ISTANBUL 

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday, including the first meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years, Trump's announcement of major economic and defense deals with South Korea, Dutch parliamentary elections where the centrist D66 is emerging as the largest party according to exit polls, and Israel's approval of constructing 1,300 new settlement units south of occupied East Jerusalem.

​​​​​TOP STORIES

• Xi hails Trump for his peacemaking efforts as 2 leaders meet in South Korea

Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed US President Donald Trump for his peacemaking efforts, settling regional hotspot issues, as the two leaders met in the South Korean port city of Busan.

"You care a lot about world peace, and you're very enthusiastic about settling various regional hotspot issues. I appreciate your great contribution to the recent conclusion of the Gaza ceasefire agreement," Xi told Trump.

Xi also noted Trump’s role in a peace pact between Cambodia and Thailand signed Sunday after the two Southeast Asian countries engaged in deadly border clashes in July this year.

It marks the first time in six years that the leaders of the world's top two economies met face-to-face. Xi and Trump last met in June 2019 at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

• Trump announces major economic, defense deals with South Korea

President Donald Trump announced that South Korea has agreed to a sweeping economic and defense package with the US.

"South Korea has agreed to pay the USA 350 Billion Dollars for a lowering of the Tariffs charged against them by the United States," he said on his Truth Social platform.

Additionally, he said South Korea agreed to buy US oil and gas "in vast quantities" and investments into the US by South Korean companies and businessmen will exceed $600 billion.

• D66 party narrowly leads in Dutch parliamentary elections: Exit poll

The centrist Democrats 66 (D66) party has emerged as the largest party in the Netherlands' parliamentary elections with 27 seats, according to an exit poll by Ipsos I&O for public broadcaster NOS and RTL.

The far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) follows closely with 25 seats, while the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is third with 23. The left-wing alliance of GroenLinks–PvdA is projected to win 20 seats, and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party 19.

• Israel approves construction of 1,300 settler homes south of East Jerusalem: Media

Israel has approved the construction of 1,300 new settlement units south of occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli media reported.

According to Israel's Channel 14, the government’s Special Planning and Building Committee in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc unanimously approved the plan earlier this week.

The channel said the new settlement building represents an unprecedented expansion in the Har HaRusim neighborhood, located south of the Alon Shvut settlement, southwest of occupied East Jerusalem.

The Israeli plan also includes schools, public buildings, parks and a large commercial zone expected to serve neighboring settlements, the broadcaster said.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Syria officially recognized Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state following a trilateral meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
• Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth extended the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, DC at least through February 2026, according to US media.
• US President Donald Trump announced that he has instructed the Defense Department to “immediately” begin nuclear weapons tests.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that nuclear-propelled Poseidon drones had been successfully tested this week.
• The US Senate passed a joint resolution by a vote of 50-46 aimed at rejecting President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada.
• At least 30 people have died, including 25 in Haiti, due to powerful Hurricane Melissa, after devastating another Caribbean country.
• The Lithuanian government announced that the country's border with Belarus would be closed for one month following a series of balloon sighting incidents that were described as "constant violations" of the country's airspace.
• A police raid and ensuing clashes with a drug trafficking gang in Rio de Janeiro’s impoverished neighborhoods left at least 119 people dead.
• The Paris public prosecutor said that stolen jewels from the Louvre Museum remain missing, but investigators are making "major progress" in solving the heist.
• At least two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip in the latest violation of a fragile ceasefire agreement with Hamas, medical sources said.
• The European Union and several European countries urged de-escalation in Sudan following the Rapid Support Forces' (RSF) seizure of El-Fasher, the capital of the Darfur region.
• A major ethnic rebel group in Myanmar announced that it had signed a ceasefire agreement with the junta regime ahead of general elections.
• Spain has authorized the procurement of a new system for modern fighter pilot training featuring a customized version of the supersonic Turkish-made Hurjet, according to an official announcement and press reports.
• The Palestinian group Hamas held Israel fully responsible for the escalation in the Gaza Strip following a series of deadly Israeli airstrikes that killed over 100 people, despite a ceasefire agreement.
• The leader of the Czech Republic's ANO party said they will sign a coalition agreement with two Eurosceptic parties, Motorists and SPD party, on Nov. 3.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan marked the 102nd anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye, vowing to safeguard the nation’s unity, independence and strength.
• Polish jets intercepted a Russian plane conducting a reconnaissance mission over the Baltic Sea, said the Polish Army.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Trump administration lifts sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik

The Trump administration lifted sanctions on Bosnia’s nationalist Serb leader Milorad Dodik, his family members and close associates.

The move reverses measures imposed for undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended Bosnia’s war more than two decades ago.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the decision without explanation.

• Microsoft experiences service outage on Azure, 365 ahead of quarterly earnings report

Microsoft faced disruptions in its Azure cloud and 365 services just hours before the company's quarterly financial results were set to be released.

The outage, which began around 11.40 am ET (1540GMT), has affected numerous websites and services, with more than 6,000 problem reports submitted to the monitoring platform Downdetector.

“We are investigating an issue with the Azure Portal where customers may be experiencing issues accessing the portal,” the company said.

It added that it suspects an “inadvertent configuration change” triggered the outage and that it is “rolling back to our last known good state” for AFD services.

• US federal government shutdown could cost economy up to $14B: Budget office

The federal government shutdown in the US could cost the American economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, reducing fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) by up to 2% due to a spending slip, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said.

The shutdown is on day 29 with no end in sight. Senate Democrats sought negotiations to extend expiring federal tax credits to assist Americans with private health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. But Senate Republicans urged Democrats to embrace a stopgap plan to fund government agencies through Nov. 21.