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One defining event per day, chosen from the world's reporting. How it works
In the 2026 US midterm elections, Democrats achieved their largest midterm gains in decades and were set to control both chambers of Congress from January. Republicans suffered heavy losses, prompting commentary on Donald Trump's agenda and on the 2028 prospects of Vice President...
Schiphol Airport donated 29 electric buses that had been used to transport passengers on the non-public part of the airfield. The buses are being sent to Ukraine, where they will be used in local and regional transport, including carrying children to and from school.
On Thursday 12 November a lightsaber used by Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi sold for $4.87 million at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, well above its pre-sale estimate.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday 12 November after reports, according to the media, of an extramarital affair with a woman whom US authorities reportedly suspect of being a Chinese spy. Chief financial officer Colette Kress was reported to take over on an interim basi...
The FBI said North Korean state-backed hackers stole more than 400 million dollars in cryptocurrency over the previous 18 months, reportedly using deepfake video calls to deceive victims. The agency said it found more than 900 deepfake videos used against victims in the scheme.
COP31 climate summit underscored the widening divide between vulnerable states’ demands and global action
On Thursday Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen announced he would challenge New York Senator Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader, saying after the midterm sweep that the American people called for change. The challenge launches an uphill battle to lead Senate Democ...
Chris Van Hollen· Climate
On 2026-11-13, the most historically significant global event was the mounting international confrontation over climate policy at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye. Reporting from the summit showed leaders from countries already suffering se...
In the midterm elections of 3 November 2026 Democrats won a series of major races. CNN projected Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins would win the Alaska governor's race, and Democrat Cindy Holscher was elected governor of Kansas. In Mississippi Democrat Scott Colom won a Senate sea...
Dutch health insurers announced sharp premium increases for next year, with some monthly basic premiums exceeding 170 euro. Menzis said its basic premium would rise by 9.50 euro to 165.75 euro a month, while reports said increases across insurers ranged from about 5 euro to nearl...
Reports said six more women had made allegations of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour against Russell Brand. The claims followed his convictions for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others, and came as he was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
Russell BrandNeptune completes first full orbit since discovery
Harry Kane scored in England's 2-1 Nations League win over Croatia at Wembley, earning his record 126th cap and passing Peter Shilton as the men's senior team's most-capped player. The forward also reached 92 international goals.
Harry KaneAfter meeting US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Dublin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Europe would join the next round of negotiations with Russia and the US. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged support for Ukraine at the European Political Community s...
On Thursday President Donald Trump directed Vice President JD Vance to step away from negotiations with Iran and focus instead on what Trump described as corruption and crime in Democratic-run cities and states. Trump said the United States no longer needed a deal to end the war ...
Roger Taylor announced that he is stepping away from Duran Duran and retiring from playing drums because of worsening tinnitus. The band announced the decision on its website and social media on Thursday.
On Thursday Microsoft confirmed an outage affecting Outlook, Teams and Copilot, with users reporting email errors and connectivity problems. Outage trackers recorded more than 60,000 and later more than 120,000 reports. Microsoft attributed the disruption to an 'elevated load' on...
MicrosoftOn Thursday 12 November 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth awarded a Joint Service Commendation Medal to Specialist Thomas Iglesias, who had reprimanded Hegseth and his staff for noise at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day. Hegseth pr...
NBC Sports announcer Dan Hicks, the voice of golf, Olympic swimming and Notre Dame football during a 35-year career, died late Wednesday 11 November 2026 in Connecticut of an acute illness, according to his family. NBC announced his death on Thursday 12 November. He was 64.
Mark HarrisOn the morning of 12 November 2026 several people were shot in the Logan Circle neighborhood of north-west Washington, D.C., according to police. Police said a suspect was barricaded after the shooting, and reports gave differing counts of the injured, ranging from four to five.
On 12 November 2026 Nvidia announced that CEO Jensen Huang had resigned with immediate effect. Reporting said the move followed reports of extramarital affairs, including one with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly suspected of spying for China. Colette Kress was named...
A three-story building in Brooklyn, New York, collapsed on 11 November 2026 at the edge of a construction site. The death toll rose to eight as rescuers searched the rubble, and reports said at least 17 people were injured. New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said crews were worki...
BrooklynDemocrat Scott Colom defeated incumbent Republican senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in the 2026 midterm elections, becoming the first Black senator elected from Mississippi since Reconstruction. Results were confirmed in the days after Election Day.
On 12 November 2026 Dutch prosecutors demanded prison sentences of up to 20 years against six suspects over a failed attempt to kill Iranian journalist Siamak Tahmasbi in Haarlem in 2024. Prosecutors allege the plot was an international operation and that the alleged mastermind s...
On 12 November 2026 the Tweede Kamer debated a proposed higher top rate on wealth tax in box 3, put forward by PRO and Volt and backed by D66 and CDA. The VVD threatened to vote against it, provoking a coalition crisis, and the cabinet reportedly advised against the plan.
Comedian Russell Brand was convicted of rape and sexual assault and jailed for ten and a half years, according to reporting. The case prompted fallout in the entertainment industry: David Walliams, who denies the allegations, faced reports of sexually explicit remarks, and some s...
Democrats gained control of the House and expanded their Senate position in the 2026 US midterm elections, flipping eight Republican-held Senate seats according to reporting. Democratic leaders then gathered in Denver to plan for the 2028 presidential race.
Cyberattacks on refrigeration control systems across Europe have disrupted shops and exposed the vulnerability of cooling equipment. On 12 November 2026 Belgium's interior minister said Iran was behind the attacks, while Belgium's foreign minister publicly contradicted him. Franc...
On 12 November 2026 Manchester United sacked head coach Michael Carrick, with the club in the Premier League relegation zone after winning one of its first ten league games. Reports said the club had lined up Mauricio Pochettino as his successor.
Michael CarrickOn 12 November 2026 Ukraine reported renewed significant slowdowns on the Starlink satellite network used by its forces, affecting drone operations and air defence along the front line. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the restrictions were systematic and not accidental, accord...
World leaders gathered in Turkey for the COP31 climate summit in November 2026. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham committed the UK to a 2050 net zero target and urged other leaders to act, while former US envoy John Kerry said President Trump was the biggest loser for scrapping clim...
An Israeli airstrike hit Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza in the early hours of 12 November 2026. Palestinian officials and the Gaza Health Ministry said at least six people were killed, including a doctor or surgeon, and more than a dozen wounded. The Israeli military said it ha...
On 11 November 2026 a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery loudly reprimanded a group including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for making noise at the site. Commentators criticised the episode as a lapse of judgement.
On Wednesday 11 November 2026, the historic ocean liner SS United States sank off the coast of Destin, Florida, in a planned sinking. The ship, which set a transatlantic speed record on its 1952 maiden voyage, is to become the world's largest artificial reef.
· Diplomacy
On 12 November 2026, the European Political Community summit convened in Dublin, bringing together leaders from more than 40 European countries, alongside the heads of major Euro-Atlantic institutions, for talks framed around security, stability and Europe’s strategic future. The...
Ukraine
Former NFL coach and ESPN analyst Rex Ryan turned himself in to Nashville police on Wednesday, according to police, after he allegedly ran over the feet of two pedestrians with his pickup truck and left the scene. Ryan, 63, has been charged with six misdemeanors, according to the...
The SS United States, once the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic, was scheduled to be sunk on Wednesday off Destin, Florida, to become the world's largest artificial reef, according to reports. The sinking ended a long dispute over the ship's fate; activists had unsuccess...
On 11 November 2026, President Donald Trump defended the war in Iran during a Veterans Day address at Arlington National Cemetery, saying it would be over soon, according to reporting. Senior Iranian officials were reported to believe the US was planning further military strikes ...
Allegations of sexual misconduct, inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power against comedian David Walliams, which he denies, were reported by the BBC and other outlets. Author Chloe Combi said there were real concerns about him in publishing, and i reported that HarperCollins s...
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was reportedly relocated to a military base over safety concerns, according to an AP source, after alleged Iranian threats against him. Reporting noted that Iran has been implicated in plots against top US officials since 2020, and that Bessent is...
The carnival season was opened on 11 November in the southern Netherlands, with large crowds in Brabant and Limburg. In Tilburg, the Kruikenstad was reported full and streets were closed; in IJsselstein, carnival was opened for the first time at 11.11 a.m. with a procession.
White House counsel Will Scharf warned that planned congressional investigations of President Donald Trump and administration officials by incoming House Democrats may cross the line into blatant criminality, according to reports. The incoming Oversight Committee leader, Democrat...
World leaders at the UN climate summit in Turkey warned that without urgent climate action 'the world we know is over', according to the Marshall Islands president, who warned of worsening floods. The UN chief called for a windfall tax on oil and gas firms, and UK foreign secreta...
A Democratic-led effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth failed on a procedural vote by seven votes, with Democrats criticizing absent colleagues, according to The Guardian. Fox News reported that the House voted 211-204 to refer eight articles accusing him of violating ...
Russia and Ukraine held US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi and agreed to a large prisoner exchange, but made little progress toward a peace deal. Russia's demand that its seizure of eastern Ukrainian territory be recognized reportedly remained a key hurdle, and US envoys were due to ...
Manchester United were reportedly poised to replace manager Michael Carrick, who was reported to be nearing dismissal, with Mauricio Pochettino, with a verbal agreement reportedly in place. Reports said the club could face a compensation bill of up to £20m, and that the club face...
Workers across Spain stopped work in the first nationwide general strike in 14 years, protesting the housing crisis and rising living costs. Around 4 million people were reportedly on the streets, with widespread disruption to transport and schools, less than three weeks before p...
Democrats won sweeping victories in the 2026 US midterm elections, shifting control of Congress and prompting analysis of a blue wave. The Guardian reported that Republican efforts to redraw congressional maps failed, and Fox News commentary argued the results threaten two years ...
The cabinet said it wants to keep the village of Moerdijk after earlier plans for the village changed. State secretary Jo-Annes de Bat (CDA) said at a press conference that the government had a task to win back residents' trust after the U-turn.
A vehicle crashed into pedestrians and street vendors near a Metro entrance in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, during rush hour on Tuesday. Three people were killed and others injured. Police are investigating whether the crash was intentional.
On the fourth day of the trial of four suspects accused in the December 2024 explosion on the Tarwekamp in The Hague, victims and relatives addressed the court. The owner of the bridal-fashion shop that was the target said the attack had destroyed her life, and a 10-year-old boy ...
A cyberattack on Monday evening on AllUnited, a software provider for membership administration, led to a data leak at more than 350 Dutch sports clubs, which reported it to the Dutch Data Protection Authority on Wednesday. Clubs in Brabant and Noord-Holland were among those affe...
Wildlife officials said on Tuesday that DNA tests linked a female grizzly and her three yearling cubs to the fatal attack earlier this month on Jennifer Balcarras, 48, and her daughter Selah Reed, 20. Investigators believe it was a rare predatory attack, and the four bears were k...
Nvidia appointed a leading US law firm to conduct an investigation into the relationship between CEO Jensen Huang and an alleged Chinese spy, after reports of an affair. Reports said the company's market value had fallen by around $430bn since the spying allegations surfaced.
On Wednesday, bomb threats sent by email reached thousands of schools across Europe, with at least 6,300 schools in Italy alone. Hundreds were evacuated in Italy, and hundreds more schools in Ireland and the UK also received threats. No explosives were found, and the threats were...
On Wednesday morning a wall collapsed onto a 58-year-old woman on the Fransenstraat in Vlaardingen. She was resuscitated and taken to hospital, where she died that afternoon, police confirmed.
Russell Brand was jailed for 10 years after being convicted of rape and sexual assault against several women. Police confirmed they had asked him to leave ex-girlfriend Jemima Goldsmith's house in 2014 after she reported an alleged assault, and his wife Laura Brand's position was...
Russell BrandUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly left his home near Washington, D.C., and relocated his family to a military base after threats against his life that were attributed to Iran. Reporting said the move was made for security reasons, and the Treasury said he would not b...
Manchester United were reported to be moving to sack manager Michael Carrick after a meeting in Monaco involving Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada. Reports said Mauricio Pochettino had agreed to become head coach and that the club was finalising personal terms, wit...
Michael CarrickEleven-month-old Koah Sharpe was reported missing in Lexington County, South Carolina, on Monday after authorities said his father had taken him. On Tuesday deputies found him alive in a dog crate reportedly buried in woods for about 24 hours; he was described as clinging to life...
Actor Stacy Keach, known for the TV role of private eye Mike Hammer and for his stage work, died at 85 at his home in Magdalenka, Poland, according to his wife, who told The Hollywood Reporter.
House Republicans chose Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a combative Trump ally, to lead their minority in the House of Representatives next year, days after the party suffered losses in the midterm elections. Jordan is described as far-right and was previously accused of ignoring sexual ab...
