World
The Kremlin confirmed the November 10-11 talks as Russian strikes killed dozens overnight, including 33 at a school used as an aid center, Ukrainian officials said.
By News Unc
Russia confirmed Tuesday, November 3, that it will send a delegation led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky to U.S.-mediated talks with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, the first such talks since February. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said they would cover post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and next steps toward peace.
Speaking in Berlin alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine wants to discuss security guarantees, a ceasefire on energy infrastructure, a Black Sea truce to protect food exports, prisoner exchanges and preparations for a meeting of the three countries' leaders. He said Europe should be involved in the negotiations. Merz said he still saw no serious Russian willingness for peace and that Russia must show it is serious about a ceasefire. U.S. envoys are meeting representatives of Germany, France, Britain, NATO and the European Union in Brussels this week on security guarantees.
The announcement followed overnight Russian strikes across Ukraine; Ukrainian officials said 33 people were killed in a strike on a school being used as an aid distribution center. A six-day local ceasefire in the Kherson region, the longest truce of the war, ended Sunday after allowing a humanitarian mission to the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky. The White House said first lady Melania Trump would host Russian and Ukrainian representatives to discuss the Kherson ceasefire.
Sources
World
U.S. forces hit air-defense sites on Iran's Qeshm island overnight in what an official called defensive strikes. An Iranian official said the two sides remain far apart, with a response on the latest draft expected within 36 hours.
By News Unc
The United States and Iran are both reviewing proposals from mediators to end their war and remain committed to the talks, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday, November 3, Reuters reported. Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Monday night to discuss a version of a draft U.S.-Iran agreement worked on over the past eight days; an official briefed on the talks said feedback from Washington and Tehran was expected within 36 hours.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters the two countries were still far from a deal, that Tehran would not accept what he called Washington's excessive demands, and that nuclear talks could begin only after Iran's conditions were met. Overnight, U.S. forces carried out what a U.S. official described as defensive strikes on Iran's Qeshm island, in the Strait of Hormuz, targeting surface-to-air missiles used against U.S. aircraft and ships.
President Trump has said the United States would not launch new attacks on Iran before Tuesday's midterm elections and that talks had been productive, while not ruling out further military action afterward, according to Reuters. The war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28; a ceasefire in April and an agreement in June both broke down.
Sources
Weather & climate
Southbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway are partly closed between Reef Point Drive and Irvine Cove Drive while Caltrans stabilizes a 360-foot fracture in the slope above the beach.
By News Unc
A crack in the bluff that holds up Pacific Coast Highway at El Morro, beside Crystal Cove State Park between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, measures as much as 360 feet long and two feet wide, Caltrans says, according to Surfer. Caltrans closed the southbound right lane between Reef Point Drive and Irvine Cove Drive in mid-October and later added more partial closures as it moved to the second phase of emergency stabilization, Fox 11 reports. The closures stay in place until repairs are complete.
Caltrans has secured $4 million in initial emergency funding for a three-phase project that includes protecting the slope from wave erosion before winter storms, with a long-term fix to follow. The pressure from the ocean has been unusual: NOAA says El Niño-related ocean waves helped push water levels at gauges in Los Angeles, San Diego Bay, Santa Barbara and La Jolla to all-time records in late October, Surfer reports. On October 27, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a Highway 1 task force to prepare vulnerable stretches of the coast highway for winter.
Expect slower traffic through the area, and stay off the bluff edge and away from the base of the slope on the beach below. Check QuickMap.dot.ca.gov for current lane closures.
Sources
World
China has not announced exercises, but Taiwanese analysts called the surge 'gray zone' pressure as November and December, the PLA's peak drill season, begin.
By News Unc
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense detected 49 sorties by Chinese military aircraft around the island in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. Tuesday, November 3, Taiwan time, the Taipei Times reported, a sharp increase over recent days, when the ministry reported 19 aircraft and seven navy ships on November 2. China has not announced any drills. Su Tzu-yun of Taiwan's government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research described the activity as a 'quiet exercise' meant to keep up pressure without formally announcing drills.
Taiwan's Air Force began its annual Sky Dragon exercises on Monday, testing F-16V, Mirage 2000-5 and Indigenous Defense Fighter pilots through Friday, and troops on Kinmen, the Taiwan-held island less than 10 kilometers off China's coast, held live-fire drills, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. Taiwan's defense ministry said in October that it was watching for possible large-scale Chinese exercises as the People's Liberation Army's November-to-December peak season approached; China last staged a large exercise encircling Taiwan in August 2022, after a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory; Taiwan's government rejects that claim.
Sources
World
The severe cyclonic storm came ashore near Ongole with winds of 100 to 110 km/h. More than 180,000 people were moved to safety in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, which is still recovering from last week's storm.
By News Unc
Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole in Prakasam district, between 3:30 and 5:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, November 3, the India Meteorological Department said, according to Business Standard. Sustained winds were 100 to 110 kilometers an hour (about 60 to 70 mph), gusting to 120, and the department had warned of a storm surge of 1 to 1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet) above high tide in low-lying coastal areas. The storm was weakening over land.
It is India's second cyclone in about a week, after Cyclone Arnab, Al Jazeera reports. More than 180,000 people were evacuated in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha before landfall, including about 160,000 in five Odisha districts where flash floods from Arnab had already caused widespread damage, according to Indian media reports. India's National Disaster Response Force sent additional teams to Andhra Pradesh, and schools were closed in several districts. The UN- and EU-backed Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System issued a red alert, its highest level, for the storm's wind exposure.
Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh were under rain alerts. India proposed the name Murasu, a Tamil word for a traditional war drum; it is the first Tamil name given to a north Indian Ocean cyclone. Official casualty and damage figures had not been released.
Sources