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Sunday, 15 November 2026Malta edition Enquire Malta-24 Briefing @CDNewsDispatch
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CDE.NEWS The Dispatch

cde.newsThe Weekly Dispatch

Sunday 15 November 2026 · Edition 001 · 5 min read

Business

Microsoft outage cuts Outlook and Teams access for over a day

A failure in part of Microsoft's server infrastructure has left users without Outlook email, Teams and other office tools for more than a day, with problems reported in 74 countries and territories. The disruption began on Thursday afternoon European time and was not fully fixed by Friday morning.

At a glance
  • Problems reported in 74 countries and territories
  • Downdetector recorded nearly 140,000 Outlook issues
  • Microsoft says there is no sign of a cyber attack

Why it matters Several UK GP practices asked patients to phone rather than use email, showing how the outage reached healthcare services across Europe.

Read the full story →

The week’s top stories

what mattered
Comuniq.EU

Dublin summit overshadowed by row over Europe's Ukraine voice

EU leaders meeting in Dublin are expected to keep arguing over who should represent them in talks on Ukraine's future. Donald Trump's administration is stepping up efforts to end Russia's war, but Europe has been largely edged out of the talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met about 50 EU and non-EU leaders on Thursday and insisted European governments must have a voice in negotiations.

Ukraine

Ukraine cites 'huge progress' as Russia reports partial understanding

Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States gave differing assessments of two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi. All three delegations agreed a prisoner exchange is planned, which Russia's TASS said could involve more than 1,000 people from each side within two to three weeks. US envoy Jared Kushner called the talks 'tough but productive', noting territorial issues remain the biggest hurdle.

Italy

Italy rethinks response to bomb hoaxes after thousands of schools targeted

Italy's government will introduce new measures for handling security alerts, under which buildings would generally not be evacuated without concrete evidence of danger. The announcement follows Wednesday's disruption, when about 6,300 schools received bomb threats and were evacuated. More threats were reported on Thursday, with police in Rome saying there was nothing to substantiate them. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called opposition leaders for talks.

UK

UK weighs curbs on youth sickness benefits to fund back-to-work schemes

The British government is considering restricting disability benefits for young people to fund back-to-work programmes, a move described as controversial. Britain had 981,000 people aged 16-24 not in employment, education or training in the second quarter of the year, or 13% of the age group. Youth unemployment stands at 15.6%. Alan Milburn's report will propose barring under-25s from ill-health supplements to standard unemployment benefits.

USA

Trump rejects impeachment bid against Hegseth, praises war leadership

President Donald Trump said he would stand by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after Rep. Thomas Massie filed articles of impeachment against him. The articles accuse Hegseth of illegally launching the Iran war and killing civilians in boat strikes in the Caribbean. Trump called Massie a 'stone cold loser' and credited Hegseth with winning the war in Venezuela and the war against Iran, which is still ongoing.

France

Le Pen and Melenchon lead voting intention for 2027 French presidential race

A Toluna Harris Interactive poll conducted November 3 to 5 showed far-right leader Marine Le Pen topping the first round with 34% to 36%, depending on scenarios tested. Hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon was seen reaching a run-off with 18% or 19%. Le Pen was shown beating Melenchon easily in a run-off. President Emmanuel Macron's second and final term is ending.

In brief

Malta this week

from Malta-24

Friday 13 November

  1. Malta’s education workforce expands by 1.3%
  2. OPM says Caruana’s population report was never given to PM Abela

Wednesday 11 November

  1. Driver involved in Gudja crash had severe eyesight problems, court hears
  2. Over 2,100 call for culture minister’s resignation

Tuesday 10 November

  1. Malta at risk of missing 2030 emissions targets - EC Report
  2. MFAC urges Malta to move towards productivity-led economic growth

Monday 9 November

  1. Finance Minister says government ignored 300-page warning on population growth
  2. Opposition leader calls for productivity-driven economy as workforce expansion accounts for most growth

Europe this week

The world this week

The Weekly Dispatch is published on Sunday mornings at 08:00 by the cde.news desk. Every item is written from cde.news reporting and links to the full story. Summaries are drafted with AI and checked by the desk before publication.