Ukraine Talks In Miami, Australian Social Media Ban, Boxing Bots

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

German daily Die Tageszeitung reports on the “great difficulties” faced by Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz amid a weeks-long standoff over his government’s pension reform package. Merz is facing internal rebellion from 18 young lawmakers inside his own conservative bloc, who challenged the pension reform bill agreed on this summer by the coalition of CDU conservatives and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). The youth faction argues that the reform, which is set to maintain pension levels, is insufficient, too costly and places an excessive burden on younger generations. On Wednesday, Germany’s far-left Die Linke (The Left) party announced it would abstain from a vote on the package, likely indirectly securing its passage through parliament and saving Chancellor Friedrich Merz from a humiliating defeat.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• U.S., Ukraine negotiators set to meet in Miami. The meeting follows U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s five-hour talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, which produced no major breakthrough. President Donald Trump called the discussions “reasonably good,” while Kyiv stressed any deal must pressure Russia, as Moscow’s recent battlefield gains harden its negotiating position. Ukrainian negotiators are also set to meet with European officials in Brussels. Meanwhile, Putin will land in India today for a two-day state visit focused on trade, technology and regional issues — his first trip to the country since the start of the war with Ukraine. Read more about the peace process in this recent piece by France Inter’s geopolitical analyst Pierre Haski.

• One hostage left in Gaza after Thai worker’s remains identified. Thai and Israeli officials confirmed that hostage remains handed over by Hamas this week belong to Sudthisak Rinthalak, a 42-year-old farm worker from northeastern Thailand killed during the Oct. 7 attack and whose body was taken into Gaza. This leaves only one hostage, Israeli police officer Ran Gvili, unaccounted for under the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Meanwhile, violence has continued despite the truce, with new Israeli strikes reported in southern Gaza, killing at least five, as the death toll in the war now surpasses 70,000.

• Macron and Xi discuss economic ties and Ukraine ceasefire. As part of the French president’s three-day visit to Beijing, Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron announced plans to expand cooperation in aerospace, nuclear energy, green tech, AI, and panda conservation, signing 12 new agreements aimed at easing tensions amid a massive EU trade deficit with China. Alongside the economic agenda, Macron pressed Xi to use China’s leverage with Moscow to push for a ceasefire in Ukraine, warning that the war endangers European security and the international order. This comes just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Paris to ensure the EU still had Ukraine’s back.

• DRC and Rwanda to sign U.S.-brokered peace deal. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame are set to sign a peace agreement at a Washington summit hosted by Donald Trump, even as heavy fighting continues in eastern DRC between government troops and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. The deal seeks to halt the rapidly expanding rebellion, secure the withdrawal of Rwandan forces and disarm the FDLR militia — conditions that have derailed past peace efforts.

• Hong Kong halts renovation work after linking blaze to unsafe scaffolding nets. Authorities ordered all building-site mesh removed by Saturday, halting renovation across the city while materials undergo safety testing. The move was spurred by last week’s blaze at Wang Fuk Court, Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, where substandard netting and insulation helped fuel a 40-hour inferno that killed 159 people. Police have arrested 21 suspects, including construction executives, as a judge-led probe reviews oversight of renovation safety.

• Meta kicks off Australia’s under-16 ahead of social-media ban. Meta has started deleting Instagram, Facebook and Threads accounts belonging to under-16s, ahead of Australia’s updated Online Safety Act which officially starts on Dec. 10. The new law requires 10 major platforms to take “reasonable steps” to stop minors from holding accounts, using methods such as facial-age estimation, ID checks and age inference. From the Worldcrunch vault, here’s French philosopher Gaspard Koenig’s take on a social media ban for teens.

• News Quiz! Which international brand has finally made its way to New Zealand, with its first store inauguration drawing huge crowds — including the Prime Minister?

A. H&M
B. Starbucks
C. IKEA
D. Costco
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

44.9 million

Wikipedia released its list of the year’s most-read articles, which was topped by the entry on late conservative activist Charlie Kirk for the online encyclopedia’s Top 20 English-language pages. The article on Kirk, who was shot and killed while speaking at a public debate event on the Utah Valley University campus on Sept. 10, was viewed nearly 45 million times, including 15 million the day after his assassination. “Deaths in 2025” is the second-most read entry, followed by serial killer Ed Gein’s page, with views boosted by Monster, Netflix’s true crime anthology series.  

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

🇨🇳 French President Emmanuel Macron has multiple and perhaps conflicting priorities as he lands in China to meet President Xi Jinping.
— FRANCE INTER

📚 The 21st century has made certain plots implausible. How can fiction manage to recapture suspense and longing?
— CLARÍN

🐢 A new study found that even tiny amounts of ingested plastic can be fatal to marine animals, with lethal doses far lower than previously believed. More than ever, this highlights the urgent need to reduce plastic pollution to protect vulnerable ocean species.
— THE CONVERSATION