PHOTO: AFP
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Nov 10, 2026
· The Straits TimesRepublican launches impeachment against US defense chief Pete Hegseth
A Republican lawmaker moved on Nov 9 to impeach US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war in Iran, setting up a potentially explosive vote in Congress just days after President Donald Trump’s party suffered a crushing midterm defeat.
Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of illegally waging war without congressional authorisation and abusing his powers as Pentagon chief.
The Republican-controlled House could vote as early as Nov 11, with some lawmakers from Trump’s party signalling that they might join Democrats in backing those charges.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio came to Hegseth’s defence on Nov 9 while visiting Paris.
France accuses Iran of being behind supermarket refrigerator hacks
French officials on Nov 9 accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of responsibility for the cyberattacks that knocked out commercial refrigerators and freezers across France in October, saying there would be consequences for Iran.
The hacks that struck hundreds of French supermarkets in early October were among the most disruptive cyberattacks of the Iran war that began in February, a conflict that has been marked by scattered incidents of alleged digital disruption.
These have included hacks against the Los Angeles transit system in March, against US water treatment plants in July and against ships bound for the United States in August.
Netanyahu again seeks unity government despite mandate denial
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called again on Nov 9 for a unity government that would keep him in power, a day after opposition rival Gadi Eisenkot was given a mandate to form a coalition.
“A unity government is, simply, a necessity,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media that ignored President Isaac Herzog on Nov 8 formally giving Eisenkot the first chance at a government.
Eisenkot’s opposition bloc received 48 out of 61 seats needed for a majority in Israel’s Parliament in Oct 27 elections. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats.
US stocks jump as oil slide cools inflation worries; Nvidia slumps
US stocks rallied on Nov 9, as a drop in oil prices tempered inflation fears and helped the S&P 500 rebound from its biggest weekly drop since April 2025, and tech shares jumped even as AI heavyweight Nvidia slumped with controversy swirling around CEO Jensen Huang.
Last week, stocks slumped after a sweeping victory by Democrats in the US midterm elections fed concerns that new regulations could dent the durability of the AI trade.
Each of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes rose on the session, with nine showing gains of more than 1% on Nov 9. Industrials and consumer discretionary were the top performers, rising more than 3% each.
Anger as 17 killed in Turkey steel factory blast
An explosion ripped through a steel plant in western Turkey on Nov 9, killing 17 people, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing to find out who was responsible.
The blast occurred around midday local time at the HABAS steel factory about 60km north of the port city of Izmir, officials said.
“Sixteen people lost their lives in the explosion, while 13 others are receiving medical treatment, two of whom are in critical condition,” Erdogan said.