Morning Briefing: Nov. 16, 2025

ISTANBUL

Here’s your Sunday morning news briefing, including Iran confirming the seizure of a foreign oil tanker for alleged violations; DR Congo and the M23 group signing a peace framework in Qatar; two people killed in a shooting attack inside a sports hall in Syria’s Homs province; and heavy rains flooding dozens of tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

TOP STORIES

• Iran confirms seizure of foreign oil tanker over ‘violations’

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that naval forces have seized a foreign oil tanker off the southern coast, citing “violations” by the vessel.

The IRGC said a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, named “Talara,” was intercepted off the Makran coast following a judicial order.

The tanker was found “in breach for transporting unauthorized goods,” as it was reportedly carrying 30,000 tons of petrochemicals on its way to Singapore, it said.

• DR Congo, M23 group sign peace framework in Qatar

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the rebel March 23 Movement (M23) signed a peace framework in Doha, following Qatari and US mediation.

Qatari Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al-Khulaifi said the agreement, known as the Doha Framework for Comprehensive Peace, “lays the foundation for peace and stability” between Kinshasa and the M23.

In statements carried by Al Jazeera television, Khulaifi said efforts are now focused on turning the peace framework into concrete progress on the ground.

• 2 killed in shooting attack in Syria’s Homs

Two people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside a sports hall in the village of Umm Hartin in western Syria’s Homs province, state media reported.

The gunman entered the facility and began shooting at people inside, killing two before fleeing, a security source told state TV channel al-Ikhbariya.

Internal security patrols were immediately dispatched to the scene to pursue the assailant and restore order, the source added.

• Heavy rains flooded dozens of tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip

Heavy rains flooded dozens of tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

The Gaza Civil Defense said in a statement that its teams responded to the situation after dozens of tents in the refugee camps were submerged in rainwater in several areas of Al-Mawasi, western Khan Younis.

Since early Friday, the Gaza Strip has been under a low-pressure system accompanied by a cold air mass and heavy rainfall, compounding the sufferings of 1.5 million displaced in the war-torn enclave.

According to the Gaza Government Media Office estimates, 93% of all displacement tents are no longer suitable for shelter -- 125,000 out of a total of 135,000 -- due to weather factors and damage sustained from Israeli bombardment.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Four migrants died after two boats carrying nearly 100 people capsized off the coast of Al-Khums in northwestern Libya, the Libyan Red Crescent said.
• Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met in Damascus with Anne-Claire Legendre, political adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, to discuss relations and issues of mutual interest.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Gaza and the region with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call, his office said.
• Israeli forces advanced several dozen meters into farmland in the southwestern Syrian province of Daraa, local media reported.
• Jordanian King Abdullah and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed "zero-tolerance" for any displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
• Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has instructed the Foreign Ministry to file an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council over Israel’s construction of a concrete wall in southern Lebanon that extends beyond the UN-demarcated Blue Line.
• A major incident has been declared in Monmouth by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service due to severe and widespread flooding as Storm Claudia sweeps the region.
• Germany’s opposition party, The Left, called for an end to what it views as a crackdown against pro-Palestinian solidarity movements in the country.
• Israel’s Shin Bet Director David Zini proposed the use of electronic monitoring bracelets for extremist illegal settlers as a measure to stop growing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media said.
• Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he discussed the Cambodia-Thailand border tensions with US President Donald Trump during a call.
• Nine people were killed and 27 injured in an accidental explosion at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
• South Korean authorities recovered the seventh and final body from beneath a collapsed boiler tower at a thermal power plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan, Yonhap News said.
• Iraq’s electoral commission said objections to the results of parliamentary elections will not affect preliminary results.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out working with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party amid a debate within his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) about possible future cooperation with the far-right party.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Thailand says trade talks with US to continue despite Cambodia border dispute

Thailand said trade talks with the US will continue, and will remain separate from renewed border tensions with Cambodia.

Earlier, the Foreign Ministry said Washington had temporarily suspended trade talks until Bangkok reaffirms its commitment to a ceasefire with Cambodia.

Thai government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said US President Donald Trump told the Thai premier that the US “does not wish to interfere in the Thailand-Cambodia issue” under existing bilateral mechanisms, according to Bloomberg.

“The tariff negotiations will move forward and remain separate from border issues,” said Siripong.

The development came after a call between Trump and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

• Poland urges ‘full respect’ after US criticism of EU package under its presidency

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged "full respect" after US Ambassador Tom Rose criticized the EU's Omnibus package launched under the Polish presidency of the bloc in the first half of 2025.

"I have only one comment or one request. Poland is a very loyal ally. We are smaller than the United States, but perhaps that is why ... we will always expect full respect and respect from all representatives of the United States," Tusk said at a news conference, broadcaster TVP World reported, citing the Polish Press Agency.

Tusk hailed the Omnibus package as a success, designed to ease the bureaucratic burden on businesses by simplifying and reducing EU sustainability reporting requirements.

"The ambassador probably mistook the directive for an earlier regulation," he said.

Tusk's statement came after Rose claimed on the US social media platform X that the package is "targeted at killing jobs, stifling innovation, and triggering a wave of American companies fleeing Europe."