Morning Briefing: Nov. 12

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday, including US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arriving in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli security cabinet ordering military to preparing for possible attack on Iran, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighting importance of cleaner and more sustainable world for future generations during COP31.

TOP STORIES

• US envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow for talks with Putin

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian media reported.

Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev met the two American representatives at Vnukovo Airport, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Russia's state-run TASS news agency also confirmed that the convoy carrying Dmitriev, Witkoff, and Kushner left the airport following their landing in the Russian capital.

Kushner said Wednesday he and Witkoff will travel to Moscow following US-mediated trilateral peace negotiations with Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

“One of the positives is we agreed that we’re going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, and we’re going to finalize the numbers tomorrow,” Kushner said.

• Israeli security cabinet orders military to prepare for possible attack on Iran: Report

Israel’s security cabinet has instructed the military to step up preparations for a possible attack on Iran, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported Wednesday evening.

“The directives issued by the security cabinet to the Israeli military could lead it to carry out activities that could trigger a war,” the broadcaster said.

KAN said the directives were made public after Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot issued a statement urging caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from unnecessary military operations until the next government is formed.

The security cabinet last met on Oct. 5 – weeks before the Oct. 27 Israeli elections – the broadcaster added.

• Turkish president urges cleaner, greener, fairer world for future generations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted on Wednesday the importance of leaving a cleaner and more sustainable world for future generations during COP31, the UN Climate Change Conference in Türkiye.

"The most precious legacy we can leave to future generations, before the world becomes uninhabitable, will be a cleaner, greener and fairer world," Erdogan said in a social media post.

"As Türkiye, we are paving the way today and setting a very meaningful goal," he added.

The post included a video featuring footage from COP31. Erdogan also signed the commemorative board bearing the COP31 logo during the COP31 Leaders' Summit at the Antalya EXPO Center, as he continued his engagements at the meeting.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• An Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinians at Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza early Thursday, said Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal.
  
• The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government said Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone over the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia.
  
• Russia and Ukraine have agreed "in principle" on a new large-scale prisoner exchange, with details to be announced soon, the head of the Russian delegation at talks in Abu Dhabi said.
  
• Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate race, giving state its 1st Democratic senator in nearly 4 decades.
• Pope Leo XIV arrived in Peru on Wednesday for a historic six-day pastoral visit, meeting President Keiko Fujimori at the Government Palace in Lima shortly after landing in his adopted homeland.
  
• The Netherlands has formalized its commitment to invest up to $500 million over 10 years in the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), joining several countries in supporting the initiative aimed at protecting tropical forests and the communities that depend on them.
• Iran's deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces warned that US military bases and interests were within range of Iranian missiles and drones, saying Tehran was prepared to strike targets beyond the region in the event of renewed attacks.
• The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has crossed 11,000 since the outbreak was declared in May, official data showed as health authorities struggle to contain the largest outbreak in the country.
• The British foreign secretary said that dependence on fossil fuels undermines national security, citing the economic fallout from geopolitical conflicts, and urged the accelerated transition to clean energy at the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye.
• US Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said his discharge petition for the Epstein Files Transparency Act II has reached 218 signatures, the threshold needed to force a vote in the House of Representatives.
• Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev died suddenly at the age of 66, the Kremlin said.
• Indonesia's Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has expressed his intention to resign, according to Budi Arie Setiadi, chairman of Projo, a volunteer organization supporting former President Joko Widodo, the state-run news agency Antara reported.
• More than 150,000 tents bought by humanitarian partners and member states are waiting outside the Gaza Strip for Israeli permission to enter, the UN said.
• US President Donald Trump claimed that Venezuelan oil revenues will reach "hundreds of billions very soon" and that the United States recouped the cost of its operation in the country "many, many times over."
• French lawmakers have submitted a bill to the National Assembly seeking a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to media reports.
• Austria’s government announced plans to tighten anti-espionage legislation, extending criminal liability to intelligence activities targeting foreign countries and international organizations based in the country, according to the Kurier newspaper.
• Germany’s Council of Economic Experts urged Chancellor Friedrich Merz to curb debt-financed defense spending before surging interest costs put unusual pressure on household budgets.
• The Maldives’ president has reaffirmed his country's ban on Israeli passport holders, saying they will not be allowed to enter under any circumstances, according to a statement from his office.
• Police confronted striking workers and protesters blocked roads in Spain as the country held its first general strike in 14 years, demanding affordable housing and higher wages ahead of a national election.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a new "Climate Justice Compact" built on shared responsibility, urging nations at COP31 to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and mobilize massive climate financing.

SPORTS

• Qatar, Abu Dhabi F1 races to go ahead despite regional tensions: FIA chief

Formula One’s season-ending races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi will proceed as scheduled despite tensions in the Middle East, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said Tuesday.

The Qatar Grand Prix is scheduled for Nov. 29 at Lusail International Circuit, followed by the Abu Dhabi finale at Yas Marina Circuit on Dec. 6.

“We are ready for Qatar and Abu Dhabi,” Ben Sulayem wrote on Instagram.

“We are fully prepared and committed to delivering two outstanding grands prix weekends and a spectacular conclusion to the Formula One World Championship.”

• Türkiye beat Montenegro 79-62 in Women's EuroBasket 2027 qualifiers

The Turkish women's national basketball team defeated Montenegro 79-62 in their opening Group I match of the second round of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers.

Türkiye secured victory in their first game under new head coach Frederic Dusart at the Turkcell Basketball Development Centre in Istanbul.

Montenegro started strong, but Türkiye responded with six consecutive points from Goksen Fitik to take an 11-8 lead.

Despite eight first-quarter points from Montenegro's Taya Davis-Reimer, the hosts maintained their advantage and finished the opening period 18-14 ahead.

CULTURE AND LIFE

• Dua Lipa, SZA, Tame Impala to headline Coachella 2027

British Albanian pop star Dua Lipa, American singer SZA and Australian music group Tame Impala will headline the 2027 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, organizers announced.

The annual festival, one of the world's best-known music events, will take place over two weekends, April 9-11 and April 16-18, in Indio, California.

Lipa will headline Friday performances, followed by Tame Impala on Saturdays and SZA on Sundays.

The 31-year-old Grammy-winning singer is set to make history as the first British woman to headline the festival as a solo artist.

• Mike Hammer,’ ‘Prison Break’ actor Stacy Keach dies at 85

American actor Stacy Keach, whose career ranged from Shakespearean leading roles to television detective Mike Hammer, has died at the age of 85.

Keach died Tuesday at his family home in Magdalenka, Poland, his wife, Malgosia Tomassi Keach, said in a statement carried by People magazine.

His death followed “a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure,” she said.

The actor built a career across theater, film and television, combining acclaimed stage performances with roles in crime dramas, comedies and historical productions.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

• Nvidia board prepares to oust CEO Jensen Huang: Report

Nvidia’s board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang following reports of two extramarital affairs, one involving a woman suspected of ties to Chinese intelligence, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The board could meet as early as Wednesday to decide Huang’s future at the company, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.

Earlier Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Huang had an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care, citing five people who worked at the company.

The reports came days after Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife. Nvidia’s board is investigating whether he was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.

• Brazil fines Meta $1.34M for incomplete election disclosures

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court fined Meta 7.5 million reais ($1.34 million) for providing incomplete information in response to judicial orders concerning allegations of political bias on its platforms during the election campaign, Agencia Brasil reported.

The unanimous decision, delivered Tuesday, found that the company failed to adequately address 17 measures the court ordered to clarify claims that its platforms treated content from rival presidential campaigns unequally.

The case followed a complaint by the coalition supporting President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s reelection, which accused Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, of restricting the reach of pro-Lula content while favoring his defeated rival, Flavio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party.

• SpaceX launches classified US Space Force mission from California

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a classified payload for the US Space Force from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday.

The rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East as part of the USSF-627 mission, whose payload and specific objectives have not been publicly disclosed.

The launch followed two postponements. Originally scheduled for Monday, the mission was delayed to Tuesday before being rescheduled for Wednesday.