The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its nationwide ground stop at about 8:15 p.m. ET on Friday, ending a halt of more than four hours, with departures resuming in phases. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said aging switches and routers in the air traffic control network were overloaded with data, producing inconsistent radar and communications information; Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no evidence of a cyberattack, though one had not been ruled out. FlightAware counted more than 6,000 canceled departures on Friday and nearly 10,000 delays, with over 1,400 Saturday departures already scrapped, and airlines warned a full recovery would take days.
The most important world events of the past 24 hours
Iran says it destroyed US radar in Bahrain; US denies claim, says it downed two drones
🐱 Scout field reporter · Iran says it destroyed US radar in Bahrain
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said on Friday that its aerospace forces had destroyed a US early-warning radar system in Bahrain, in retaliation for a US strike the night before on a communications tower at the southern Iranian port of Sirik. US Central Command denied the radar had been destroyed, saying American forces shot down two Iranian attack drones headed for Bahrain, with no injuries or damage. The Associated Press noted that neither side's account could be independently verified, and that it was Iran's first claim of targeting a facility in Bahrain since September. President Trump said in a radio interview the same day that he would not rule out military force against Iran if necessary.
Background: The US-Iran war has lasted more than eight months, with five ships attacked in the Strait of Hormuz this week; Iran also told the International Atomic Energy Agency this month that nuclear monitoring talks cannot proceed while it faces military threats.
Sources: Associated Press, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Reuters (3 outlets)
Trump says he wants to "get Cuba done" before leaving office, would consider brief military operation
🐱 Scout anchor · Trump says he wants to get Cuba done before leaving office
President Donald Trump said in a phone interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday that he wants to "get Cuba done" before he leaves office, and when asked whether a military campaign of about a week would be acceptable, replied, "I would certainly consider that, yes." Politico noted that it was the first time Trump had attached a timeline to a possible military operation against Cuba; his term ends in January 2029. Trump named Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lead Cuba policy, saying Rubio "would love to do that."
Background: The US has imposed a de facto oil blockade on Cuba since January, and the island's economy is in severe crisis; Trump has repeatedly predicted this year that Cuba's government "will fall soon," but the White House has announced no military plan.
Microsoft 365 outage largely restored; Microsoft says root cause fixed, not a cyberattack
🐱 Scout scientist · Microsoft 365 outage largely restored
Microsoft said on Friday afternoon that the global Microsoft 365 outage, which had lasted more than 24 hours, was largely restored, with the underlying issue fixed and services seeing "broad recovery and stability." The outage began on Thursday afternoon, knocking out Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Copilot, with US Outlook problem reports on Downdetector peaking above 130,000. Microsoft said the incident stemmed from a problem introduced during an earlier network capacity upgrade that surfaced after a recent network change, and was unrelated to a cyberattack or AI agents. Its service health page showed all services "operational" as of 3 p.m. ET on Friday, though some users may still see delays.
Background: Microsoft said the services hit were mainly those relying on Exchange Online, where large numbers of servers failed automated health checks and overloaded the rest; the company promised a full post-incident report once its review is complete.
Sources: USA Today, Reuters, MacRumors (3 outlets)
Europe settles on five-nation team for Ukraine talks; Kremlin says open to European role
🐱 Scout diplomat · Europe settles on five-nation team for Ukraine talks
EU leaders agreed in Dublin on Friday that Europe will be represented in future Ukraine peace talks by five major military powers — Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland — plus EU institutions, with European Council President Antonio Costa saying "Europe must speak with one clear voice." The Kremlin said the same day that Russia would be open to European countries taking part if they genuinely intended to contribute to peace, but German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called that "the same old game," insisting there would be "no discussions about Ukraine without Ukraine, and no discussions about Europe without Europe." EU leaders will meet again on November 26–27 to discuss Ukraine's financing needs for 2027 and beyond.
Background: US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner briefed Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week after meeting Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin; talks in Abu Dhabi agreed in principle on a large prisoner exchange, but ceasefire and territory remain unresolved.
Political developments and international relations
Indonesia to pick new vice president on December 2; Prabowo must name two candidates within two weeks
Indonesia's People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) will pick the country's new vice president on December 2, its speaker Ahmad Muzani said on Friday, after the resignation of Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Under the constitution, President Prabowo Subianto must submit two names within 14 days, and the assembly has formed a 36-lawmaker team to verify the candidates' credentials. Muzani said the assembly and the president aim to complete the appointment between November 23 and December 4, well ahead of the 60-day legal deadline.
Background: Gibran resigned after courts ruled that his academic credentials did not meet election requirements, becoming the first vice president of the post-1998 reform era to leave office early; analysts say his exit could widen the rift between Prabowo and former president Joko Widodo.
Dutch coalition survives marathon crisis talks over wealth tax — for now
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said on Friday that his three-party minority government had survived for now after seven hours of crisis talks with his coalition partners, with the leaders agreeing to continue "thorough" discussions over the weekend on how to improve cooperation and win parliamentary support. Jetten conceded "our work is not done" and relations were strained, while VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz was gloomier, calling the government "a failed experiment."
Background: Jetten's centrist D66 and the Christian Democrats bypassed the pro-business VVD to pass a 2027 tax package with left-wing opposition support, including a "millionaire tax" on wealth; the VVD voted against its own government's tax plan, and the finance ministry has warned of a funding gap of more than 400 million euros.
US October PPI rises 6.5% year-on-year, near four-year high; stocks end mixed
The US Labor Department said on Friday that producer prices rose 0.3% in October from a month earlier, below the 0.4% forecast, but jumped 6.5% from a year earlier — the largest annual gain since November 2022 — supporting the view that the Federal Reserve could keep raising rates after December's widely expected hike. US stocks ended mixed: the Dow edged up 0.10% to 52,347.55, the S&P 500 fell 0.40%, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.91%, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.15%.
Background: The Fed left its benchmark rate in the 3.75%–4.00% range last month; markets have fully priced in at least a 25-basis-point hike in December, with about a 12% chance of a 50-basis-point move.
IEA sees global oil surplus of 1.7 million barrels a day in Q4 despite Gulf shipping risks
The International Energy Agency said on Friday that world oil supply is forecast to average 105 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter of 2026, exceeding expected demand by 1.7 million barrels a day, with the market returning to surplus. The IEA also outlined 71 million barrels of emergency stocks scheduled to become available by the end of February. Despite repeated attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude closed Thursday at $95.77, without extending earlier gains.
Background: At least 10 ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz in the first 10 days of November; Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline has also faced Houthi attack threats, raising risks for energy export routes.
Sources: International Energy Agency, Reuters (2 outlets)
Tech companies, research breakthroughs and digital policy
Nvidia market value falls below $4 trillion as AMD plunges 8.75%, dragging Nasdaq lower
Nvidia shares fell about 2% further on Friday, pushing its market value below the $4 trillion mark and dragging the Nasdaq down 0.91% to 25,136.27. AMD plunged 8.75% to $534.06 and Broadcom fell 4.76%, as chip stocks gave back part of the week's gains. Investors are still digesting Jensen Huang's resignation and its impact on the AI sector, with Nvidia's earnings due on November 17; even so, all three major indexes rose for the week, with the S&P 500 up 2.51%.
Background: Huang resigned on Thursday as Nvidia's president, chief executive and director, with chief financial officer Colette Kress named interim CEO; Nvidia shares had already fallen about 11% over the previous week.
US Senate panel calls Lutnick and Huang to testify in December on chip export controls
Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott, a Republican, has asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang to testify at a public hearing in December on US chip export controls on China. Lutnick has been reported to have stalled adding Megaspeed, a Singapore company accused of diverting Nvidia chips to China, to the export-control blacklist; Republican Senator John Curtis said Friday that "Secretary Lutnick's reported stalling on export controls raises the question of whether the Commerce Department is acting in the best interests of the American people."
Background: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that Treasury, Defense, State and the US Trade Representative had supported adding Megaspeed to the Entity List for months, but Commerce, which controls the decision, had not acted; Megaspeed is accused of moving at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips to Chinese tech firms since 2023.
Military developments, security situations and conflicts
China held unannounced "area denial" drills around Taiwan, Taipei says
Taiwanese security officials told Reuters on Friday that China had conducted an extensive, unannounced military exercise around Taiwan and across the western Pacific since late October, with dozens of warships from its Eastern, Northern and Southern Theatre commands operating around the island and toward Guam. Taiwan's Defence Minister Wellington Koo described the operations on Tuesday as "area denial drills," aimed at stopping US or allied forces from coming to Taipei's aid should Beijing attack; the Institute for the Study of War in Washington said China appeared to be demonstrating its ability to blockade Taiwan any time it wished.
Background: Unlike previous major Chinese drills around Taiwan, Beijing called this one routine training not directed at any country and issued no warnings; Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to meet next week on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen.
Pakistan military says 74 militants killed in border raids over 10 days
Pakistan's military said on Friday that security forces had killed 74 militants in a series of raids along the Afghan border over the past 10 days, including 31 in Balochistan province since November 3 and 43 in the Mir Ali and Orakzai districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, recovering large quantities of weapons and explosives. The military said the operations targeted members of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and other armed groups, which it calls "Khawarij" backed by Afghanistan.
Background: Tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border continue to escalate, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban government in Kabul of sheltering cross-border armed groups; Balochistan is also the site of an armed rebellion by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which seeks independence for the region.
US, Mexico face review of measles elimination status as US cases top 5,400
An expert commission convened by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is meeting in Washington this week to review whether the United States and Mexico should lose their measles elimination status, examining genetic evidence on whether the same measles virus lineage has circulated continuously for at least 12 months. A formal announcement is expected early next week. US states have reported 5,412 measles cases in 2026, the highest annual total since 1991; Canada lost its elimination status in 2025 for the same reason.
Background: The United States has been certified as having eliminated measles since 2000, meaning endemic transmission had been interrupted for 12 months or more; at its November 2025 meeting, the expert commission already classified the US as "sustained with major concerns."
Storm Charles hits Tuscany: 124 people cut off as rivers reach record levels
Atlantic storm Charles struck Tuscany on Friday, dumping 350 millimetres of rain on mountain areas in 36 hours; the Serchio river burst its banks and the Ombrone river hit an all-time record level. In the spa town of Bagni di Lucca, eight landslides cut off the town centre, leaving 124 people isolated and about 100 more moved out. Italy's weather service issued its highest-level red rainfall warning from Tuscany to Venice, with orange alerts across five regions.
Background: The storm swept Portugal and Spain on November 11 before moving across the French Riviera, cancelling hundreds of flights in Lisbon and Madrid and closing about 8,000 schools in Portugal; no deaths were reported in Portugal.
China-related news (international media coverage only)
Bessent publicly blames Commerce for delaying chip export controls on Megaspeed
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC on Friday that the Commerce Department had delayed export controls on Megaspeed, a Singapore company accused of diverting Nvidia's advanced AI chips to China, saying Treasury, Defense, State and the US Trade Representative had supported adding it to the Entity List for months, but "Commerce has the pen." Megaspeed, which bought more than $4 billion worth of Nvidia chips, is under US investigation for possible export-control violations; Bessent said "there is a lot of leakage in the system" and the administration was working to close it down.
Background: The Megaspeed affair stems from allegations about former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's extramarital affair, with the woman involved suspected by US intelligence officials of links to Chinese intelligence; Huang resigned on Thursday, and Nvidia's board said it saw no reason to believe company secrets or national security had been compromised.
