Good morning. Here’s what I’m covering today:
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Putin’s pledge to turn Kyiv “to dust”
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Lebanon and Israel’s fragile ceasefire
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The cost of Indonesia’s dominance in nickel production
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And why India’s government is holding back the country’s industrial capacity
Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to use a new ballistic missile to turn Kyiv “to dust” in retaliation for Ukraine’s use of western-supplied long-range missiles to hit targets in Russia.
The Oreshnik missile could destroy even highly protected underground sites, Putin said in Kazakhstan yesterday. He added that Russia had commenced its serial production of the weapon.
The remark comes just days after Ukraine’s parliament postponed sitting because of a reported missile threat. Yesterday, Russian forces pounded the country with cluster munitions. And Moscow has been targeting Ukraine’s energy facilities, leading to regular blackouts as temperatures fall below zero.
Asked at a press conference to clarify whether the Oreshnik could be used against political centres as well as military sites, Putin replied: “There was this joke in Soviet times about weather forecasts: ‘The forecast is this: today, during the course of the day, everything is possible’.”
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:
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UN: Talks on a global plastics treaty continue in Busan, South Korea.
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Economic data: India reports second-quarter GDP data.
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Thanksgiving: US financial markets close early.
How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.
Five more top stories
1. Lebanon’s army has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire with Hizbollah that went into effect on Wednesday after Israeli forces launched an air strike and shelled several Lebanese border villages. Israel said it was targeting “terrorist activity” at a site it alleged was used by the militant group to store rockets in southern Lebanon.
2. Opec+ has unexpectedly postponed an important meeting on the future of its production curbs, as members of the oil cartel hold talks over compliance with existing quotas. The announcement came a day after three-way talks between energy ministers in the group, as certain members stirred controversy for consistently exceeding the production targets designed to keep prices high.
3. China has launched a probe into one of the five officers who hold command over the country’s armed forces, as Xi Jinping continues his push to exert tight control over the People’s Liberation Army. Miao Hua was suspended from his duties amid an investigation for “serious violations of discipline” — an allegation that usually refers to corruption — the defence ministry spokesperson said yesterday.
4. Hong Kong plans to exempt private equity funds, hedge funds and the investment vehicles of the super-rich from paying tax on gains from cryptocurrencies. The proposal comes amid a boom in crypto markets following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election this month, and intensifies an aggressive rivalry between the territory and Singapore, as they both attempt to position themselves as the top offshore finance hub in the region.
5. Syrian Islamist rebels have captured at least 15 villages and killed a senior Iranian commander in their first serious challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in four years, as they advanced to the city of Aleppo. The development demonstrates the mounting pressure Assad faces on multiple fronts and the shifting balance of power in the region.
The Big Read
Until recently, deepfakes required a lot of time, computing power and technical expertise to achieve, but advances in generative artificial intelligence have made it increasingly easy and cheap to generate hyper-realistic synthetic images and videos. So far there is little agreement on the best way forward, but campaigners hope that new laws could offer a template for controlling AI.
We’re also reading . . .
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‘Made in India’: Industrialisation is within the country’s reach, but government has got to get out of the way first, writes Robin Harding.
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Tehran’s transformation: The Iranian capital’s new architecture reveals a city in flux, writes Najmeh Bozorgmehr, balancing dreams of modernity with the harsh realities of inequality.
Chart of the day
Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of nickel. But being the market leader has come at a steep cost. Workers and unions have alleged lax safety practices and inadequate protective equipment, which has resulted in unsafe working conditions and frequent — sometimes fatal — accidents.
Take a break from the news
To observers outside Europe, the continent can seem rather quaint. Its people stopped having children and possess only a few cute ancient assets worth stripping: châteaux, universities, handbags and football clubs. So how should the region respond now that it is no longer the global hegemon? The FT’s Simon Kuper has the answers.
