TODAY

Here are the key events from day 1,359 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Friday, November 14:

Fighting

• Russian forces launched a “massive” attack on Kyiv early on Friday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, with air defences in action and a series of explosions reported in the capital.
• Klitschko said falling debris had struck a five-storey apartment building in Dniprovskyi district on the east side of the Dnipro River, and a high-rise dwelling was on fire in Podil district on the opposite bank.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops near Ukraine’s southeastern front line, where he warned of the need to shore up defences after his troops lost ground in increasingly high-intensity battles far from Russia’s main offensive in the east of the country.
• President Zelenskyy said the situation near the city of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhia region was “one of the most difficult” along a sprawling front line and that thwarting Russian forces there was key to shielding Zaporizhzhia city.
• Ukraine’s military said its troops hit a Russian oil terminal in occupied Crimea and also an oil depot in the occupied Zaporizhia region.
• The Ukrainian General Staff said Russian oil facilities and other military targets were hit by domestically produced weapons, including the “Flamingo” ground-launched cruise missile, drone missiles, and drones.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces have captured two more Ukrainian settlements: Synelnykove in the Kharkiv region and Danylivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
• Russian air defence units destroyed and intercepted 130 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia, the state-run TASS news agency reports, citing daily data from the Defence Ministry in Moscow.

Peace talks

• The Kremlin said Ukraine would have to negotiate an end to the war “sooner or later” and predicted that Kyiv’s negotiating position would worsen by the day.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he hoped Washington would take no actions liable to escalate the Ukraine conflict.
• Lavrov said United States President Donald Trump had long advocated dialogue with Russia, had sought to fully understand the Russian position on Ukraine and “demonstrated a commitment to finding a sustainable peaceful solution”.
• “We are counting on common sense and that the maintaining of that position will prevail in Washington and that they will refrain from actions that could escalate the conflict to a new level,” Lavrov said.

Ukraine energy scandal

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Zelenskyy have discussed the $100m energy corruption scandal that has engulfed Kyiv, the German government said in a statement.
• Zelenskyy pledged complete transparency, long-term support for independent anticorruption authorities and further swift measures to regain the trust of the Ukrainian people, European partners and international donors, the statement said.
• Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko also announced an audit of all state-owned companies, including in the energy sector, following the scandal that has led to the suspension of two cabinet ministers.
• The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it is lending 22.3m euros ($26m) to a Ukrainian energy firm as part of a pipeline of deals, signalling its ongoing support for the sector despite the corruption scandal.
• The EBRD cash will go to private Ukrainian energy company Power One to finance new gas-piston power plants and battery energy storage systems, the lender said in a statement.

Aid to Ukraine

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will soon begin a staff mission to Ukraine to discuss its financing needs and a potential new lending programme, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said.
• Ukraine is in talks with the IMF about a new four-year lending programme for the country that would replace its current four-year $15.5bn programme. Ukraine has already received $10.6bn of that amount.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament that the European Union could either borrow the money needed to cover Kyiv’s financial needs in 2026 and 2027 against the collateral of its long-term budget, or each EU country could borrow on its own and extend a grant to Ukraine.
• A third option was a proposal from the Commission to organise a loan that would effectively become a grant, on the basis of the Russian central bank assets frozen in the EU. European finance ministers agreed that funding Ukraine with a reparations loan based on immobilised Russian assets would be the most “effective” of the three options being considered.
• Europe’s top development banks and Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz signed a deal to provide an EU grant of 127 million euros ($127m) in additional funding to the firm, on top of a 300 billion euro loan ($349bn) it outlined last month to secure Ukraine’s natural gas supply, amid the ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure by Russia.
• Nordic and Baltic countries will together contribute $500m to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List arms initiative, their defence ministers said in a joint statement.

Russian sanctions

• About 1.4 million barrels per day of Russian oil, or almost a third of the country’s seaborne exporting potential, remain in tankers as unloading slows due to US sanctions against energy firms Rosneft and Lukoil, according to US financial services firm JPMorgan.
• Bulgaria’s parliament has overruled a presidential veto on legislation allowing the government to take control of Lukoil’s oil refinery and sell it to shield the asset from looming US sanctions.
• Bulgarian President Rumen Radev had attempted to veto a move by lawmakers giving a government-appointed commercial manager powers to oversee the continued operation of Lukoil’s refinery in Bulgaria beyond November 21, when the US sanctions are due to take effect, and to sell the company if needed.
• Russia’s Port Alliance group, which operates a network of sea cargo terminals, said foreign hackers had targeted its systems over three days in a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack and an attempted hack.
• The group said critical elements of its digital infrastructure had been targeted with the aim of disrupting export shipments of coal and mineral fertilisers at its sea terminals in the Baltic, Black Sea, Far East and Arctic regions. The attack was successfully repelled, and operations remained unaffected, Port Alliance said.

French authorities have provided the first real look at the latest version of the Air-Sol Moyenne Portee (ASMP; or Medium-Range Air-to-Surface) ramjet-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile. Officials in France have also confirmed that the ASMPA-Renove (ASMPA-R) variant is now in service with the country’s Navy.

A French Navy Rafale M fighter, belonging to the service’s Force Aeronavale Nucleaire (FANU), or Naval Nuclear Aviation Force, conducted a test launch of an ASMPA-R without a live warhead earlier today as part of what was dubbed Operation Diomede. The test involved “a flight representative of a nuclear raid,” according to a machine translation of a social media post from Catherine Vautrin, France’s Minister of the Armed Forces.

A separate statement from the Ministry of the Armed Forces of France says the ASMPA-R officially joined the FANU’s arsenal on November 10. The ASMPA-R has already been operational since 2023 with the Forces Aeriennes Strategiques (FAS), or Strategic Air Forces, part of the French Air and Space Force. Both services use Rafale variants as the launch platform for these missiles. French authorities did release pictures of an Air Force Rafale carrying an ASMPA-R last year, around the first known test launch of the missile. However, the weapon was entirely blurred out. A grainy image from the actual test was also released, but it was so low quality that there were no discernible details.

It is worth noting here that a portion of the French Navy’s Rafale M fleet has already had a nuclear mission with older ASMP-Ameliore (ASMP-A; ameliore translating into English as “improved”) missiles. France’s sole aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, is the only surface ship in NATO currently known to be capable of hosting nuclear weapons, but the ship does not conduct routine patrols with ASMP-series missiles onboard.

We can now see that the “renovated” ASMPA-R is externally very similar to the preceding ASMP-A. Both missiles notably feature a pair of air intakes along the middle of their bodies, which is part of the ramjet propulsion systems. As seen below, the tail fin configurations do appear to be different between the A and R models. The A model has smaller fins at the rear and larger ones just in front, while the R somewhat reverses that arrangement. The reason for this is unclear.

The ASMPA-R does reportedly have a greater range than the ASMP-A – 372 miles (600 kilometers) versus 310 miles (500 kilometers) – but both missiles are said to reach a peak speed of Mach 3.

There had been reports that the ASMPA-R features a new nuclear warhead, but some sources also say it is the same TNA design found on the ASMP-A variant. The TNA is a so-called ‘dial-a-yield’ design with reported yield settings ranging from a minimum of 100 kilotons to a maximum of 300 kilotons. It is possible that the TNA warheads in the R models have also been modernized as part of the upgrade process.

Otherwise, the ASMPA-R is generally described as a life-extension upgrade package for ASMP-A missiles, which first began to enter service in 2009. The ASMP-As replaced the original ASMPs, which had started entering service in 1986. The baseline ASMP had a maximum range of 186 miles (300 kilometers) and an older TN 81 warhead with the same reported range of yield settings as the newer TNA.

ASMP-series missiles fired from French Air Force and Navy Rafales make up the aerial leg of France’s current nuclear dyad. The missile’s combination of supersonic speed and standoff range is intended to help ensure the missiles successfully reach their targets, while also helping to keep the launch platforms further away from threats.

The development of the ASMPA-R, which dates back to the mid-2010s, is part of a larger ongoing effort to modernize France’s nuclear deterrent arsenal. This effort also includes the new M51.3 nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile, which officially entered service last month. M51-series missiles arm the French Navy’s Triomphant class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, forming the sea leg of the country’s nuclear dyad.

France is also working on a new air-launched cruise missile, the Air-Sol Nucléaire de 4ème Génération (ASN4G; or 4th Generation Air-to-Surface Nuclear), which is expected to be scramjet-powered, longer-ranged, and capable of reaching hypersonic speeds, typically defined as anything about Mach 5. Today’s statement from the French Ministry of Armed Forces also confirms that the goal is still for the ASN4G to begin entering service in the 2035 timeframe.

There have also been a number of significant developments regarding French nuclear deterrent policy, in general, this year. Reports in February said the French officials were eyeing forward-deploying nuclear-capable Rafales to Germany, citing concerns about the commitment of the United States to the NATO alliance. Within NATO, there are three nuclear powers, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some non-nuclear member states are also party to agreements wherein they could gain access to U.S. nuclear gravity bombs in the event of a major crisis.

In March, French President Emmanuel Macron also announced that his country would establish a new nuclear-capable air base, the country’s fourth overall, which will host French Air Force Rafales. In July, France signed an agreement to formally coordinate its deterrence forces with those of the United Kingdom, as well.

There has been a certain new openness about nuclear weapons and deterrence within NATO, as a whole, in the past few years, which has come amid concerns about spillover from the conflict in Ukraine and general Russian aggression.

Regardless, France’s own nuclear modernization efforts are continuing apace, with French Navy Rafale Ms having now joined their French Air Force counterparts as launch platforms for the ASMPA-R cruise missile.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Over the past decade, we have seen again how the suffering experienced by the people of Gaza continues in the midst of global political forces that are silent on the sidelines. The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) as a new form of global solidarity emerged and was formed to turn a blind eye to this injustice. This movement itself sails across the country’s borders carrying messages of humanity and peaceful resistance as a form of opposition to Israel’s blockade policy that closes Palestinian land, air, and sea access to the Gaza Strip (Global Sumud Flotilla, 2025). The failure of formal diplomacy to open humanitarian channels has led international civil society to take the initiative to take over the role to show the world that now geopolitical conditions no longer limit and bind global solidarity to take steps on humanitarian issues like this.

The author considers that the Global Sumud Flotilla movement is a real representation of the practice of transnationalism, where this movement is a network of cross-border communities that move together with the same goals and basic human values. The moral, social, and political dimensions are all combined into one in the GSF; this is a concrete example of the active role of global civil society in humanitarian issues in Palestine. For this reason, the author will focus this discussion on three main aspects, namely the origins and actors behind the formation of the GSF movement, the human values and transnational solidarity that underlie this movement, and its relevance in the era of globalization, which is a manifestation of transnational society.

Discussion

The history of the formation of the Global Sumud Flotilla movement is rooted in an international network that has also tried to penetrate the blockade of Gaza through the sea route since 2010, namely the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) movement. Based on information from the official website of GSF (2025), there are more than 30 organizations from various parts of the world that are involved in this initiative, including Europe, Latin America, and Asia. It is not because of the state’s agenda or political interests, but the reason they sail is because of the humanitarian mission they bring, namely “Break the siege, break the silence.” There are various actors who participate in this movement, ranging from humanitarian activists and civil society leaders to journalists anddoctors, so this proves that the global community can also collaborate or cooperate outside the state structure. Keck and Sikkink (1998) put forward the theory of transnational advocacy networks; within the framework of this theory can be a strong example of how this network of cross-border activism uses their moral solidarity to oppose state power.

The main value that underlies or is the foundation of this movement is an Arabic term, namely “Sumud,” which means constancy or fortitude. Well, in this Palestinian context, sumud reflects the determination of the Palestinian people who are trying to survive and protect their homeland even in the midst of the colonial siege and violence that constantly hits them. This value was then adopted by the global community that is a member of the GSF as a form of symbolic solidarity that underlies their movement so that it is not only the Palestinian people who have constancy but also the common spirit of humanity who are moving to oppose and reject the injustices that occur. GSF volunteers stated that in this mission they not only brought the issue of aid but also defended the dignity of humanity in the face of the ruling military power (Harakah Daily, 2025).

            The practice of transnationalism in the GSF is very clear, and we can see it in how this movement operates. All coordination is carried out in full by global civil society networks through various mechanisms, such as donations, digital campaigns, and international advocacy, so no single country is the main leader or sponsor in this movement. In breaking through the blockade of Gaza, global civil society faces various major challenges, but the presence of this GSF shows us all how this cross-border collaborative movement can suppress world public opinion. Every voyage they make can be used as an alternative space for diplomacy or citizen diplomacy, which emphasizes the position of the global community, which plays an important role in encouraging international humanitarian issues.

In addition to bringing physical aid, such as food, medical equipment, clothing, and so on, the GSF also plays a powerful symbolic role that is no less important. For example, when their ship was attacked by the Israeli navy, which occurred in October 2025, these volunteers did not show their fear of the Israeli navy (Kumparan, 2025). Instead, they showed and affirmed their determination to continue sailing to give freedom to the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip. The attitude shown by these volunteers reflects how the sense of transnational solidarity can transcend and eliminate their fear of repression. So, these people are actually not just volunteers but also a real form of global moral resistance to structural injustice.

The GSF movement also showed the world an important shift in international political practice. We can see that in humanitarian issues, which used to only move and become the realm of state diplomacy, it has now changed with the takeover by a global civil society network that has a common vision. The biggest challenge for the international community in dealing with this problem lies not only in the physical blockade of Gaza but also in the moral blockade that occurs here, which makes many countries reluctant to take action (Dall’Asta, 2025). For this reason, the GSF is here as the antithesis of state passivity, which shows countries and the whole world that if the citizens of the world unite and take collective action, then they can break through the global political impasse, as happened to the state.

From an academic point of view, the Sumud Flotilla has actually expanded the meaning of transnationalism, as explained by Scholte (2005) in his book entitled “Globalization: A Critical Introduction,” that social relations that cross national borders are built on the basis of shared values and goals, not because of national sovereignty. The GSF here affirms the existence of a global civil society that works in parallel with the nation-state system. In addition, this kind of cross-border solidarity can create a transnational form of humanity that is arguably more organic, so it means that the world community forms a network of collective action to deal with the ongoing global crisis.

Although this impact has not been able to end the blockade of Gaza, the existence of the GSF itself has had a great moral impact. This movement revived our awareness that in fact world politics does not only belong to the elite and the state but also belongs to all of us, belonging to the citizens of the world who care about it. Not only that, this movement also shows how a human value is able to penetrate walls or boundaries in geopolitics. This kind of initiative plays a very important role in building global awareness of what is happening in Palestine, that the struggle of the Palestinian people is a universal humanitarian struggle (Saleem & Khurshid, 2025).

Conclusion

The three arguments above, which focus on the origins and actors behind the GSF movement, the underlying and foundational humanitarian values, and its relevance as a manifestation of this transnational society, have shown that the Global Sumud Flotilla movement is a tangible form of cross-border solidarity on humanitarian issues in Palestine. This movement confirms to the world that the moral strength possessed by global civil society can be a real alternative to diplomacy that has repeatedly failed to uphold justice. Thus, we can conclude that the Global Sumud Flotilla is not only a symbol of humanitarian shipping but also a form of real representation of the birth of a transnational society that plays an active role in fighting for global humanity. And it also reminds us that true humanity does not know the state border but is something that is born or created from the collective consciousness to continue to sail against the injustice that exists in this world.

Troy Parrott scores twice in first half to keep Ireland’s hopes of reaching next tournament alive with a famous victory.

Ireland have stunned Portugal 2-0 to keep their narrow path to next year’s World Cup open and make the Nations League winners wait to book an automatic spot on a night where their captain Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off.

Ireland, who have not qualified for a major tournament in a decade and last reached a World Cup in 2002, needed at least a draw on Thursday to keep their qualification hopes alive and a first half Troy Parrott double capped their best performance in years.

They still need a win in Budapest on Sunday to claim a spot in next March’s playoffs after second-placed Hungary won 1-0 in Armenia. A draw at home to bottom-placed Armenia is likely the most Portugal need to secure automatic qualification.

But they will have to do it without Ronaldo, whose initial yellow card for lashing out with an elbow to the back of Ireland defender Dara O’Shea was upgraded after review to his first ever red card for Portugal in his 226th appearance.

Portugal, who were moments away from securing their seventh successive World Cup appearance a month ago before a stoppage-time Hungarian equaliser in Lisbon, fell behind on 17 minutes after Liam Scales headed a fizzed-in corner back across goal and Parrott could not miss.

Well worth the lead, Ireland went inches from doubling it when Chiedozie Ogbene struck the post with a fine effort before in-form AZ Alkmaar striker Parrott found the bottom corner with a brilliant finish from similar distance just before the break.

Ireland, who defended gallantly in the reverse fixture before going down to a late goal, did not require a repeat once Ronaldo received his marching orders on the hour, sarcastically clapping the delighted home fans as he departed.

Portugal, who are assured at least a playoff spot, are two points clear of Hungary at the top of Group F with a superior goal difference. The Irish are one point further back.

Parrott told RTE that it was “probably the best night” of his life.

“It is such a relief and overwhelming feeling to see the hard work paying off,” he said.

“We all knew how important this game was for us, especially given the other result tonight [Hungary beat Armenia]. I am just overwhelmed, I don’t know what words to give now. I am over the moon.”

Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson praised the backing of the fans and suggested they may have gotten to Ronaldo.

“I can only praise the supporters. We have amazing fans as always. They have a lot of say in this win, they give us energy and help us at crucial times. They deserve this win,” he said.

“[Ronaldo[ lost his focus a little bit. Maybe it was the fans as well that helped a little bit. He was frustrated and reacted in a way that he knows he shouldn’t.”

Elsewhere on Thursday, Two goals from star striker Kylian Mbappe helped send two-time champions France to the 2026 World Cup with a 4-0 home win against Ukraine.

Midfielder Michael Olise and substitute forward Hugo Ekitike added the other goals in a dominant second half from France, the World Cup runner-up in 2022.

Late goals from Gianluca Mancini and Francesco Pio Esposito helped Italy to a 2-0 win away against Moldova on Thursday, keeping alive their faint hopes of automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup with their fifth consecutive victory.

The result lifted Italy to 18 points, three behind group leaders Norway, who earlier beat Estonia 4-1, with the two sides meeting on the final qualifying matchday on Sunday. The Azzurri now face what looks an impossible task, needing to win and overturn Norway’s goal difference of 17.

England eased to a mundane 2-0 victory over Serbia with goals from Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze to make it seven wins from seven games in their World Cup qualifying campaign at a rain-soaked Wembley Stadium on Thursday.

Serbia put up more resistance than in the 5-0 home drubbing by England in September and Dusan Vlahovic twice went close to equalising but the defeat means his side can no longer finish in the top two and earn a playoff shot.

Albania will finish as runners-up and are guaranteed a playoff place after they beat Andorra 1-0 away.

Israeli settler violence targeting Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is at its highest level on record, according to the UN. Settlers are destroying mosques, dairy facilities, and attacking olive farmers in hundreds of attacks that are terrifying families and disrupting everyday life.

Parisians marked ten years since the deadly November 2015 attacks that upended French society, reflecting on the 132 people lost.

A botched net zero scheme which has caused damp issues in thousands of homes was the result of ”serious failings at every level”, a UK government official has said.

Last month, the National Audit Office found that 98% of the 23,000 homes that had external wall insulation installed under two separate schemes will result in damp and mould if left unaddressed.

Its damning report also found that hundreds of homeowners’ health and safety had been put at immediate risk because the insulation work had not been done correctly.

Appearing before Parliament, Jeremy Pocklington, the most senior civil servant at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, said the failures were “unacceptable”.

These schemes commonly used external wall insulation, which involved fixing insulation boards to the exterior brickwork and then applying render to make it waterproof. It can go wrong when water becomes trapped behind the boards.

The damage also applies to about a third of homes which had internal insulation installed under the ECO4 scheme and the Great British Insulation Scheme, available to residents in England, Scotland and Wales.

More than three million homes have been insulated under a variety of government schemes over the last 20 years. Billions of pounds of public money have been spent on it.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee, Mr Pocklington began his evidence session by saying his thoughts were with the families and households affected.

The chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, said the NAO report findings were the ”worst” he’d seen in 12 years of chairing the committee and accused the department of negligence.

Mr Pocklington said there had been poor oversight of the ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme by Trustmark, the body responsible for overseeing the quality of the insulation work.

However, he added that the department ”did not oversee these schemes in the way that they should have done”.

Independent MP Rupert Lowe said this amounted to ”systemic failure of a government department”.

Acknowledging this remark, Mr Pocklington, said ”there are serious failings at every level of the system that are systemic”, and that the department “didn’t take enough steps to ensure that Trustmark was set up to deliver appropriately”.

Simon Ayers, the chief executive of Trustmark, earlier told the panel of MPs that his organisation had raised the issue of faulty installations with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero from late-2022, but they were “informal operational meetings” and minutes were not taken.

Mr Pocklington explained that the department had been under pressure after dealing with the Covid pandemic and the effect on energy prices of the war in Ukraine.

Labour MP Clive Betts asked Mr Pocklington whether the department would take responsibility for all of the homeowners that have been ”badly treated” under all of the government’s energy efficiency schemes, not just those carried out since 2022.

Mr Pocklington said the focus was on the two schemes which had taken place since 2022.

Asked by Mr Betts if the government would “stand behind” affected homeowners, Mr Pocklington said the government’s responsibility was ”to ensure that the schemes we put in place operate effectively and that there are appropriate systems of consumer protection in place”.

HumAngle’s CEO/Editor-in-Chief, Ahmad Salkida, has been announced as a 2026 Yale Peace Fellow. One of 14 leaders selected from thousands of applications, Ahmad will be undergoing extensive training across Yale University in the United States, the UAE, and virtual long-term sessions with his cohort and faculty.

The Yale Peace Fellowship is a yearly programme hosted by the International Leadership Centre (ILC) at the prestigious Yale University. According to its website, the fellowship “brings together 16 rising leaders each year who are working on the frontlines of conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconciliation. Fellows come from a range of professional backgrounds—including civil society, diplomacy, politics, religion, and social enterprise—and are selected for their demonstrated impact and commitment to reach their full potential as peace leaders.”

Ahmad has worked in the peace and conflict field in Nigeria for decades, and is most known for his role in documenting the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria since it first broke out. It was he who dispatched the first newspaper article on Muhammad Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, on July 23 2006.  He was often the first and sometimes only journalist to break major news regarding the war in its early days, sounding the alarm on various emerging threats. He was eventually exiled in March 2013 as a result of his journalism. A few years later, despite having tried to work closely with the government in addressing threats like the Chibok abduction, he was declared wanted by the Nigerian army and forced to return to the country with his family. Though it quickly became clear that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by him, leading the army to clear him of the allegations after he turned himself in, significant damage had already been done to his life and career, as he has documented.

In 2020, he founded the conflict reporting platform, HumAngle Media, and three years later, the peacebuilding advocacy arm, HumAngle Foundation. During the past five years, both organisations have worked to advance transitional justice in Nigeria, conducting in-depth investigations, reporting, and advocacy on conflict, humanitarian, and development issues. He has led HumAngle to global recognition, including the Michael Elliot Award, the Sigma awards, the West Africa Media Excellence Award (twice), the CJID awards, the Livingston awards, and many others.

Ahmad is joined by 13 other leaders from all over the world working to advance peace in their individual countries. Commenting on his selection, he said he was pleased to have been selected for the highly competitive opportunity and looked forward to taking some time away to interact with the world-class experts that Yale University is known for when it comes to global affairs and conflict studies. 

“Being selected for this fellowship validates the work I am doing with HumAngle, and I look forward to gaining more insight to improve our processes after the fellowship,” he said. “Peace is achievable in our lifetime. And fellowships like this ensure that that belief is not only a feeling, but a destination that can be reached through small incremental steps.”

US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to other countries and to place the Palestinian enclave under the US control is “unlawful, immoral and completely irresponsible,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, Francesca Albanese condemned the proposal and warned that it would worsen the regional crisis, Anadolu Agency reports.

“It’s unlawful, immoral and completely irresponsible … what he proposes is nonsense,” Albanese said.

“It’s incitement to commit forced displacement, which is an international crime,” she added.

Albanese urged the international community to take a stronger stance, saying:

The international community consists of 193 states, and this is the time to give the US what it has been looking for – isolation

she said.

Albanese dismissed the notion that economic incentives could resolve the long-standing conflict in the Middle East.

READ: QUOTES – Global reaction to Trump’s Gaza Strip takeover plan

For too long, the international community has treated the issue of Palestine as something that can be managed through development, economic incentives and humanitarian aid,” she said. “Frankly, it doesn’t work

While acknowledging the importance of economic growth, she insisted that it cannot come at the expense of fundamental rights. “Peace through economic development is an expectation of surrender, and it will not work.”

“The only way to stop the violence is to give peace a chance through freedom,” Albanese stressed.

President Donald Trump, earlier on Tuesday night in a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that the “US will take over the Gaza Strip”, shortly after suggesting a permanent resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza.

“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, (and) create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” Trump said.

During a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Washington on Tuesday, Trump said that the US “will take over” Gaza after relocating Palestinians elsewhere under a redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

Turkiye, Jordan and Egypt as well as other regional and European countries, including the UK, France and Germany, have rejected Trump’s relocation proposal.

READ: Gaza wastewater pool at risk of flooding, municipality warns

Recent imagery indicates that China is progressing with work on a new aircraft carrier, its fourth, which is expected by many sources to introduce nuclear propulsion. A new detail that is now visible of the makings of the ship’s hull structure would appear to directly support this. The development comes just a week after the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned its first domestically produced carrier, the Fujian. Meanwhile, there are increasing reports that Beijing may also still be working on at least one more conventionally powered carrier, too.

Imagery of the new carrier, commonly referred to as the Type 004, shows the vessel taking shape at Dalian shipyard in China’s Liaoning province. Visible now is what looks to be a reactor containment structure, which would be a key indicator of its propulsion system. Certainly, the structure is broadly similar to that which is found in U.S. nuclear-powered supercarriers, and there is a general consensus that what we can see here is related to the future installation of a nuclear reactor. However, there remains the possibility that this could be some other test ship or potentially a test module. It could also be a case of this feature looking like it exists for one purpose, but it ends up being for another, although that seems less unlikely.

Renderings related to the Type 004 design that have emerged in the past have shown similarities to the U.S. Navy’s Ford class, as well as France’s future New Generation Aircraft Carrier, both of which are nuclear-powered.

In its latest assessment of Chinese military power, the Pentagon doesn’t explicitly mention a nuclear-powered carrier, but does note that China’s “next generation of carriers” will be characterized by “greater endurance,” which “will increase the striking power of a potential PLAN carrier battle group when deployed to areas beyond the PRC’s immediate periphery.”

In March of this year, Yuan Huazhi, political commissar for the PLAN, confirmed that construction of a fourth carrier had begun, but declined to answer whether it would be nuclear-powered.

Almost exactly a year ago, evidence emerged that China had constructed a land-based prototype nuclear reactor suitable for a large surface warship. The so-called Dragon Might project is located at a mountain site outside the city of Leshan, in Sichuan province.

The shift to nuclear power for China’s fourth carrier is hugely significant.

Nuclear propulsion will give the Type 004 effectively unlimited range. It will also help meet the power-generation requirements of ever-improving sensors and other mission systems. A nuclear-powered supercarrier would go a long way toward closing the technical gap with the U.S. Navy, and would see China join France as the only other nation operating a nuclear-powered flattop.

Previous satellite imagery confirmed that construction work on the carrier was underway in Dalian before May 2024, when a module, a section of the flight deck, first appeared in satellite imagery.

Apparently evident in the module were trenches for catapult tracks, suggesting that the Type 004 will have two waist catapults, in addition to the two bow catapults. This would match the arrangement of the Nimitz and Ford classes and would add an extra catapult compared with China’s third carrier, the Type 003 Fujian, which has a single catapult in the waist position.

In other respects, too, the Type 004 is expected to be an overall more advanced design than Liaoning and Shandong, which are by now well established with the PLAN fleet, as well as the Fujian.

Like Fujian — and in contrast to the two previous carriers — the Type 004 will be equipped to launch aircraft via catapults. The earlier Shandong and the Liaoning are both short takeoff but arrested recovery, or STOBAR, types with prominent ‘ski jump’ takeoff ramps. Catapults offer numerous advantages, especially when it comes to launching aircraft at higher gross weights, which translates to larger fuel and ordnance loads. They can also generally accommodate a wider array of aircraft types, too. This includes larger and slower designs, like the KJ-600 carrier-based airborne early warning and control aircraft, as well as smaller ones, such as drones.

Like the Fujian, the Type 004 will presumably be equipped with an advanced electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), a type of equipment otherwise only in use with the U.S. Navy.

As well as the aforementioned KJ-600, the Type 004’s air wing will likely include the J-35 stealth fighter, supported by advanced developments of the J-15 multirole fighter, including an electronic warfare variant. The carrier is also likely to embark various drones, such as navalized versions of the GJ-11 uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), plus helicopters.

Intriguingly, however, China is reportedly also working in parallel on another new carrier, this one being conventionally powered.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that, in addition to the Type 004 at Dalian, China is poised to start working on a conventionally powered carrier at Jiangnan in Shanghai. This location would make sense inasmuch as this was the yard that built the Fujian. If these reports are correct, the finished product would likely be an improved Type 003 design.

Via Chaos314159/SDF:

“The latest Sentinel satellite imagery suggests that Jiangnan is cleaning a platform outside the dock, raising questions about whether this indicates the start of construction on the so-called Type 003A aircraft carrier.”

Does anyone know more? 🤨🤔 pic.twitter.com/sCSduadhM0

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) November 11, 2025

Considering China’s huge shipbuilding capacity, it might well make sense to pursue two distinct new-generation carrier designs. An improved Type 003 — which some observers have begun to dub Type 003A — would offer the advantages of a proven design and lower costs, while the more ambitious Type 004 would be more expensive and higher risk.

The model below depicts a follow-on conventionally powered carrier, with the pennant number CV-19, but the source is unknown, and it may or may not be official. Notably, however, the island superstructure has major similarities with that seen on the large-scale, land-based aircraft carrier test facility in Wuhan.

There’s also an argument that China doesn’t necessarily need nuclear-powered carriers for many of its missions. While a nuclear-powered carrier would be a huge advantage for sustained blue-water operations across the globe, for contingencies closer to home, such as in the Taiwan Strait, and even in the disputed South China Sea, a force of conventionally powered flattops is still highly relevant. Conventionally powered carriers have the added advantage that they can be built more quickly and fielded in greater numbers given a set budget, although they are more dependent on a steady supply train, which can be vulnerable in a time of conflict. For its part, even a nuclear-powered carrier still requires a steady supply of other supplies, including fuel for its air wing and for its escorts.

At the same time, it should be noted that China is also working to introduce a number of very large big-deck amphibious assault ships, referred to as the Type 076. Each will feature at least one electromagnetic catapult that is expected to be primarily used to launch drones, as you can read more about here. Again, these would appear to be tailor-made for missions directed against Taiwan, as well as for power projection in the South China Sea.

Continued construction work on what is increasingly likely to be a nuclear-powered carrier, and the possibility of another type of conventional flattop in the works, highlight China’s high ambitions as a naval power and the resources they are willing to invest to achieve their maritime vision. While these developments are significant, it should also be recalled that, for the time being, the PLAN’s fleet of three conventionally powered carriers is still vastly outmatched by the U.S. Navy’s 11 active nuclear-powered supercarriers. Nevertheless, the gap is growing smaller at what seems like an increasing pace.

Contact the author: [email protected]

The Trump administration is pushing an Israeli-crafted resolution at the UN Security Council (UNSC) this week aimed at eliminating the possibility of a State of Palestine. The resolution does three things. It establishes US political control over the Gaza Strip. It separates Gaza from the rest of Palestine. And it allows the US, and therefore Israel, to determine the timeline for Israel’s supposed withdrawal from Gaza, which would mean never.

This is imperialism masquerading as a peace process. In and of itself, it is no surprise. Israel runs US foreign policy in the Middle East. What is a surprise is that the US and Israel might just get away with this travesty unless the world speaks up with urgency and indignation.

The draft UNSC resolution would establish a US-UK-dominated Board of Peace, chaired by none other than President Donald Trump himself, and endowed with sweeping powers over Gaza’s governance, borders, reconstruction, and security. This resolution would sideline the State of Palestine and condition any transfer of authority to the Palestinians on the indulgence of the Board of Peace.

This would be an overt return to the British mandate of 100 years ago, with the only change being that the US would hold the mandate rather than the United Kingdom. If it were not so utterly tragic, it would be laughable. As Marx said, history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. Yes, the proposal is a farce, yet Israel’s genocide is not. It is a tragedy of the first order.

Incredibly, according to the draft resolution, the Board of Peace would be granted sovereign powers in Gaza. Palestinian sovereignty is left to the discretion of the board, which alone would decide when Palestinians are “ready” to govern themselves – perhaps in another 100 years? Even military security is subordinated to the board, and the envisioned forces would answer not to the UNSC or to the Palestinian people, but to the board’s “strategic guidance”.

The US-Israel resolution is being put forward precisely because the rest of the world – other than Israel and the US – has woken up to two facts. First, Israel is committing genocide, a reality witnessed every day in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where innocent Palestinians are murdered to the satisfaction of the Israeli military and illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Second, Palestine is a state, albeit one whose sovereignty remains obstructed by the US, which uses its veto in the UNSC to block Palestine’s permanent UN membership. At the UN this past July and then again in September, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for Palestine’s statehood, a fact that put the Israel-US Zionist lobby into overdrive, resulting in the current draft resolution.

For Israel to accomplish its goal of Greater Israel, the US is pursuing a classic divide-and-conquer strategy, squeezing Arab and Islamic states with threats and inducements. When other countries resist the US-Israel demands, they are cut off from critical technologies, lose access to World Bank and IMF financing, and suffer Israeli bombing, even in countries with US military bases present. The US offers no real protection; rather, it orchestrates a protection racket, extracting concessions from countries wherever US leverage exists. This extortion will continue until the global community stands up to such tactics and insists upon genuine Palestinian sovereignty and US and Israeli adherence to international law.

Palestine remains the endless victim of US and Israeli manoeuvres. The results are not just devastating for Palestine, which has suffered an outright genocide, but for the Arab world and beyond. Israel and the US are currently at war, overtly or covertly, across the Horn of Africa (Libya, Sudan, Somalia), the eastern Mediterranean (Lebanon, Syria), the Gulf region (Yemen), and Western Asia (Iraq, Iran).

If the UNSC is to provide true security according to the UN Charter, it must not yield to US pressures and instead act decisively in line with international law. A resolution truly for peace should include four vital points. First, it should welcome the State of Palestine as a sovereign UN member state, with the US lifting its veto. Second, it should safeguard the territorial integrity of the State of Palestine and Israel, according to the 1967 borders. Third, it should establish a UNSC-mandated protection force drawn up from Muslim-majority states. Fourth, it should include the defunding and disarmament of all belligerent non-state entities, and it should ensure the mutual security of Israel and Palestine.

The two-state solution is about true peace, not about the politicide and genocide of Palestine, or the continued attacks by militants on Israel. It is time for both Palestinians and Israelis to be safe, and for the US and Israel to give up the cruel delusion of permanently ruling over the Palestinian people.

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

Jack Miller, an associate professor of political science at Portland State University, discusses how the narratives from both major political parties are likely to shift following the end of the US government shutdown.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi says both fighters who carried out suicide attacks on Islamabad and South Waziristan were Afghan nationals.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said both suicide bombers involved in the two attacks in the country this week were Afghan nationals, as authorities announced having made several arrests.

Naqvi made the remarks in parliament on Thursday during a session carried live on television.

On Wednesday, at least 12 people were killed and more than 30 were injured, several of them critically, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the Islamabad District Judicial Complex.

The Counter-Terrorism Department in Punjab province’s Rawalpindi said seven suspects were detained in connection with the Islamabad blast. The alleged perpetrators were apprehended from Rawalpindi’s Fauji Colony and Dhoke Kashmirian, the Dawn daily reported, while a raid was also conducted in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

The other suicide attack took place on Monday at a college in South Waziristan, KP.

Cadet College, which is near the Afghan border, came under attack when an explosive-laden vehicle rammed its main gate. Two attackers were killed at the main gate, while three others managed to enter, according to police.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been severely strained in recent years, with Islamabad accusing fighters sheltering across the border of staging attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies giving haven to armed groups to attack Pakistan.

Dozens of soldiers were killed in border clashes between the two countries last month, as well as several civilians.

On Tuesday, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan may launch strikes inside Afghanistan following the attacks this week, saying the country was “in a state of war”.

“Anyone who thinks that the Pakistan Army is fighting this war in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the remote areas of Balochistan should take today’s suicide attack at the Islamabad district courts as a wake-up call,” he said.

Pakistan passes bill giving army chief immunity for life

In a separate development on Thursday, Pakistan’s parliament approved a sweeping constitutional amendment, granting lifetime immunity to the current army chief, boosting the military’s power, which was previously reserved only for the head of state, despite widespread criticism from opposition parties and critics.

The 27th amendment, passed by a two-thirds majority, also consolidates military power under a new chief of defence forces role and establishes a Federal Constitutional Court.

The changes grant army chief Asim Munir, recently promoted to field marshal after Pakistan’s clash with India in May, command over the army, air force and the navy.

Munir, like other top military brass, would enjoy lifelong protection.

Any officer promoted to field marshal, marshal of the air force, or admiral of the fleet will now retain rank and privileges for life, remain in uniform, and enjoy immunity from criminal proceedings.

The amendment also bars courts from questioning any constitutional change “on any ground whatsoever”.

The echoes of gunfire still haunt Abdullahi Wakili. What he remembers most, however, is the silence that followed — the silence of neighbours fleeing through the night, of homes left smouldering, of fear settling over Lau like harmattan dust. 

“We were always expecting a crisis at any moment. We could not sleep with both eyes closed,” the 60-year-old resident said. 

Lau, a farming community in Taraba State, northeastern Nigeria, is home to the Yandang people who, for years, were caught in recurring clashes with nomadic herders. In July 2018, violence erupted again, claiming at least 73 lives on both sides. Dozens of houses were torched, farmlands were razed, and families were displaced from communities such as Katibu, Didango, Katara, Sabon Gida, Shomo Sarki, and Nanzo.

“It was the most devastating,” Abdullahi said. 

The crisis destroyed livelihoods built over generations. The fertile lands that once yielded yams and rice, supported fishing, and provided pasture for cattle, became battlefields.

Abdullahi, a Yandang indigene married to a Fulani woman, said the two groups had coexisted peacefully for decades before destruction of farms, cattle rustling, and revenge attacks tore them apart. “We used to share everything,” he said. “But the crisis turned us into enemies overnight.”

For generations, Taraba’s plains were a meeting point between settled farmers and herders moving south from the Sahel in search of pasture. These groups lived in relative harmony, guided by informal agreements that allowed seasonal grazing after harvest and mutual access to water. But as population pressures, desertification, and the expansion of farms increased competition for land, old alliances frayed. By the 1990s, the breakdown of traditional mediation systems and the influx of small arms turned ordinary disputes into recurring cycles of revenge. 

Political manipulation and the proliferation of small arms after decades of communal unrest in the region further deepened distrust. What were once local disputes over damaged crops or stolen cattle gradually escalated into organised violence involving armed individuals and retaliatory attacks.

By 2018, when violence returned to Lau, the conflict had become part of a larger regional crisis stretching across Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, and Nasarawa states.

A turning point

Five years later, in 2023, Search for Common Ground (SCFG), a non-profit founded in 1982, launched the second phase of its Contributing to the Mitigation of Conflict over Natural Resources project (COMITAS II), in collaboration with the European Union.

Running from January 2023 to July 2024, the initiative targeted conflict-affected communities in Taraba and Adamawa states. Its aim was simple yet ambitious: to rebuild trust, promote dialogue, and empower communities to prevent disputes before they turned violent.

COMITAS II also reached Taraba’s Lau and Zing local government areas, another hotspot where farming communities along the international cattle route to Cameroon had experienced repeated clashes.

Through stakeholder meetings, training sessions on early warning and conflict sensitivity, and community-produced radio dramas and jingles, the project re-ignited conversations about peace. Over 60 media practitioners and advocates were trained across 32 communities in both states, resulting in the de-escalation of several potential violent incidents through verified reporting and community dialogue in the past year.

Wesley Daniel, a community leader who is part of the initiative, said the tensions and attacks have reduced. “We now have structures that encourage people to talk instead of fight,” he noted.

Before, even a rumour could spark bloodshed. But now, trained youths use social media, radio, and town-hall discussions to dispel misinformation before tensions escalate.

Berry Cletus, a COMITAS II Media Fellow in Lau, remembered one incident where a rumour spread that a cow belonging to a herder had been stolen. “Instead of waiting for violence, trained youths acted fast. They verified the information, shared the truth on local radio, and linked both communities for dialogue,” Berry told HumAngle. 

To sustain this new culture of communication, SFCG established Community Security Architecture Dialogues (CSADs) at the local government level and Community Response Networks (CRNs) in villages. These structures identify warning signs early, mediate disputes, and link residents to security agencies.

In Zing, a potentially violent eviction attempt by locals was averted after intervention by the CRN. “Our awareness campaigns are restoring trust,” said Kauna Mathias David, a CSAD member. “Before, truck drivers feared using our roads because of theft. Now they travel freely.”

Progress and its fragility 

While peace is returning, it remains delicate. Decades of mistrust cannot vanish overnight. Violence still flares in other parts of Taraba and across the region.

Sustainability is also a concern. When the two-year COMITAS II project ended, communities like Lau and Zing struggled to keep peace activities running. 

Poor transport and communication sometimes delay reports of early warning signs, weakening response efforts. And although the project was formally handed over to the Taraba State Government, only Karim Lamido Local Government has replicated its peace structure. “Other councils are yet to follow,” lamented Wesley.

Still, the lessons are taking root. In Lau and Zing, residents who spoke to HumAngle said farmers and herders are discovering that peace is not the absence of conflict—it is the presence of dialogue, trust, and shared responsibility.

Mamuda Umar, a local herder, said people have realised that violence solves nothing. “We now prefer dialogue,” he said. “It’s not always easy, but it brings lasting peace.”

Mamuda survived one of the clashes in 2018. Photo: Shawanatu Ishaka/HumAngle