The most important world events of the past 24 hours
Abu Dhabi talks: prisoner swap agreed, US envoys head to Moscow on Thursday
🐱 Scout diplomat · Abu Dhabi talks: prisoner swap set, US envoys head to Moscow
Two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi ended on Wednesday with Russia and Ukraine agreeing in principle to a large prisoner swap, expected to cover 1,000 to 1,500 prisoners from each side within two to three weeks, with final numbers to be settled on Thursday. There was no breakthrough on a ceasefire or territory, and US envoy Jared Kushner said there is "no trust right now" between the sides. Kushner and Steve Witkoff travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Vladimir Putin and discuss bringing European partners into the next round, before flying to Dublin to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Fighting continued during the talks: Russia struck six large electricity substations in Ukraine overnight, and an attack on a market in the Odesa region killed three people.
Background: The talks were the first trilateral US-Ukraine-Russia negotiations since February, and Donald Trump had said he believed a deal to end the war was "very close".
Iran sets seven conditions for reopening Hormuz as another tanker hits a mine
🐱 Scout field reporter · Iran sets seven conditions for reopening Hormuz
Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will stay shut until the United States meets seven conditions set out by Tehran, whose details have not been made public, and that no talks are currently taking place. On Wednesday, Iran's army said an oil tanker caught fire east of the strait after hitting naval mines, and Britain's maritime agency UKMTO confirmed a report of a tanker incident; the Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that two other tankers had caught fire after hitting mines. Data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy put attacks at 37 ships in October, the highest monthly total since the war began, with 10 more in the first 10 days of November; oil rebounded on Wednesday, with Brent rising to $92.01 a barrel.
Background: The US-Iran war has lasted more than eight months, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to about a fifth of pre-war volumes.
Nvidia board to vote on Jensen Huang's future after report of second affair
🐱 Scout scientist · Nvidia board to vote on Jensen Huang's future
The New York Times reported a second extramarital affair by Jensen Huang, this time with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, with the two photographed being affectionate at a San Jose hotel during the GTC conference in March; the Wall Street Journal reported the board met on November 11 to decide whether to dismiss Huang, and could act before the independent investigation concludes. Nvidia shares fell more than 7% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, after closing Tuesday down 5.5% at $168.89, about 30% below October's high. The board has hired former acting US Attorney Joon Kim to lead an independent probe, the FBI is conducting its own investigation, and three Republican House committee chairs have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18.
Background: Huang has admitted to an affair with a former executive US officials suspect of links to Chinese intelligence and apologized; the board says it has no reason to believe company secrets or national security have been compromised.
Sources: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal (2 outlets)
Trump's $10 billion BBC defamation case can proceed, US judge rules
🐱 Scout US anchor · Trump's $10 billion BBC defamation case can proceed
A federal judge in Florida ruled on Tuesday that Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC can go forward, saying Trump had plausibly alleged that the broadcaster damaged his reputation and knew or should have known a clip was misleading; the judge threw out Trump's unfair trade practices claim. The BBC has admitted the edits were misleading and apologized, but denies liability for defamation; the suit concerns a Panorama segment in which an edited clip of a speech made it appear Trump directed supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Background: The case is one of several Trump has privately filed against news outlets as part of a wider pressure campaign against coverage he dislikes.
Political developments and international relations
COP31 leaders' summit, day two: Guterres urges climate action for economic reasons
The COP31 leaders' summit entered its second day on Wednesday, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres telling world leaders that "three-quarters of humanity live in countries that import fossil fuels, hostage to price shocks they did not create and cannot control", and urging governments to sell climate action as a way to bolster the economy and bring down the cost of living. Billed as the "COP of implementation", the conference is pushing a voluntary 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge targeting electricity at 35% of final energy consumption by 2035; no landmark decision is expected from this year's talks.
Background: The conference opened on Monday and runs until November 20; the United States formally left the Paris Agreement earlier this year and has sent no official delegation.
Democrats signal new Hegseth impeachment push after taking Congress in January
Fox News reported that several House Democrats plan to revive impeachment proceedings against War Secretary Pete Hegseth after taking control of Congress in January 2027, with the focus shifting to his handling of military aid to Ukraine; Rep. Thomas Massie, the Republican who led the failed effort, said Democrats could introduce additional articles of impeachment. The House voted 211-204 on Tuesday night to table eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth; whether Democrats could secure the two-thirds Senate majority needed for conviction remains an open question.
Background: Massie filed the impeachment case in September, accusing Hegseth of abusing power in the Iran military operation, strikes on suspected drug boats, and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
US stocks rebound: Nasdaq up 1.6% as December rate hike looks near-certain
US stocks rallied sharply on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite up 1.6% to 25,466.19, the S&P 500 up 1.31% and the Dow up 0.49%, recovering part of Tuesday's losses; European stocks also closed at a record high. After hotter-than-expected October inflation, markets have fully priced in a Federal Reserve rate hike of at least 25 basis points in December, with about a 13% chance of a 50-basis-point move; Governor Christopher Waller said a 50-basis-point hike could be considered if price pressures worsen, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said at least two more quarter-point increases are needed. The bond market was closed for Veterans Day, leaving the 10-year Treasury yield frozen near 4.98%.
Background: The Labor Department reported on Tuesday that October CPI rose 0.4% month over month, above the expected 0.3%.
ExxonMobil signs Venezuela MOU, assessing seven oil areas
Reuters cited four people close to the matter as saying ExxonMobil signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding on Monday in Caracas with the Venezuelan government and state oil company PDVSA to evaluate seven areas for development, including undeveloped fields, mature areas and an exploration block, with one year of exclusive rights to negotiate terms and review subsurface data. Exxon left Venezuela in 2007, and its return assessment centers on Petromonagas, one of the few projects with a working upgrader to turn extra-heavy crude into exportable grades; Russia's participation in two of the projects remains an open question.
Background: Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves, but output has slumped under years of US sanctions.
AI cloud provider CoreWeave reported third-quarter revenue of $3.66 billion, up 168% year over year, and raised its full-year revenue forecast to $13 billion to $13.3 billion, sending its shares up about 25% on Wednesday. The results lifted Nvidia about 3% and the semiconductor sector 5.6%, giving the Nasdaq one of its best days in months; markets read the report as a sign that demand for AI infrastructure remains strong, for now outweighing worries about a December Fed rate hike.
Background: CoreWeave is a major Nvidia customer and AI compute lessor whose shares have swung sharply this year.
Chinese military-linked university bought two Nvidia H200 chips, raising export-control questions
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Northwestern Polytechnical University, a Chinese military-linked school on the US Entity List since 2001, bought two Nvidia H200 chips in October for 874,700 yuan (about $123,000), according to an October 21 procurement record; Nvidia and the Commerce Department did not respond to Reuters. House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast set a Wednesday deadline for Huang to answer a request for a closed-door briefing on November 18, saying he was "absolutely" prepared to subpoena him; lawmakers are pushing for tighter limits on China chip exports.
Background: Nvidia's board is conducting an independent investigation into the espionage allegations around Huang, and the company reports third-quarter earnings on November 17.
Military developments, security situations and conflicts
RSF drone strikes kill nine civilians in Sudan; power grid hit 18 times in a week
Rapid Support Forces drone strikes killed at least nine civilians in a village near Kurmuk in Sudan's Blue Nile state on Tuesday, an area the RSF has held since August. Al Jazeera reported that drone attacks have hit Sudan's electricity network 18 times over the past week, with three substations struck on Monday causing widespread outages; Sudan's government has filed complaints against Ethiopia with the UN Security Council and the African Union, accusing Addis Ababa of aiding the attacks.
Background: Sudan's civil war has raged since April 2023 and has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Foreign Exchanges (2 outlets)
Europe bomb-threat wave escalates: 6,300 schools in Italy targeted, about 1,000 in Scotland
Europe's bomb-threat wave spread to schools on Wednesday: Italy's Education Ministry said about 6,300 schools received the same threatening email, with at least 300 evacuated, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said checks so far showed no sign of a concrete danger. About 1,000 schools in Scotland and more than 300 in Northern Ireland also received the messages, which police treated as hoaxes with no credible threat. The emails were signed "Mikhail Andropov", claiming to lead the "Red Owl" project, which has also claimed responsibility for flight threats and TV broadcaster hacks; no arrests have been announced.
Background: Between November 2 and 6, anonymous emailed bomb threats forced diversions of flights across Europe and military jet escorts, and no one has been charged.
Bangladesh prosecutor: Hasina has no legal option left but execution; supporters dispersed with tear gas
Bangladesh's chief war-crimes prosecutor said on Tuesday that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has exhausted all legal options against her death sentence in absentia and that "execution is the only option remaining under the law", after she missed the 30-day window to appeal while in exile in India. Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia last November for crimes against humanity over the 2024 crackdown; she calls the trial "biased and politically motivated", says she wants to return in December, and has asked for a new passport, which the government has refused. Supporters protested across the country on Tuesday, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, and Dhaka police arrested 541 people in 24 hours; a verdict in the crimes against humanity case against Hasina is due on November 13, the day her Awami League has called a Dhaka "lockdown".
Background: Hasina fled to India after being ousted in the 2024 protests, and her party and its student wing were later banned; the United Nations estimates up to 1,400 people were killed in the 2024 protests.
China-related news (international media coverage only)
Yttrium price gap hits 125-fold as China exports run at two-fifths of recent levels
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that China's yttrium oxide exports are running at about two-fifths of their 2023-2024 average, with almost none going to Japan this year; prices cited by Argus Media run about $1.15 million a ton in Europe against $9,144 in China, a 125-fold gap. Yttrium was never covered by the rare-earth pause Beijing extended on November 9; it sits under a separate licensing regime imposed in April 2025 on seven medium and heavy rare earths. Washington complains rare earths are not flowing at the promised pace, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer used a recent video call with Vice Premier He Lifeng to ask for "concrete actions". Trump and Xi are expected to meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19, their third meeting this year.
Background: Beijing extended its pause on expanded rare-earth export controls by two months to January 10, 2027, the same date the trade truce expires.
AP: China and ASEAN provisionally agree on about 80% of South China Sea code of conduct
The Associated Press cited three senior Southeast Asian diplomats as saying China and ASEAN have provisionally agreed on about 80% of a long-negotiated code of conduct for the South China Sea, but will not conclude the talks this year as planned; the code aims to manage disputes and prevent conflict escalation in the waterway, and negotiations have run for years. Trump travels to Manila on November 16 for the ASEAN summit before heading to Shenzhen for the APEC leaders' meeting.
Background: The South China Sea is one of the world's busiest sea lanes, with China and several ASEAN states holding competing sovereignty claims.
