship with a businesswoman the US suspects of spying for China. On Nov 13 Nvidia fell 2% for a sixth straight weekly loss, and the S&P 500 lost 0.40% and the Nasdaq 0.91%, while the Dow edged up 0.10%. Producer prices were up 6.5% from a year earlier, and markets still expect a Fed rate hike in December.
Sources: NVIDIA Newsroom · Straits Times (Reuters)