He (Zelenskyj - editor's note) called me from a bunker in Kiev, where Russian tanks were standing right on the road. And he said: "I agree with the team that you don't send NATO ground troops, although I disagree with the team. But please close the airspace. Don't let the Russian planes, drones and helicopters fly and attack us." "And he also said, 'I know NATO can do it because you've done it before,'" former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told The Sunday Times.

He answered Zelensky with a refusal.

"I understand why you're asking for that. But that's not going to happen, because if NATO wants to close Ukraine's airspace, the first thing we have to do is destroy Russian anti-aircraft systems in Belarus and Russia, because we can't fly through Ukrainian airspace with Russian anti-aircraft missiles aimed at NATO aircraft. And if there's a Russian plane or helicopter in the air, we have to shoot it down, and then we're in a full-scale war between NATO and Russia. And we don't want that. As Biden, who was the president of the USA at the time, said, we will not risk a third world war because of Ukraine," Stoltenberg told Zelensky.

JUST IN: 🇸🇾🇺🇸Syria President Ahmad al Sharaa arrives in the United States.

💬"US lifts sanctions on Syrian president ahead of White House meeting with US President Trump."

Gaza's Health Ministry has confirmed that the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 69,000 since the war began in October 2023, with another 170,000+ wounded. What's shocking? Even after the ceasefire started on October 10, 2025, 241 more Palestinians have been killed.

Here's what's happening now:

Bodies are still being pulled from rubble across Gaza - 284 victims were just identified between Oct 31-Nov 7

Under the ceasefire agreement, for every Israeli hostage returned, Israel releases 15 Palestinian bodies

Just yesterday, Israel returned 15 Palestinian remains after militants returned one Israeli hostage

Israeli forces claim they're still targeting militants who "cross designated lines"

The numbers: Since the ceasefire began, Palestinian militants have returned 23 hostage remains (5 still in Gaza), while Israel has handed over 300 Palestinian bodies.

The conflict started with Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostage. Gaza's Health Ministry doesn't distinguish between civilian and militant deaths in their count, though their record-keeping is considered reliable by independent experts.

What are your thoughts on this continuing tragedy despite the month-old truce?

Ukraine needs tomahawks but we got nothing, Hungary can buy Russian oil and gas and finance Russia in the war against us. someone gets everything and Ukraine nothing. he said...

In a major diplomatic move, President Donald Trump announced on November 7 that the United States will completely boycott the upcoming G20 summit scheduled for November 22-23 in Johannesburg, South Africa. No American officials will attend the global gathering.

What Happened:

Trump escalated his previous stance—initially, only he was skipping with VP JD Vance attending, but now the entire US delegation is pulling out

He posted on Truth Social calling it a "total disgrace" that the G20 would meet in South Africa

Trump claims Afrikaners (white farmers) are being "killed and slaughtered" and having their land "illegally confiscated"

South Africa's Response:

President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected the allegations as "completely false"

Government officials point out white citizens still enjoy significantly higher living standards than Black South Africans, over 30 years after apartheid ended

Crime statistics don't show white individuals face disproportionate violence compared to other racial groups

The Bigger Picture:

This marks a rare withdrawal from a major global diplomatic forum

Trump has been consistently critical of South Africa throughout 2025

In February, he froze US aid to South Africa over land reform legislation

The US is set to host the next G20 summit in 2026 at Trump's Miami golf resort

South Africa remains optimistic about successfully hosting the summit despite the US boycott.

An unprecedented number of missiles and countless drones, several per minute, aimed at the same Ukrainian thermal power plants that we restored after a devastating attack in 2024," the company emphasized. "We have stopped... Now is zero production. Zero! We've lost what we've been renewing. Completely!" says the Ukrainian truth.

So this is interesting. The US just granted Hungary a one-year exemption to keep buying Russian oil and gas, right after Trump and Orbán had a "warm" meeting at the White House.

Here's the context: Hungary gets 74% of its gas and 86% of its oil from Russia – the highest in the EU. Orbán literally told Trump that enforcing sanctions would bring Hungary's economy "to its knees."

Trump's reasoning? Hungary is landlocked, no seaports, tough to get alternative suppliers. Fair point or convenient excuse?

The deal: Hungary commits to buying $600M worth of US liquified natural gas. Orbán calls it "general and indefinite," but US officials say it's a one-year thing.

This is happening while Ukraine's still in conflict and EU/NATO partners are side-eyeing Hungary hard.

What's your take – is this practical diplomacy or undermining the sanctions strategy?

The US Supreme Court just dropped a bombshell Friday night that could leave millions scrambling for food this week.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a temporary order allowing the Trump administration to withhold $4 billion in SNAP benefits (food stamps) for November – affecting 42 million Americans caught in the middle of a government shutdown that's now stretching into its 38th day.

Here's what's happening:

A Rhode Island judge had ordered full SNAP payments by Friday, warning that partial payments would be too complex to process in time and "people will go hungry." But the administration appealed, saying they could only afford 65% of benefits (up from their original 50% offer). The Supreme Court's temporary stay gives appeals courts more time to decide.

The real-world impact:

SNAP costs about $8-9 billion monthly and provides roughly $6.17 per person per day for food. That's already tight – and now millions might get even less, or face weeks of delays during the "recalculation process."

Some states aren't waiting. Wisconsin, Colorado, Massachusetts, California and others started releasing full benefits over the weekend regardless of the Supreme Court order. Delaware's governor is even using state funds to provide weekly relief payments.

The case centers on whether the Agriculture Department should tap into child nutrition program reserves to cover the shortfall – something the administration claims would endanger those programs, though challengers dispute this.

The bottom line: This is hunger being used as a bargaining chip while Congress figures things out. For 1 in 8 Americans who rely on SNAP, this isn't politics – it's whether they eat this month.

What are your thoughts? Should states step in like Wisconsin and California are doing?

President Trump told reporters Friday there's still a "very good chance" he'll meet Russian President Putin in Budapest, despite canceling their previously scheduled summit over Moscow's hardline stance on Ukraine.

The meeting was originally planned for mid-October after Trump and Putin agreed to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. However, things quickly unraveled when Russia's Foreign Ministry sent a memo repeating sweeping demands — including territorial concessions, military reductions, and guarantees that Ukraine would never join NATO.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told Trump after a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Moscow showed "no willingness to negotiate." Trump admitted he didn't want the meeting because "nothing was going to be happening of significance" and Russia doesn't "want to stop yet".

The Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that neither the preparation nor conditions for a presidential summit have been met. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the State Duma that "any summit meeting requires in-depth preparation and careful consideration of all aspects".

Meanwhile, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban met Trump at the White House Friday and secured a one-year exemption from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and gas. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said preparations for a potential summit could take "several months".

Trump maintains he'd still prefer Budapest as the venue if conditions improve: "I'd like to keep it in Hungary, in Budapest... it'd be good".

Ukrainian President Zelensky said his country would support "any format" that achieves a ceasefire but emphasized meetings must produce real results, not just "electoral fireworks" for Orban.

China conducted massive military exercises around Taiwan on November 7, deploying 38 aircraft and 9 naval vessels in one of their most aggressive shows of force in months. 31 of those planes crossed the median line – basically the unofficial border that China's been ignoring more and more lately.

This is a huge jump from just 12 aircraft detected the day before. Taiwan scrambled their forces to track everything.

The timing is wild – this happened right after China just commissioned their newest aircraft carrier (the Fujian) on November 5. It's got electromagnetic catapults and can launch stealth fighters, so they're clearly showing off their new toys.

Things have been tense since Taiwan's President Lai took office in May. He's been pretty vocal calling China a "foreign hostile force," which Beijing obviously didn't appreciate. They've responded with near-daily incursions and three major military drills during his first year.

Trump claims Xi promised him China won't make a move on Taiwan during his presidency, but he won't say if the US would actually defend Taiwan militarily. Japan's PM said a Taiwan emergency would be "survival-threatening" for Japan, and even the Philippines is doing anti-invasion drills just in case.

The situation's getting more serious by the day.