Morning Briefing: Dec. 3, 2025

ISTANBUL

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Wednesday, including UN General Assembly adopting resolution demanding that Israel withdraw from Syrian Golan to 1967 line, a high-level meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, adviser Jared Kushner, and US President Donald Trump warning of a new phase of attacks on alleged drug traffickers.

• UN General Assembly adopts resolution demanding that Israel withdraw from Syrian Golan to 1967 line

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution Tuesday that declares Israel’s continued occupation and de facto annexation of the Syrian Golan "illegal" and demands its withdrawal to the June 4, 1967 line.

The draft resolution, which was penned by Egypt, was approved with 123 votes in favor, seven against and 41 abstentions.

The resolution declares that the Israeli decision of Dec. 14, 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan is "null and void and has no validity whatsoever."

It "demands once more that Israel withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions" and determines that the continued occupation of the Syrian Golan and its de facto annexation constitute "a stumbling block in the way of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region."

• Witkoff, Kushner hold talks in Moscow with Putin on revised Ukraine peace plan

A high-level meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner concluded after around five hours, according to several Russian media outlets Tuesday.

The talks were also attended by senior US and Russian officials.

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy, who participated in the discussions, described the meeting as “productive” in a post on US social media company X, where he shared a photo from inside the talks in the Kremlin. There was no immediate statement from the US side.

• Trump says land strikes will target 'anybody' involved in drug trade, regardless of location

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a new phase of attacks on alleged drug traffickers will strike sites on land and target "anybody" engaged in the illicit trade.

"We're going to start doing those strikes on land, you know, the land is much easier, much easier, and we know the routes they take, we know everything about them, we know where they live, we know where the bad ones live, and we're going to start that very soon too," Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

"Anybody that's doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack," he added.

Asked by a reporter if that means targets would be limited to Venezuela, Trump said, "No, not just Venezuela," but added that the country that has been the focus of the president's repeated threats has been "very bad."

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and former top diplomat Stefano Sannino are in custody after Belgian federal police launched raids on Tuesday targeting suspected fraud linked to the EU Diplomatic Academy, according to Belgian media reports.
• The Pentagon on Tuesday defended Admiral Mitch Bradley, who authorized a follow-on strike against a suspected narco-terrorist vessel during the Sept. 2 operation in the Caribbean Sea.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday told the Irish parliament that Ukraine is “closer to peace than ever before,” calling on the international community to seize the momentum to end the war through united diplomatic action.
• UN's top disarmament official warned on Tuesday that growing security concerns, particularly in Europe, cannot be used to justify undermining the global ban on anti-personnel landmines, as state parties confront the most serious challenge to the Ottawa Convention since its adoption.
• Germany on Tuesday called on Israel to abide by the ceasefire in Gaza and allow more humanitarian aid in the war-ravaged region.
• Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Tuesday that Cairo is conducting consultations with the US on an international conference for rebuilding the Gaza Strip following Israel’s two-year war on the enclave.
• All National Guard members deployed to Washington, DC are "now armed" after last week's shooting near the White House, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
• Ireland pledged unwavering and long-term support for Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Dublin on Tuesday for his first official visit.
• Venezuela has authorized the resumption of migrant repatriation flights from the US following requests from the Trump administration, officials said Tuesday.
• More than 320 seals were discovered dead Tuesday on the Caspian Sea coast between the estuary of the Sulak River and the Terek River in Dagestan, a republic in southwestern Russia, the Tass news agency reported.
• The head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) delivered his final briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday, marking the approaching end of the mission’s 22-year mandate on Dec. 31 and reflecting on what he called “hard-won gains” for Iraq.
• US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will probably announce his pick for the next Federal Reserve chair early next year.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Brazil’s Lula, Trump discuss tariffs, organized crime

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his US counterpart Donald Trump held a 40-minute phone call Tuesday, which the Brazilian government described as "very productive."

The conversation focused primarily on trade, economic matters, and the fight against organized crime.

Lula praised the US recent decision to remove an additional 40% tariff that had been imposed on certain Brazilian agricultural products, calling the move "very positive."

• Amazon introduces its new AI chip Trainium3

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing platform of US e-commerce giant Amazon, announced the launch of its new artificial intelligence (AI) chip called Trainium3 on Tuesday.

The firm said in a statement that the Trainium3 chip offers the opportunity to train and run AI models faster and at a lower cost.

"Trainium3 UltraServers deliver high performance for AI workloads with up to 4.4x more compute performance, 4x greater energy efficiency, and almost 4x more memory bandwidth than Trainium2 UltraServers—enabling faster AI development with lower operational costs," Amazon said.