Day News Recap: Global tensions flare from Gaza to Hormuz as markets turn mixed

The biggest escalation came in the Middle East, where Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it set an oil tanker ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz and warned of wider attacks on vessels it considers hostile, raising fresh fears over shipping through the waterway.  🔗 Saudi Arabia also reopened Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport after a Houthi attack killed three people and injured several others, underlining the spread of regional violence.  🔗

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In Gaza, a senior United Nations official said life remains “absolutely horrendous” a year after the ceasefire, with the humanitarian crisis still severe.  🔗 Separately, Vladimir Putin said Russia would do “everything in our power” to help end the war between Iran and the United States, as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said talks were continuing in Turkmenistan.  🔗

Ukraine remained under pressure on several fronts. Ukrainian negotiators were due to continue peace talks with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Florida for a second day, while Kyiv said its forces had reclaimed 175 square kilometres around Lyman in Donetsk in Operation Vivaldi.  🔗  🔗 At the same time, Ukrainian drone strikes partly disabled a Yandex data centre in Russia’s Kaluga region, and Russian attacks plus the approach of winter were pushing more Kyiv residents to consider leaving the city.  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere in Europe and the wider security picture, the United Kingdom’s counterterrorism police were still investigating a breach at RAF Molesworth after two Latvian men were arrested.  🔗 In London, two men denied carrying out surveillance of Jewish and Israeli sites on behalf of Iran’s intelligence service.  🔗 Montenegro detained pro Kremlin blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk and four others in Risan amid destabilisation warnings, while the EU prolonged sanctions over Russia’s destabilising hybrid activities until October 2027.  🔗  🔗

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In Africa, Ethiopia and Eritrea accused each other of launching war as border tensions deepened into direct confrontation.  🔗 South Africa saw anti migrant protests turn violent in Soweto and Durban, with cars torched and foreign run businesses targeted.  🔗 In Sudan, the UN Security Council extended the Darfur arms embargo for two months but blocked a wider sanctions push, while the WHO warned that more than 700,000 displaced people in Tawila face severe shortages of health supplies.  🔗  🔗

Across the Americas, the United States imposed sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court, escalating its dispute with the tribunal over jurisdiction.  🔗 The White House also set up a new committee to examine whether Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can be removed over alleged false statements.  🔗 Separately, a Congressional Budget Office report said at least 81 US military aircraft have been lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury, and the Pentagon said the execution of former Army major Nidal Hasan will be livestreamed from Fort Hood on 3 December.  🔗  🔗

In Asia and the Pacific, the ICC ruled that former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial on crimes against humanity charges.  🔗 Taiwan approved a preliminary plan to restart the Maanshan nuclear plant as AI power demand rises, and Indonesia launched 11 industrial projects worth US$10.2 billion, including its first electric vehicle battery exports.  🔗  🔗 India faced fresh unrest as artists and satirists accused the authorities of censorship amid protests over voter roll revisions, while the CJP protest movement said many supporters had been detained ahead of a Saturday rally.  🔗  🔗 South Korea recalled its ambassador to Ukraine after a row over Kyiv’s disclosure of two North Korean prisoners of war, and Okinawa’s assembly called for a review of the US forces pact after an alleged killing in Naha.  🔗  🔗

In politics and courts, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice issued an arrest warrant for Eduardo Bolsonaro weeks before the runoff, intensifying the campaign.  🔗 In the UK, Labour retained Holborn and St Pancras as Sagal Abdi Wali defeated the Green leader by 3,300 votes.  🔗 Syria called for an independent probe after the sinking of the Togolese flagged cargo ship Alfa Watan in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, while a former Ukrainian security officer linked to a Monaco bomb attack gave his first on record account from prison in Kyiv.  🔗  🔗

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On the policy and economy front, the EU and China reached a deal to cut hybrid car exports to Europe by more than half over four years, and the European Commission selected 46 strategic raw materials projects across 16 member states.  🔗  🔗 Taiwan’s nuclear restart plan, Russia’s draft budget cut to cancer care funding in 2027, and the EU summit agenda on energy prices, competitiveness, migration and enlargement all pointed to the pressure governments face over costs and security.  🔗  🔗  🔗

US President Donald Trump used Truth Social to attack the Nobel Committee, defend the Abraham Accords and Gaza policy, and signal continued pressure on Iran, after South African judge Navi Pillay won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for work on genocide and war crimes.  🔗  🔗

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