US halts departing flights for four hours after air traffic outage
A communications failure hit US air traffic control centres, reportedly all 22. More than 10,000 flights were delayed, and officials say there was no sign of an attack.
TT Foreign Desk
World news from The Thursday Times' foreign desk.
Makkah defence pact with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia takes effect in Türkiye
Türkiye has published the law ratifying the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, under which an armed attack on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or Türkiye is treated as an attack on all three.
US travel curbs force two African contestants out of Miss Universe
Zambia and the Republic of Congo have withdrawn their contestants after failing to get US visas, while Zimbabwe’s and South Sudan’s are still waiting, with the final on November 24.
Van Hollen to challenge Schumer for Senate Democratic leader
Van Hollen says Democrats need new leadership after their midterm sweep. Schumer says he has the votes to stay on in a closed-door vote due in early December.
Police stop Yadav Mahasabha march as Bageshwar Dham backers block highway
Supporters of the preacher Dhirendra Krishna Shastri blocked National Highway 39 as Mahasabha members tried to march on his shrine over his remarks about Lord Krishna, reports said.
Kremlin denies report it demanded Finland leave NATO
A German newspaper said Russian negotiators also sought NATO’s exit from Baltic bases and all of the Donbas. Finland’s defence minister called the idea “absolutely outrageous”.
UN rights chief demands Houthis return body of staffer who died in custody
Mohammad el-Shami’s family has had no explanation of how he died, the UN human rights office says, and it fears another detained employee was coerced into a filmed “confession”.
Rosalía wins Latin Grammy album of the year for a third time
The Spanish singer won five awards in Las Vegas, including album of the year for Lux and song of the year for “La Perla”, while Argentina’s Milo J took record of the year.
Car bombs in Russia kill serviceman, injure ex-Ukraine PM’s adviser
A bomb killed a serviceman in St Petersburg on Thursday, and a car bomb in Moscow on Friday injured Sergei Zavorotnyi, a former aide to ex-Ukrainian prime minister Mykola Azarov, Russian investigators say.
Lutnick agrees to testify as aides reportedly weigh his ouster
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee, his spokesperson says, as reports say White House officials are discussing whether he should go.
