Alberta (Canada)
Canada’s province of Alberta rejected a plan to hold a binding independence referendum, results showed Tuesday, a setback for separatists backed by allies of US President Donald Trump. Public broadcaster CBC and leading private network CTV projected a comfortable victory for the federalist side, with official results showing more than 76 percent support for national unity with more than a third of ballots counted. Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the result and said Albertans had made a “clear choice” in favor of unity. “They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other,” he said in a statement on X. – AFP Alberta separatists lose vote on leaving Canada
Europe
Slashing the EU’s humanitarian aid budget risks wrecking the bloc’s dominance and influence in international discussions, warned the head of the world’s largest food aid organization. As Europe’s leaders clash over just how much they’re prepared to fund the EU and its programs in the next seven-year budget, initial funding plans for global development have already been cut. The latest compromise position presented by the Irish rotating presidency of the Council of the EU would carve €38 billion out of the Global Europe envelope — which funds development and external aid — shrinking it by roughly 17% to €177 billion. – Politico EU’s ‘trust’ and ‘leverage’ at stake over development cuts, UN food aid boss warns
France
France will impose new curfews in areas where needed on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said, adding that the measures introduced in several cities the previous day had “helped keep the night calm”. France was rocked on Saturday by some of its worst rioting in recent years, just six months before the country elects a successor to President Emmanuel Macron. Accused of failing to anticipate and contain the street violence, the government has pledged to restore order and had announced partial curfews in Paris and some other cities on Monday. – AFP France to impose new curfews where necessary: PM
Looting and rioting across France over the weekend are threatening to reshape the contours of the French presidential race. Far-right frontrunner Marine Le Pen is seizing on the crisis to cast herself as the candidate of law and order, but there are risks for her too. Many voters see her as a highly divisive leader whose 2027 victory would only deepen the societal fault lines exposed by the riots. Far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, widely tipped to challenge Le Pen in the second round next year, is also treading carefully as rivals accuse him of encouraging the rage on the streets that has morphed into pillaging and arson. – Politico French riots lay bare risks and opportunities for 2027 election candidates
Gaza
Funding shortages have forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to slash assistance to hungry families in the Gaza Strip by roughly one third – a move that will affect some 500,000 people as winter approaches, the UN agency announced on Monday. WFP said that its food assistance “has provided a lifeline for up to 90 per cent of families in Gaza” over the past three years. Since the October 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas fighters, teams have reached around 1.6 million people monthly with food parcels, wheat flour, bread, hot meals, nutrition support, school snacks and cash assistance. “Improved humanitarian access and delivery of assistance since October 2025 have helped reduce food insecurity, but these gains remain fragile and could quickly be reversed if humanitarian funding continues to decline,” the agency warned. – UN News Gaza: Funding cuts leave half a million without food assistance
Global Health
A case of pneumonia that killed a lab worker at an anti-plague institute in Russia has exposed cracks in the international rules meant to keep the world safe from pandemics and health threats. At the center of the debate is the legally binding set of International Health Regulations laying out countries’ rights and obligations in public health emergencies that could cross borders. It is signed by 196 countries, including Russia, China and the U.S. But there are questions over whether Russia properly followed these rules — namely, on timely and transparent information-sharing on a potential threat. – Politico Russian pneumonia death exposes limits of international health rules
Haiti
Armed groups in Haiti are adapting to intensified security operations, stepping up reprisals against civilians and extending their reach into rural areas, the UN warned the Security Council on Monday. The briefing came two weeks after presidential and legislative elections planned for 13 December were postponed indefinitely, with the UN’s top official in the country cautioning against setting new dates without a realistic assessment of whether a vote can be held. Key points: 1,123 Haitians were killed and 440 injured in gang-related violence between July and early October; sexual violence remains widespread, with 689 women and girls reportedly raped by gang members in July and August; the Security Council-authorised Gang Suppression Force is not yet fully deployed. – UN News Haiti: Elections on hold as gangs adapt to security crackdown, Security Council hears
Iran – Russia
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Russia and Iran have “never” worked so closely, as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role in the Middle East war. Araghchi hosted his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Iran on Monday, in his first visit since the outbreak of the conflict. “We covered everything from Europe to West Asia, including Lebanon, Palestine, Ukraine and Yemen. Also focused on expansion of economic and nuclear cooperation,” Araghchi wrote on X. – AFP Iran foreign minister says Russia, Iran have ‘never’ worked so closely
Right to Food
More than a quarter of humanity struggles to get enough food, even though the world produces enough for everyone, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Monday, blaming injustice and the denial of human rights for hunger in a world of plenty. Addressing the UN-hosted Committee on World Food Security in Rome, the High Commissioner said that while the right to food has found its way into treaties and laws, “for too many people, it has yet to find its way onto their dinner plates”. Global food supply now exceeds 3,000 calories per person per day – a historic high – yet hunger reduction has not kept pace. “Too much of that abundance is swallowed up by injustice and the denial of human rights,” Mr. Türk said. – UN News Hunger is ‘an avoidable tragedy’ in a world of plenty: Türk
Russia – Ukraine
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will fly to Oslo to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday, trying to repair ties with Washington that have deteriorated sharply over the past two weeks as President Donald Trump has increasingly courted Moscow. Trump, who has waived sanctions on Russia in what he says is an effort to lower US fuel prices, has repeatedly rebuked Zelenskyy. Kyiv says Washington has lately failed to provide early warning notification of Russian missile launches, and has throttled SpaceX satellite links that guide Ukrainian drones. On Monday, Trump said “Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine” and “Zelenskyy is not helping matters much.” He called on Kyiv to find “somebody else to negotiate.” – Reuters Zelenskyy to meet Witkoff after Trump says Russia has been ‘fine’ on Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the United States of deliberately delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles to his war-torn country ahead of reported talks with a top US envoy on Tuesday. Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured over military aid and intelligence sharing, with Zelenskyy saying on Monday that Ukraine received no early warning of powerful Russian missile strikes that targeted energy facilities in the capital region. US-led diplomatic efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have stalled in recent months, as Washington has shifted focus towards the war with Iran. Zelenskyy told US senators on Monday that “the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of missiles” already paid for by European countries, and that the shipment was waiting for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s signature. – AFP Ukraine claims US missile holdup
Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday that Russian strikes killed four people around the country, as Moscow targets energy and transport infrastructure with winter approaching. The attacks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv would resume hitting Russian refineries in the face of unrelenting strikes. – AFP Russian strikes kill four in Ukraine: Authorities
South Korea – North Korea
South Korea’s military warned Tuesday of a “firm” response and resolute punishment for any further provocations by North Korea, saying it was “unacceptable” for Pyongyang to blame Seoul for escalating tensions. North Korea has rejected claims it was behind an explosion that injured three soldiers last month inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily mined buffer area that has divided the two Koreas since their 1953 armistice, and mockingly dismissed calls for an apology. Pyongyang said Monday the situation along the two countries’ shared border was “grave” and that it was considering deploying additional “tactical strike means” to the area. – AFP South Korea warns of ‘firm’ response after North threatens fresh measures near border
South Korea – Ukraine
South Korea will withdraw additional embassy personnel from Ukraine following Kyiv’s lack of “constructive response” in a dispute about North Korean prisoners of war, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. South Korea recalled its ambassador this month after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to the South. The disclosure breached an understanding to keep the transfer confidential so as to protect the soldiers and their families in the North, Seoul said. – Reuters South Korea to pull more Ukraine embassy staff after POW dispute
Spain
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s chances of staging a poll-defying election comeback have suffered a serious dent. Spain’s notoriously fragmented far left has failed to unite on a single ticket ahead of November’s election, which many Sánchez supporters had hoped would mobilize voters, capitalize on the country’s electoral system and increase the prime minister’s hopes of forming a new government. The left-wing disarray leaves Spain’s conservative People’s Party, led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, on track to claim power after eight years of socialist rule in Madrid, as a broader tilt to the right reshapes European politics. – Politico Spanish left-wing chaos dampens Sánchez’s hopes of election miracle
Sudan
Drone strikes killed and injured dozens across Sudan on Monday as the ongoing war continues to cause soaring displacement and hunger. “We are alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes across the country that are killing civilians, including children, and that are disrupting essential services,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York. The rising use of armed drones during the war between rival militaries comes at a time when 20 million people face acute hunger, with a rising risk of famine in parts of Darfur and Greater Kordofan. Fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – former allies who had jointly seized power in a 2021 coup. This latest escalation comes on the heels of a spate of deadly drone attacks last week. – UN News UN condemns deadly wave of drone strikes in war-torn Sudan
UN Biodiversity Conference
Biodiversity losses continue to upend the lives of billions of people whose future prosperity depends on countries taking urgent action to protect our planet, the top UN official leading talks at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan, said on Monday. The aim of the talks in the Armenian capital is to assess progress so far and build on an agreed blueprint for biodiversity protection known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted four years ago. “In 2022, 196 countries made commitments. But we are all accountable to each other and to future generations. What happens here in Yerevan matters. Billions of people whose lives are being upended by the impacts of biodiversity loss depend on progress being made here in the next two weeks,” said Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biodiversity, Astrid Schomaker. – UN News Protecting Earth’s fragile biodiversity takes spotlight at Armenia talks
US
Democrats are hungry for a blue wave in the November election, and a series of recent polls has them thinking they could pull off victories in some deeply red territory that would have seemed unthinkable a few months ago. Expectations for the party are so high that one could envision a fair amount of disappointment in the party — and celebration among Republicans — if Democrats don’t shoot the moon on Election Day and take control of both chambers of Congress. “I think Democrats are in striking distance in enough states to have a really good day,” CNN senior political commentator David Axelrod said Monday on “The Arena” with Kasie Hunt. “But it wouldn’t surprise me if they fell short of taking over the Senate”. On the other hand, Axelrod wouldn’t be surprised if Democrats got 53 seats, he said. “It really depends on how high this wave is,” he said. The expectation, though, is that there will be some degree of wave. – CNN Democrats’ midterm expectations may be getting out of hand
US – China
China’s military said on Tuesday it had sent forces to watch a US warship that “illegally” entered waters around a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, while further north in the waterway, Taiwan reported a standoff with a Chinese ship. China views almost all of the busy South China Sea as its own territory, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, with recent tension most pronounced between Beijing and Manila. The Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command said the USS Charleston “illegally intruded” into waters adjacent to Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands without Chinese government approval in the early hours of Tuesday. – Reuters China sends naval forces to monitor US warship near disputed shoal
US – China – Russia
President Donald Trump said Monday he was open to a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, but said such a meeting would not focus on the war in Ukraine. Trump told reporters at the White House that he would participate in a summit with both leaders if the purpose was to discuss denuclearization. The comments came after reports that Putin had proposed that the three leaders meet on the sidelines of next month’s APEC summit in China to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine. “I would do it, not so much for Ukraine,” Trump said. “Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They have not been doing much. And the same thing with China. We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons, denuclearization. And anytime I can have a meeting on denuclearization.” – Politico Trump says he is open to trilateral summit with Putin and Xi
US – Israel
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said, as tensions flare between the US and Iran. The person did not say what the two men discussed during the meeting, first reported by Axios. The Pentagon declined to comment. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hegseth said in a social media post that he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia. – Reuters Hegseth meets Netanyahu in unannounced visit to Israel, source says
Vice President JD Vance declined to follow President Donald Trump and endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fiercely contested upcoming bid for reelection. The vice president, in an interview Monday with Mark Halperin on 2WAY Tonight, didn’t specifically criticize Netanyahu but said he wouldn’t get involved in a foreign election ahead of the U.S. midterms. “The president has the most effective endorsement in American or international political history. I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on in the midterms. So I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections,” Vance said. – Politico JD Vance declines to endorse Israeli PM Netanyahu for reelection
