ISRAEL
Gadi Eisenkot has formally been tasked with forming the next Israeli coalition government and has promised to pursue “creative and unconventional” approaches to establish what he has termed a “government of national emergency”, which will be as “broad” as possible to counter the pro-Netanyahu bloc. Eisenkot’s appointment was expected, after 67 of the 120 members of the new Knesset had asked President Isaac Herzog to grant him this opportunity. The leader of the centrist Yashar party – now the main opposition group – will have up to six weeks (including any extensions to the initial 28 days) to form a government; in the meantime, Benjamin Netanyahu will serve as interim prime minister.
TURKEY
From today, representatives from nearly 200 countries will gather in Antalya, Turkey, for the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), the main international event dedicated to climate negotiations. Two weeks of climate negotiations will take place until 20 November, whilst concerns over energy security caused by the war, the surge in energy demand driven by AI, and the US’s withdrawal are placing fresh pressure on the fight against global warming. The Turkish presidency has centred the summit on the goal of electrifying over a third of the global economy by 2035, compared with around a fifth at present.
BANGLADESH
Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has requested a new passport and identity card so she can return from her self-imposed exile in India, according to a letter seen by Reuters: this is her first communication of this kind since she fled in 2024. The request represents the most concrete step Hasina has taken to follow through on her plan to return to Bangladesh in December, more than two years after a bloody uprising brought her long rule to an end. Last November, Bangladesh’s war crimes tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia for ordering a bloody crackdown on the student-led uprising.
CHINA – UNITED STATES
Nvidia, a US-based chip manufacturer, is conducting an investigation into its chief executive, billionaire Jensen Huang, after he confirmed he had had an intimate relationship with a woman accused of working for the Chinese intelligence services.
In a statement released on Sunday, Nvidia said the investigation would be conducted by a “committee of independent directors” with the assistance of external legal advisers. The investigation follows an article in the New York Times, which suggested that Jensen may have been the target of a Chinese espionage plot. China and the United States are competing for dominance in key technology sectors such as AI.
INDONESIA
A crew member of a helicopter involved in fighting forest fires in Indonesia lost their life when the aircraft crashed into a river whilst collecting water for an aerial drop, according to a local emergency management agency. The accident, which took place in South Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo, was the second in a matter of days involving a fire-fighting aircraft, following the crash of a military helicopter into the sea off the coast of Borneo on Wednesday, which claimed the lives of three people.
UNITED STATES – CHINA – RUSSIA
US President Donald Trump has stated that he expects to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at next week’s APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit, where he intends to discuss ‘denuclearisation’ and the war against Iran. The next APEC summit will be held in Shenzhen, China, on 18 and 19 November 2026. Previously, Trump had stated that the latest US blockade on Iran’s land-based supply routes is in force.
KAZAKHSTAN
From 5 to 7 November, Astana became the centre of international diplomacy: at the invitation of Kasym-Žomart Tokaev, King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Emomali Rakhmon of Tajikistan paid official visits to Kazakhstan to discuss prospects for expanding cooperation in the commercial, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian spheres. The capital also hosted a major summit of the Aqaba Process, attended by several heads of state, with the aim of continuing to foster a forum for pragmatic dialogue between military, security and intelligence leaders from various countries.
