Nov 14, 2026, 08:30 AM UTC

United States envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have announced that European nations will participate in future negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Following diplomatic meetings in Moscow and Dublin, Kushner stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to broaden the negotiations to cover post-war European security arrangements alongside territorial matters.

US representatives urged European governments to select a single diplomatic delegate for upcoming sessions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision, stating it ensures European partners will have a direct voice in the peace process. While significant disagreements remain between Kyiv and Moscow, envoys noted progress toward negotiating a major prisoner exchange.

Sources: DW, Der Spiegel, FAZ, ORF, Tagesschau

Emergency services across the Baltic region have stood down following overnight air raid alerts linked to a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Kirishi oil refinery near St. Petersburg. The strike ignited a fire and caused multiple explosions at the facility, resulting in one civilian fatality from falling debris.

During the attack, at least four drones crossed into the airspace of neighboring Baltic nations. The incursions prompted NATO to scramble fighter jets and led Finnish authorities to enforce temporary maritime and airspace restrictions. Civil defense networks and regional air traffic management have now resumed normal operations after officials confirmed the uncrewed aerial vehicles exited NATO airspace without causing structural damage to allied infrastructure.

Sources: Delo, Siol.net

Regional tensions escalated after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that multiple oil tankers exploded and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian sources indicated that at least two vessels carrying over four million barrels of crude oil struck naval mines, while another vessel suffered an incident under U.S. military escort. Despite explosions reported near Qeshm Island, Iranian state television noted officials have not confirmed direct foreign missile strikes on Iranian territory.

The maritime incidents coincide with warnings from political leadership on both sides. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that Israel's campaign regarding Iran remains "still not complete." Meanwhile, Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei warned that Tehran would target U.S. military bases located within Europe if those facilities assist in military operations against Iran.

Sources: Cyprus Mail, Daily Sabah, France24, Sweden Herald, Trend News Agency.

Engineers at Microsoft are continuing efforts to fully restore services after a global technical outage disrupted Outlook, Teams, and Copilot across 74 countries. Disruption began on Thursday evening, generating nearly 130,000 incident reports worldwide as key applications froze.

Microsoft confirmed the issue originated internally when a process managing secure connections became overwhelmed, causing servers to stall under traffic load. The company stressed there is no evidence of a cyberattack. Recovery efforts are prioritizing public safety, emergency, and government systems. Although restarting infrastructure and reverting network adjustments yielded initial improvements, engineers noted that some servers became unresponsive again as traffic resumed, requiring ongoing monitoring.

Sources: BBC News, Cyprus Mail, STV News, The Guardian, The Herald

The White House announced on Friday that US President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen. According to US officials, the proposed trilateral meeting—which would be the first of its kind between the leaders of the three nations—will focus primarily on global nuclear arms reduction and non-proliferation. Discussions may also cover ongoing regional conflicts, including the war in Iran. However, neither Beijing nor Moscow has officially confirmed the summit, having previously only acknowledged preliminary talks regarding such a meeting.

Sources: Le Monde, ORF, Tagesschau, NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting), Der Standard