Global Express | November 6, 2026: Trump Says 'Big, Beautiful' Russia-Ukraine Deal in the Works

1. Trump Says 'Big, Beautiful' Russia-Ukraine Deal in the Works, May Involve 'All of Europe'

Source: DW

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday, November 5, that a "very big" deal with Russia to end the Ukraine war is in the works, after an unscheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House. "I can't tell you what I discussed. But I'm just telling you, it's going to be an agreement, it's going to be a big agreement," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump said the war was very close to being settled and that the agreement would "involve more than Ukraine," adding it "might involve all of Europe." "It's going to be a big, beautiful agreement, and everyone's going to be thrilled," he said. He also said he had not met with Ukrainian officials who were at the White House the same day.

Trump's son-in-law and US envoy Jared Kushner said the United States, NATO and European partners held "productive and substantive discussions" on resolving the war, aimed at "practical, mutually agreed arrangements that reduce the risk of future conflict," ahead of talks next week in Abu Dhabi involving Kyiv and Moscow. Thursday's White House event honored First Lady Melania Trump's work in brokering a recent ceasefire in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky; Dmitriev said Putin personally gave instructions for the six-day truce. DW noted that Trump has made similar promises before, with no resolution to the conflict in sight.

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2. Leaked Files: Russia Agreed to Supply Iran With 90 Helicopter Missile Launchers

Source: The Guardian

Russia arranged to supply Iran with 90 launchers for advanced guided missiles, according to leaked defence industry documents obtained by Dallas Analytics, a Ukrainian private intelligence firm, and shared with the Guardian. A production schedule drawn up in May 2024 by Vympel, a leading Russian designer of missiles and launch systems, lists an order for 90 launchers under an export contract designated "K-10", with deliveries scheduled between late 2024 and December 2025.

Separate internal paperwork explicitly identifies K-10 as Iran. The launchers are for the LMUR, a guided missile fired from attack helicopters that Russian forces have used extensively against Ukrainian targets since the full-scale invasion in 2022. The records do not establish whether the launchers were ultimately delivered, but a separate schedule listing six Yak-130 jet trainers destined for Iran in 2023 is consistent with publicly reported deliveries.

The files surface at a sensitive moment, as Washington weighs its next steps in its war against Iran after the US midterm elections. Observers widely regard Moscow as one of the main winners of a prolonged war in Iran, which has pushed up global energy prices through disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure, giving the Kremlin additional funds for its war in Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly played down Moscow's support for Iran, writing last month that Russia was doing "very little, if anything" to help Tehran — in contrast with European intelligence findings that Russia has provided Iran with key data and satellite images.

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3. Kenyan Cult Leader Sentenced to 200 Years for Starving 191 People to Death

Source: BBC

A Kenyan court sentenced doomsday cult leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison on Friday, November 6, for murdering 191 people, all but one of them children. Mackenzie, along with 27 others, was found guilty of the murders for instructing cult members to starve their children to death so they could "meet Jesus". Justice Diana Mochache said Mackenzie bore the "primary criminal culpability" for ordering his followers to fast to death, calling the sentence "appropriate and just, to send an unmistakable message that such atrocities warrant the maximum penalties allowed by law."

The self-styled pastor was arrested in 2023 after the discovery of more than 400 bodies in shallow graves in Shakahola forest near the Kenyan coast. Ahead of sentencing, prosecutors had argued for the death penalty because of the gravity of the crimes — Kenya has not carried out capital punishment since 1987 — and cited Mackenzie's lack of remorse. They requested life sentences for his co-accused.

In her eight-hour judgement last month, Justice Mochache said Mackenzie's followers believed he was "Jesus's mouthpiece", and that those who opposed his teachings were beaten to death. Post-mortem results showed the cause of death was starvation for most victims, while others died from suffocation, strangulation or head injuries. The Shakahola deaths have shone a spotlight on the lack of oversight of rogue religious activities; President William Ruto set up a commission of inquiry, although it was later declared unconstitutional.

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4. Paraguay's President Resigns After Bank Collapse, Is Impeached Minutes Later

Source: NPR

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña announced his resignation on Thursday, November 5, after the collapse of a major digital bank tied to his government triggered widespread protests, froze millions of people's savings and cost him the support of his own party. Minutes after the announcement, the lower house voted 78-0 to impeach him, sending the charges to the Senate.

The crisis centered on Ueno Bank. Central bank inspectors found poorly documented lending to companies linked to its owners and expenses wrongly counted as assets; once the books were corrected, Ueno's capital fell to less than half the legal minimum, and the central bank announced the lender's seizure on Tuesday. Under a law rushed through Congress this week, a state guarantee fund must repay stranded depositors within five business days, up to about $36,000 per customer, which the central bank says will cover the full balances of an estimated 97% of clients.

In a video posted to X, Peña said he was stepping down in the interest of "the stability of our country, social peace and the need to preserve our democratic institutions," adding: "I want to apologize to the people if I have failed them at any point." A judge on Thursday ordered six Ueno executives jailed pending trial, including founder Miguel Vázquez and bank President Juan Manuel Gustale, while prosecutors charged 27 bank officials and associates with breach of trust and attempted fraud. Vice President Pedro Alliana was expected to be sworn in.

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5. Nasdaq Plunges 5.5% as Data Centers Face Political Backlash After Midterms

Source: Yahoo Finance (Motley Fool)

The Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.5% on Thursday, November 5, one of its worst days ever, as fears spread that a political backlash could choke the AI boom following the midterm elections. Chip stocks, among the few losers on Wednesday, collapsed: the VanEck Semiconductor ETF lost 11.2% and industry leader Nvidia fell 9.1%. The sell-off swept across the market, with all 11 sectors falling, even defensive ones such as utilities and consumer staples.

The trigger was data centers becoming a lightning rod during the campaign. Investors believe election winners in Texas and elsewhere will slap significant restrictions or even outright bans on data centers. According to the analysis, Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on a temporary moratorium on data centers and a ban on subsidies for them, but told CNN: "We will have laws to protect Texans, and we need to stop what we are doing with data centers until we have those protections."

The wobble began weeks ago, when neocloud operator CoreWeave's bond yields rose as high as 15%, fueling default worries, and earnings from big hyperscalers were greeted coolly over soaring capital expenditures and negative free cash flow. Arm CFO Jason Child told the Motley Fool that even if data center construction slows, "Do we believe AI demand will slow down? I think, generally, most people say no. The genie is out of the bottle." The article's author argued the sell-off looks like an overreaction, noting Nvidia now trades at a forward P/E of less than 20.

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6. US Weekly Jobless Claims Fall to 57-Year Low

Source: Reuters / Yahoo Finance Canada

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits slipped to a 57-year low last week as layoffs remained low, the Labor Department said on Thursday, November 5. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 189,000 for the week ended October 31, matching the 189,000 level touched in mid-July, the lowest reading since 1969. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 196,000 claims.

Low layoffs, thanks to strong domestic demand and profit growth, are anchoring the labor market, with hiring still constrained by uncertainty over the dragging US-Israeli war with Iran. The government reported this week that there were 1.06 open jobs for every unemployed person in September, up from 1.02 in August. Some economists, however, viewed the low level of claims as a function of a smaller labor force amid an immigration crackdown rather than fewer job cuts.

A separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas showed US-based employers announced 43,994 job cuts in October, up 2% from September, but planned layoffs dropped 71% compared with October 2025 — the lowest for any October since 2023.

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7. Tens of Thousands of French Workers Strike as Eiffel Tower Briefly Shuts

Source: CBS News

Tens of thousands of government workers, teachers, transport employees and other union workers in France walked off the job on Thursday, November 5, joining the latest round of massive economic protests over low wages and the high cost of living. What was billed as a national day of action began with nearly 200 peaceful rallies across the country.

The CGT union said about 1.6 million people took to the streets, while France's Interior Ministry put the figure much lower, at about 600,000. The demonstrations briefly shut down the Eiffel Tower. "Our salaries do not allow us to live anymore," Sophie Binet, the head of the union, told CBS News, accusing President Emmanuel Macron of thinking "he knows everything alone" and of working "for the rich, for the multinational and for the finance, not for the working people."

Thursday's rallies turned violent in some areas, ending with police using tear gas, with a car torched in Lyon and objects burned in Paris. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called for a meeting with the unions on Monday, but another protest is already scheduled for Saturday. The demonstrations began in late September among high school and university students in Paris over poor school conditions and teacher shortages, and quickly spread; local surveys show nearly six in 10 people in France support them.

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8. Eight Killed in Series of Shootings in Western Turkey

Source: BBC

Eight people have been killed and one seriously injured in a series of shootings in western Turkey. The attacks took place in Afyonkarahisar province on Thursday, November 5, with victims found in several locations in three separate vehicles, according to local reports.

The suspect fled, triggering a manhunt, and authorities later said he had been arrested in Eskişehir province. CCTV footage published in Turkish media showed a man in a black jacket, white trousers and glasses clutching a long weapon as he stood by a red minivan.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported that three people were killed near Ayazini village and three others near Kiyir village. In Yukaritandir, two women were found injured and later died in hospital. Two teachers were reportedly among the dead. Local media said a vehicle allegedly taken by the attacker was later found stuck in mud, the suspect having abandoned it before fleeing on foot. The Afyonkarahisar Governorate said "all relevant institutions of our state have been working in coordination since the very first moment".

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9. Blue Origin Unveils a More Powerful Engine at a Quarter of the Cost

Source: Ars Technica

Blue Origin announced two significant upgrades to its New Glenn rocket on Thursday, November 5, at the UP.Summit conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida: reducing manufacturing costs and expanding capacity to deliver payloads to geostationary orbit and the Moon. The company aims to eventually position New Glenn to launch more than 1,000 times a year.

A new engine called Northstar will eventually replace the BE-4 that powers the first stage. CEO Dave Limp said Northstar is a simplified but more powerful version of BE-4: it has half the number of parts, 30 percent less mass, about 65 percent can be 3D-printed, and Blue Origin believes it can build it at 25 percent of the cost of a BE-4, eventually assembling each engine in less than a day. The BE-4 produces 640,000 pounds of thrust; Northstar will start at 715,000 pounds. "This is going to be a game-changer," Limp said.

The company is also developing a hydrogen-oxygen third stage, GS3, offering direct injection to geostationary orbit and Earth-escape trajectories. A GS3-equipped New Glenn 7×2 can carry 8 metric tons directly to geostationary orbit and 10 metric tons to translunar injection; those figures rise to 14 and 20 tons for the larger 9×4 variant. Limp said a composite liquid hydrogen tank completed its first tanking test in Texas this year, holding 100 percent of maximum expected pressure for 2.5 hours and 150 percent for 10 minutes, and the company is aiming for a 2028 debut for a government customer.

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10. China Rejects US Sanctions on Chinese Firms Over Cuba Ties

Source: Lianhe Zaobao

The US State Department announced a new round of sanctions on Cuba's oil and electronics sectors on Thursday, November 5, placing two Chinese companies on its sanctions list for the first time and accusing them of supplying electronics and other security equipment to the Cuban military. The firms are state-owned China Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) and private company Beijing H&C Technologies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing on Friday, November 6, that cooperation between China and Cuba is "open and aboveboard". He said Beijing firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions and so-called long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the UN Security Council, firmly opposes US interference in and sabotage of China-Cuba cooperation, and will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.

Since January, the United States has imposed a new round of harsh sanctions and an oil blockade on Cuba, battering the island's economy and causing widespread blackouts and shortages of daily necessities. President Donald Trump has hinted at possible military action to topple Cuba's ruling Communist Party, and the US Secretary of State urged Cubans last month to cooperate with US intelligence agencies.

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