Category: World

Japan said on Sunday that Chinese fighter jets had aimed their radar at Japanese military aircraft in two “dangerous” incidents near Japan’s Okinawa islands, an account Beijing disputed.
“These radar illuminations are a dangerous act that went beyond what is necessary for the safe flight of aircraft,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters, adding that Japan had lodged a protest with China over Saturday’s “extremely regrettable” incident.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, meeting with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles in Tokyo, said Japan would respond “resolutely and calmly” to China’s conduct in order to maintain regional peace and stability.
But a Chinese navy spokesperson, Colonel Wang Xuemeng, said Japanese aircraft had repeatedly approached and disrupted the Chinese navy as it was conducting previously announced carrier-based flight training east of the Miyako Strait.

CHINA-JAPAN TIES STRAINED OVER TAIWAN

The encounters near islands claimed by both Japan and China are the most serious run-ins between the two militaries in years and are likely to further escalate tension between the two East Asian powers.

Relations have soured in the past month since Takaichi warned that Japan could respond to any Chinese military action against Taiwan if it also threatened Japan’s security.
Directing a radar beam at another aircraft is a threatening step because it signals a potential attack and may force the targeted plane to take evasive action. Japan did not say whether the Chinese had locked on their planes or how Japan’s aircraft responded.
Wang, in a statement on official social media channels, countered that Japan’s statement was erroneous and its actions had seriously endangered flight safety.
“We solemnly demand that the Japanese side immediately stop slandering and smearing and strictly restrain front-line actions,” Wang said. “The Chinese Navy will take necessary measures in accordance with the law to resolutely safeguard its own security and legitimate rights and interests.”

Australia’s Marles, at a press conference with Koizumi after discussions on deepening defence cooperation, said, “We are deeply concerned by the actions of China in the last 24 hours. We will continue to work with Japan and stand with Japan in upholding that rules-based order.”
As China-Japan tensions over Taiwan have mounted, Beijing advised its citizens not to travel to Japan and paused plans to restart seafood imports suspended after Japan released treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan and has ramped up military and political pressure against the island, whose government rejects Beijing’s territorial claims. Taiwan lies just 110 km (70 miles) from Japan’s westernmost island, Yonaguni.
Japan hosts the biggest overseas concentration of U.S. military power, including warships, aircraft and thousands of U.S. Marines in Okinawa.

The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Japan’s claims about China’s use of its radar.

TRUMP SILENT, CHINA STEPS UP MILITARY ACTIVITY

U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass has publicly expressed support for Japan in several social media posts since the diplomatic dispute began, but President Donald Trump and other senior U.S. officials have remained silent.
The Trump administration said in a strategy document on Friday that it aims to prevent conflict with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea by building up U.S. and allies’ military power.
Trump, who plans to visit Beijing next year for trade talks, telephoned Takaichi last month, urging her not to escalate the dispute, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
That call followed a conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who told Trump that Taiwan’s return to China was central to Beijing’s vision for the world order, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Japan said the Chinese J-15 jets involved in the two incidents were launched from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier, which was manoeuvring south of the Okinawan islands with three missile destroyers. Japan said it scrambled F-15 fighters in response to flight operations from the Chinese carrier.
In 2013, Japan said a Chinese warship locked its radar on one of its destroyers in the East China Sea. Three years later, Beijing accused Japanese jets of training their radar on Chinese fighters. In June, Japan said Chinese jets flew dangerously close to one of its patrol aircraft near Okinawa.
On Thursday, China had more than 100 naval and coast guard vessels deployed across East Asian waters at one point, Reuters reported, citing sources and intelligence reports.
Taiwan’s government described that build-up as posing a threat to the Indo-Pacific region.
On Sunday, Taiwan’s coast guard said it was monitoring drills by three Chinese maritime safety ships on the western side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line but that the situation in the waters surrounding Taiwan was “normal”.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-fighter-jets-directed-radar-japanese-aircraft-japan-says-2025-12-06/

White House border czar Tom Homan on Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, saying the state is home to a large illegal Somali community despite local officials’ comments that the vast majority of Somalis in the U.S. are American citizens.
Homan denied, however, that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had stepped up its deportation campaign in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in response to Trump’s comments last week about Somali immigrants, whom the president called “garbage” that should be removed from the country.

Homan also said ICE agents are not targeting people based on their appearance.
“I’m not aware of what President Trump was thinking when he said that,” Homan told CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “But I agree with President Trump. From day one, he has said we are concentrated on public safety threats and national security threats.”
“We also know there’s a large illegal Somali community there, that there’s a large illegal alien community there,” he said, without providing evidence. “We’re going to arrest every illegal alien that we find there.”
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Somali community’s most high-profile member and a target of Trump’s ire, on Sunday reiterated her criticism of the president’s comments about Somalis.

“It’s completely disgusting,” Omar told the CBS “Face the Nation” program, echoing comments she made to Reuters, earlier this week. “These are Americans that he is calling garbage, and we feel like there is an unhealthy obsession that he has on the Somali community and an unhealthy and creepy obsession that he has with me.”
About 80,000 Somalis live in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities metro region. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has said the vast majority are U.S. citizens.
Most Somalis born outside the United States came as refugees from Somalia’s brutal, decades-long civil war, which triggered an exodus of more than 1 million people starting in 1991. The United States began issuing visas to Somali refugees in 1992.
Trump’s immigration crackdown has largely been met with open support or side-stepping of the issue by Republicans who control the Senate and House of Representatives.

U.S. Senator John Curtis, a Utah Republican, said on Sunday that ICE operations are leading to unnecessary fear in U.S. communities.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-border-czar-homan-defends-immigration-crackdown-somalis-minnesota-2025-12-07/

U.S. lawmakers on Sunday unveiled an annual defense policy bill authorizing a record $901 billion in national security spending next year, billions more than President Donald Trump’s request, and provides $400 million in military assistance to Ukraine.
The sweeping 3,000-page bill includes a 4% raise for enlisted troops but excludes a bipartisan effort to spur housing construction that some lawmakers had hoped to include in the final bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said in a statement that the legislation would advance Trump’s agenda by “ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos.”
The measure is a compromise between versions of the National Defense Authorization Act passed earlier this year by the Senate and House of Representatives, both controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans.
Trump in May asked Congress for a national defense budget of $892.6 billion for fiscal year 2026, flat compared to 2025 spending. That includes funding for the Department of Defense, as well as other agencies and programs involved with security and defense.

The House bill set spending at that level, but the Senate had authorized $925 billion.
The NDAA authorizes Pentagon programs, but does not fund them. Congress must separately pass funding in a spending bill for the fiscal year ending in September 2026.
In addition to the typical NDAA provisions on purchases of military equipment and boosting competitiveness with rivals such as China and Russia, this year’s bill focuses on cutting programs reviled by Trump, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and deploying troops to the southwest U.S. border to intercept undocumented immigrants and drugs.
It also repeals two resolutions authorizing the use of military force in Iraq in 1991 and 2002.
Considered “must-pass” legislation, the massive NDAA is one of a few major pieces of legislation that Congress passes every year and lawmakers take pride in having passed it annually for more than six decades.

The bill typically emerges after Republican and Democratic lawmakers negotiate for weeks behind closed doors. But the process this year was much more partisan than usual.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-congress-considers-must-pass-defense-policy-bill-that-would-top-trumps-2025-12-08/

President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet key European leaders in London on Monday, as Ukraine’s allies plan their response to an ongoing US push for Kyiv to accept concessions in peace talks.

The leaders of France and Germany will join Zelensky and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at No 10 as they seek to ensure any deal deters a future Russian attack.

The high-level meeting follows three days of talks in Florida, where Zelensky’s chief negotiator pushed for changes to a White House plan widely considered to accommodate central Kremlin demands.

The US and Ukraine said there was progress but US President Donald Trump appeared to criticise Zelensky on Sunday, saying he “hasn’t read” the draft.

Trump told reporters that he was “a little disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago”.

He continued: “His people love it… [Russia] would rather have the whole country when you think of it, but Russia is, I believe, fine with it – but I’m not sure that Zelensky is fine with it.”

Trump appeared to be referring to the latest draft of the proposed peace deal, which was revised in Miami following talks led by Zelensky’s new chief negotiator Rustem Umerov, and Trump’s close aides, special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Around the same time as Trump’s comments on Sunday, Zelensky said he was due to be briefed on the negotiations by Umerov either in London or Brussels, adding “some issues can only be discussed in person” as opposed to over the phone.

Zelensky added that discussions with Witkoff and Kushner were “constructive, though not easy”.

Monday’s talks in London will feature Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who represent the three Nato nations with the largest military budgets in real terms, with the exception of the US.

Downing Street said the meeting would “focus on the ongoing peace negotiations and next steps”, while UK cabinet minister Pat McFadden said it would explore ways to ensure Ukraine is “able to decide its own future”.

He said there needed to be meaningful security guarantees in the event of a peace deal, not a “toothless organisation”.

The UK and France have led talks to assemble a so-called coalition of the willing – also referred to as the Multinational Force Ukraine – in order to offer future defence support, including a possible reassurance force deployed in the country.

It is not yet clear what functions it would perform, though diplomatic sources have previously indicated it would not be used to police a ceasefire line, and would differ to a peacekeeping force in the sense that it would not be classed as impartial.

Germany and other European defence players, including Italy and Poland, have pledged forms of defence assistance, but have expressed scepticism about the prospect of putting troops on the ground inside Ukraine – a proposal the Kremlin has said it would consider an escalation.

The White House has been pushing Kyiv and Moscow to swiftly agree to a multi-point plan to end the war.

But there has been little sign of a breakthrough, including after Witkoff held five hours of in-person talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week.

As well as security guarantees, negotiations remain particularly fraught around the issue of territorial concessions.

The US has proposed Ukraine pulls its forces entirely out of eastern regions which Russia has attempted to take by force but has been unable to capture in full, in return for Russian withdrawals elsewhere and a cessation of fighting.

Speaking on Sunday, Trump’s outgoing special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg also singled out talks around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as being particularly complex.

Intense fighting has raged at times around the facility, which is the largest in Europe and currently under Russian control. A leaked early draft of the US-backed peace plan proposed splitting the energy it generates in the future between Ukraine and Russia.

Kellogg told an event in California that a deal was close but talks on those elements were continuing, adding: “If we get those two issues settled, I think the rest of the things will work out fairly well.”

The talks in London are the latest attempt by Ukraine’s European allies to carve out a role in the US-led efforts to end the war, which they fear will undercut the long-term interests of the continent in favour of a quick resolution.

European leaders have pushed back against early versions of the US-led peace plan, which has been revised after criticism it was too favourable towards Russia.

Despite massive economic pressure and battlefield losses, the Kremlin has shown little sign it is willing to compromise on its key demands, including ruling out any future path to Ukraine joining the Nato military alliance.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2k4z9nwz4yo

Benin’s president has appeared on television to reassure citizens of the West African nation that the situation was now “totally under control” following an attempted coup earlier in the day.

“I would like to commend the sense of duty demonstrated by our army and its leaders, who have remained… loyal to the nation,” Patrice Talon said, looking calm during the live evening broadcast.

The government said it had thwarted the mutiny hours after a group of soldiers declared a takeover on national television.

Later in the afternoon, huge explosions were heard in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city and seat of government. They were thought to have been the result of an air strike.

Prior to the explosions, flight-tracking data showed that three aircraft had entered Benin’s airspace from neighbouring Nigeria before returning home.

A spokesman for Nigeria’s president later confirmed that its fighter jets had gone in to “take over the airspace to help dislodge the coup plotters from the national TV and a military camp where they had regrouped”.

There have been a series of coups in West Africa before Sunday’s thwarted attempt in Benin, heightening fears that the security of the region could worsen.

Benin, a former French colony, has been regarded as one of Africa’s more stable democracies. But Talon has faced accusations of suppressing criticism of his policies.

The nation is one of the continent’s largest cotton producers, but ranks among the world’s poorest countries.

Nigeria, Benin’s large neighbour to the east, has described the coup attempt as a “direct assault on democracy”.

The 67-year-old president said in his address that loyalist forces had “cleared the last pockets of resistance held by the mutineers”.

“This commitment and mobilisation enabled us to defeat these opportunists and avert disaster for our country. This treachery will not go unpunished,” he added.

“I would like to reassure you that the situation is completely under control and therefore invite you to go about your business peacefully this evening.”

It is not clear if there have been casualties, but the president expressed his condolences “to the victims of this senseless adventure, as well as to those still being held by fleeing mutineers”.

Earlier, government spokesperson Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji told news agency Reuters that 14 people had been arrested in connection with the attempted coup.

A journalist in Benin told the BBC that, of those reportedly arrested, 12 are believed to have stormed the offices of the national TV station – including a soldier who had previously been sacked.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC gunfire was heard near the presidential residence early on Sunday morning, as a group of soldiers announced on national TV that they were suspending the constitution.

They also said some journalists working for the state broadcaster had been held hostage for a few hours.

The French and Russian embassies urged their citizens to remain indoors, while the US embassy’s advice was to stay away from Cotonou, especially the area around the presidential compound.

The rebel soldiers, led by Lt Col Pascal Tigri, justified their actions by criticising Talon’s management of the country, complaining first about his handling of the “continuing deterioration of the security situation in northern Benin”.

Benin’s army has suffered loses near its northern border with insurgency-hit Niger and Burkina Faso in recent years, as jihadist militants linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda spread southwards.

The soldier’s statement cited “the ignorance and neglect of the situation of our brothers in arms who have fallen at the front and, above all, that of their families, abandoned to their sad fate by Mr Patrice Talon’s policies”.

The rebels also hit out at cuts in health care, including the cancellation of state-funded kidney dialysis, and taxes rises, as well as curbs on political activities.

Talon, who is regarded as a close ally of the West, is due to step down next year after completing his second term in office, with elections scheduled for April.

A businessman known as the “king of cotton”, he first came to power in 2016. He promised not to seek a third term, despite Benin’s current two-term limit for presidencies, and has endorsed Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as his successor.

Talon has been praised by his supporters for overseeing economic development, but his government has also been criticised for suppressing dissenting voices.

In October, Benin’s electoral commission barred the main opposition candidate from standing on the grounds that he did not have enough sponsors.

Last month, constitutional amendments were passed by MPs, including the creation of a second parliamentary chamber, the Senate.

Terms for elected officials were extended from five to seven years, but the presidential two-term limit remained in place.

Sunday’s attempted coup comes just over a week after Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was overthrown – though some regional figures have questioned whether this was staged.

In recent years, West Africa has also seen coups in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger, prompting concerns about the region’s stability.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62v7n9wzkyo

Last year, more than 18,000 older people living with dementia left their homes and wandered off in Japan. Almost 500 were later found dead.

Police say such cases have doubled since 2012.

Elderly people aged 65 and over now make up nearly 30% of Japan’s population – the second-highest proportion in the world after Monaco, according to the World Bank.

The crisis is further compounded by a shrinking workforce and tight limits on foreign workers coming in to provide care.

Japan’s government has identified dementia as one of its most urgent policy challenges, with the Health Ministry estimating that dementia-related health and social care costs will reach 14 trillion yen ($90bn; £67bn) by 2030 – up from nine trillion yen in 2025.

In its most recent strategy, the government has signalled a stronger pivot toward technology to ease the pressure.

Across the country, people are adopting GPS-based systems to keep track of those who wander.

Some regions offer wearable GPS tags that can alert authorities the moment a person leaves a designated area.

In some towns, convenience-store workers receive real-time notifications – a kind of community safety net that can locate a missing person within hours.

A tuxedo-wearing President Trump hosted Sunday evening’s feted 48th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony — marking the first time a sitting president has led one of the glitziest nights of the year in DC.

Trump, 79, who once dreamed of being a theater producer, honored the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, and Gloria Gaynor at the star-studded event, capping off a year of big changes at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“This place is hot,” the president/emcee told the audience from the stage after touring renovations he ordered at the renowned center. “The Trump-Kennedy Center,” he told the crowd before pausing for some laughter.

“I mean, the Kennedy Center. I’m sorry. This is terribly embarrassing,” Trump joked.

Ahead of the event, the commander in chief and First Lady Melania Trump walked onto the red carpet and stopped for roughly 20 minutes to take questions from reporters.

“I hosted the Apprentice when it was Number One and had an audience of 42.5 million,” Trump said when asked about the ratings he expected for the night. “They’ll be good. It will do very good.”

The president also admitted that he hadn’t prepared much to host the star-studded ceremony.

“I didn’t prepare a lot. I have a good memory.” He added, “You have to be yourself. Johnny Carson was always himself.”

After an intermission, guests took their seats, and Trump took the stage to deliver a speech and introduce the “incredible artists” of the night.

“This is fantastic, isn’t it? It is just so incredible. This is the greatest evening in the history of the Kennedy Center. Not even a contest. There has never been anything like it,” he said. “The show is already getting rave reviews.”

Trump had named himself chair of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees and quickly purged all of former President Joe Biden’s appointees.

The president argued that a major overhaul was required because of a prior decision to allow drag show performances at DC’s marquee cultural venue, among other concerns.

“Kennedy Center is in tremendous disrepair, as is a lot of the rest of our country, most of it because of bad management,” Trump vented to reporters in March after personally inspecting the venerated cultural center.

“This is a shame, what I’ve watched and witnessed.”

On Saturday, he crowed that it would be the first time that a sitting president has hosted the awards. He said he’ll be criticized no matter what he does — but he’s confident he’ll be a better host than Jimmy Kimmel.

“If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president,” Trump joked.

Kimmel previously hosted the Academy Awards, and has been a frequent critic of the president.

It’s unclear how involved Trump was with the process of selecting the honorees, but Stallone is a close ally and is serving as Trump’s ambassador to Hollywood.

“He’s a great guy. He’s done a fantastic job and he really deserves this honor. You know, it’s something he’s wanted for years and this is bigger than it’s ever been,” Trump said on the red carpet Sunday.

Stallone was honored for becoming a cultural icon with movies such as “Rocky” and “Rambo,” while Gaynor was celebrated for “I Will Survive” and Kiss for its flamboyant makeup and performances.

The 48th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony comes on the heels of the death of Kiss’ original lead guitarist Ace Frehley, who died in October from injuries after he fell.

British actor Michael Crawford and country music superstar George Strait were also celebrated at the feted event.

“It’s going to be something that I believe, and I’m going to make a prediction: This will be the highest-rated show that they’ve ever done,” Trump teased on Saturday.

The president honored the acclaimed performers during a brief ceremony in the Oval Office on Saturday, the eve of the ritzy dinner.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/12/07/us-news/trump-takes-over-washingtons-most-glam-night-will-host-kennedy-center-honors/

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said he didn’t order the second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat — but he would have, in new comments about the decision to target survivors of a Sept. 2 US attack.

“I fully support that strike,” Hegseth said during his remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday. “I would have made the same call myself.”

Last week, a group of House and Senate lawmakers were briefed in a classified setting by Admiral Frank Bradley about the strikes. Democrats said they came away horrified by what they learned, while Republicans in the briefing largely stood by Hegseth.

President Trump has supported releasing footage of the strikes, but Hegseth was noncommittal during a question-and-answer session at the Reagan National Defense Forum.

“We’re reviewing it right now to make sure sources, methods, I mean, it’s an ongoing operation, [tactics, techniques and procedures], we’ve got operators out there doing this right now,” Hegseth explained, when asked by Fox News’s Lucas Tomlinson.

The Sept. 2 attack was the first of 22 known attacks on alleged drug vessels by the Trump administration.

At least 86 people have been killed in the strikes.

The Pentagon says Bradley, a Navy SEAL, was the one who ordered the second strike on the boat — which Democrats claim could amount to a war crime.

So far, only snippets of the strikes have been released to the public. Lawmakers briefed on the strikes were shown the full footage of how the attack unfolded.

“What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, vented to reporters afterwards

“You have two individuals and clear distress, without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, [who] were killed by the United States.”

Several Republicans who received a similar briefing, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), have sided with the Pentagon assessment that the survivors remained a threat.

“I saw two survivors trying to flip a boatload of drugs down the United States back over so they could stay in the fight, and potentially, given all the context — we heard of other Narco terrorist boats in the area coming to their aid to — recover the cargo and recover those Narco terrorists,” Cotton told reporters following his briefing.

“…It’s my expectation, and my deep hope, this will continue.”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/12/07/us-news/pete-hegseth-would-have-ordered-second-strike-on-venezuelan-drug-boat/

LANDO NORRIS won the war with himself to rise to the occasion and join F1’s promised land as Britain’s 11th world champion.

For so long the Bristol-born 26-year-old’s confidence has been questioned, not just by pundits, rivals or fans – but mainly by himself.

Tonight Norris shattered the self-doubt with a fearless drive to live out his childhood dream of wearing F1’s crown.

He was told by his race engineer NOT to do donuts, but he ignored that and did exactly the opposite before lining up his car in first place with the worst parking ever.

Norris was left in tears and so was his family in the garage.

He joked “I’m not crying” after saying “I love you mum, I love you dad”.

He also shared an emotional kiss with his girlfriend Magui Corceiro, the pair embracing on his way to the podiums.

This season he has also overcome a ruthless Max Verstappen who has dominated the sport for the last three years, having been out of sight by this point in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

He also had to block out Verstappen’s mindgames at the end, his gutsy teammate Oscar Piastri throughout, while McLaren’s sainted Papaya rules often stole the show.

The boos from fans, that would previously have got under his skin, didn’t make a mark either.

Piastri looked the favourite to win the title when he snatched the championship lead from the Brit in Saudi.

But Norris went on to be crowned king in the creme de la creme of F1 races in Monaco while also standing on the top of the podium at his home race in Silverstone.

All that was left to do was to finish on the podium in Abu Dhabi, and there was nothing that Verstappen or Piastri could do to prevent him winning the title.

He did just that with a third-place finish making him Britain’s first F1 world champ since Lewis Hamilton five years ago.

But, the seven-time world champ knows all too well how it can go wrong at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Norris knew that and was absolutely bricking it before the race, as his engineers went through the game plan while he took deep breaths on the grid.

The nerves bled into the race as he played it safe as Piastri, who started in P3, made an overtake on him look easy at Turn Nine on the first lap while Verstappen soared ahead.

The Aussie steamed past the Brit and into the sunset, while plunging Norris closer to jeopardy in third.

Norris could not risk a crash and soon he had Leclerc snapping at his heels.

The Ferrari driver came within a whisker of Norris at Turn Nine as the Brit was forced to cover and stayed ahead.

Piastri was urged to pick up the pace as his race engineer told him to put pressure on Verstappen.

Norris was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 17 as he reemerged in ninth place, behind a DRS train of four cars, which was not good news for the Brit.

It didn’t take him long to dive down the inside of Italian youngster Kimi Antonelli though and his best pal Carlos Sainz.

He then produced a gut-busting move to overtake both Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson.

Norris was closing in on Tsunoda who was told to give it everything once the Brit caught him.

The Japanese driver snapped at this team, saying: “I know what to do, so leave it to me.”

When the pair did battle on lap 23, Norris snarled past Tsunoda who was waving all over the place on the straight as the McLaren nearly went off track before the incident was investigated.

Verstappen swiftly made his pit stop, reemerging around five seconds clear of Norris in second place, as Piastri took the lead.

There was no further action for Norris while Tsunoda was hit with a five-second penalty.

Piastri had to pit soon, as his tyres wore down and Verstappen hunted him like a shark.

The McLaren strategy to run the Aussie for so long has handed Verstappen a free pit stop and the chance to back up the Papaya cars.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/sport/15603944/lando-norris-f1-title-win-abu-dhabi-grand-prix/

THE US President’s eldest son has labelled his father “unpredictable”, claiming Trump may walk away from a deal to bring peace to Ukraine.

Donald Trump Jr went as far as saying the bloody war between Kiev and Moscow was not a priority for Americans.

It comes as Moscow launched a “massive” combined air strike on infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, causing power and water outages early Sunday morning.

Speaking in his capacity as a business leader in Doha today, Trump Jr spoke bluntly about his feelings for his father’s diplomatic efforts around the world.

He said there were far bigger “clear and present dangers” to the US than the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and that Americans “don’t have the appetite” for endless overseas wars.

When asked directly if he believed his father would walk away from Ukraine he said: “I think he may, what’s good about my father and what’s unique about my father is you don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s unpredictable.”

He added: “He’s the most unpredictable person, probably in the history of politics. Which is why he’s able to get something done. We’ll see.”

The comments are a change of tune from other high profile leaders within the Trump administration, who have been boasting that peace is just weeks away.

On Thursday, Trump’s right-hand-man JD Vance said: “I think there’s hope – should hopefully be some good news the next few weeks on that front.”

And Keith Kellogg, US special envoy to Kyiv and Moscow, said that efforts to resolve the conflict were in the “last ten metres to the goal”.

The two sticking points to remain, according to Kellogg, are the future of the Donbas and Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

He stressed that “we’re really, really close” to a peace deal.

“If we get those two issues settled, I think the rest of the things will work out fairly well,” the special envoy added.

Trump and the US have been working to seal a peace deal with a week of globe-trotting talks from Moscow to Miami.

President Zelensky said he had a substantive phone call with American officials engaged in peace talks with a Ukrainian delegation.

Delegates from both sides met in Miami on Saturday for a third straight day of talks.

Zelensky said: “Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace.”

He said that the parties agreed “on the next steps and the format of the talks with America”.

President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner have been meeting top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Kyiv’s armed forces.

Washington said the two sides agreed that “real progress” would depend on Russia‘s willingness to end the war.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15604695/trump-walk-away-peace-deal-russia-ukraine/

 

The German chancellor said “lasting peace is possible” in Gaza and that the possible establishment of a Palestinian state, alongside Israel, offered the best prospect for future peace.

Meth production and opium poppy cultivation are growing and expanding in Myanmar, according to the UN, with many armed groups using the profits to buy weapons.

New data on opium and methamphetamine production in Myanmar from the United Nations puts the war-torn country at the epicenter of Asia’s multi-billion-dollar illicit drug trade.

Opium poppy cultivation rose 17% to over 53,000 hectares (131,000 acres) over the past year, the most in a decade, according to the latest opium survey of Myanmar by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), published this week.

Most notably, Myanmar is still the world’s top opium producer. The country claimed that spot from Afghanistan in 2023, two years after the Taliban seized control of the country and eradicated the vast majority of its poppy fields.

Data published by the UNODC earlier this year also show methamphetamine seizures across East and Southeast Asia in 2024 hitting a record 236 tons.

Most of the drug is believed to be produced in Myanmar. According to the UN, the combination of rising seizures and falling street prices suggest that production inside Myanmar continues to grow.

Chinese cartels protected in the Golden Triangle

“I wouldn’t really say Myanmar as a country is a supplier, but there [are] criminal groups that are engaging in producing and trafficking this meth and heroin,” Inshik Sim, the UNODC’s illicit drugs research officer for the Asia Pacific region, told DW.

Myanmar has been a major drug producer for decades, partly due to its geography. The nation, once known as Burma, incorporates one corner of the infamous Golden Triangle, where its rugged, crime-infested borderlands in the east meet Laos and Thailand.

In Myanmar’s Shan state, criminal cartels have set up under the protection of warlords who rule over enclaves where the government has little to no sway. Most of the drug cartels now based there have moved in from China.

Meth production spurred by civil war

The chaotic civil war triggered by a 2021 military coup has created favorable conditions for the growth of Myanmar’s drug trade, according to the UN. The country’s official economy has collapsed, law enforcement has deteriorated, and warlords needed more money to fund their private armies.

“Because of the conflict, there is some need for people to raise money, whether it’s armed groups or farmers, because the conflict disrupts the economy…. And I think opium poppy cultivation is one area that we can see,” said Sim.

Methamphetamine production was on the rise well before the coup, but, according to Sim, the civil war has likely boosted this trend as well.

Drug-related crisis ‘rapidly expanding’

Thailand has borne the brunt of drug boom happening across its border with Myanmar. Last year, Thai officials seized massive amounts of Myanmar methamphetamine, including a record 1 billion meth tablets.

“These numbers are a clear warning that the drug problem is not only ongoing but expanding now rapidly,” said Thanapon Thanikkun, head of intelligence at Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board.

He warned that the traffickers are exploiting Thailand’s well-developed transport network to ship their product on land, air and sea, while also leaving a growing drug use problem in their wake.

The UNODC confirms meth use in on the rise in Thailand and much of Southeast Asia.

Farmers and fighters dependent on drug sales

For the armed groups supplying this regional demand from Myanmar, selling drugs is a quick way of arming up, said Khun Oo, vice chair of the Pa-O Youth Organization, a non-government group tackling social issues across the Shan state. The Pa-O are one of the state’s main ethnic groups.

“They [armed groups] need guns, they need … human resources and money, so this is the way that they can get it, from the drug trafficking,” he said.

Unlike methamphetamine, which can be churned out of small labs in huge volumes by a few people, opium production also puts many farmers to work.

Poppy has long been a go-to cash crop in Myanmar during hard times. Khun Oo says the civil war has made it much harder for farmers to get their usual crops to market, whereas the drug traffickers who buy opium come to them.

“In the past, they still could do farming [of] other crops,” he said, but now, “they have no options” except growing opium.

Khun Oo said the traffickers are also paying farmers up to $500 (€429) for about a kilogram of raw opium in some areas, at least twice what they paid before the coup, making poppy all the more attractive.

Myanmar heroin found in Africa, Europe

Products from Myanmar’s poppy fields and meth labs travel far and wide across the region and the world.

After pouring out of Myanmar into Laos and Thailand, they cascade across the rest of Southeast Asia, and from there may be sold at premium prices in countries like Japan and Australia.

Last year, the Australian Federal Police estimated that as much as 70% of the crystal methamphetamine consumed the country came from Myanmar.

Sim said China is probably still the main market for Myanmar’s heroin. The latest drug seizures, however, suggest the traffickers are now looking westward as well.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/myanmar-drug-production-booming-amid-civil-war/a-75032190

In a recent Instagram post, the 41-year-old singer included a photo of herself and Trudeau cheek to cheek in front of a colourful autumn backdrop.

It is not a teenage dream, it’s Instagram official: Pop star Katy Perry has posted a photograph of herself cuddling with Canada’s former prime minister, as secure a confirmation as any that the celebrities are dating.

The 41-year-old “California Gurl” slipped the picture, showing the pair cheek to cheek in front of a colourful autumn backdrop, into a series of images on her Instagram account, which boasts 202 million followers.

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Her simple caption for the series posted late Saturday (Dec 6) – which also includes video clips of the couple trying sushi – reads simply: “tokyo times on tour and more”, and features emojis including flowers and a red heart.

Neither Perry – singer of mega hits like Hot n Cold, Roar and I Kissed a Girl – nor Trudeau have made public comments about their relationship. But Trudeau, 53, was seen at a Perry concert in July, and celebrity news website TMZ further fuelled rumours when it aired video of the two hand in hand on a night out in Paris in October to celebrate the singer’s birthday.

Source : https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/entertainment/katy-perry-justin-trudeau-launch-relationship-488991

 

The archipelago recorded at least 940 deaths, while Thailand and Malaysia reported death tolls of around 276 and three respectively.

As parts of Southeast Asia reel from the effects of deadly flooding over recent days, Indonesia faces a significantly higher death toll than its regional neighbours.

As of Sunday (Dec 7), the archipelago recorded at least 940 deaths, 276 people missing and around 5,000 people injured, in one of the deadliest disasters to hit the country in the past few years.

Thailand and Malaysia, which were also hit by the after-effects of Cyclone Senyar, reported death tolls of around 276 and three respectively.

And while the rare storm that formed in the Malacca Strait has largely passed, Indonesia continues to struggle heavily with the aftermath.

Experts told CNA that the higher number of casualties in Indonesia cannot just be explained away by its larger population of over 280 million. Thailand has a population of around 71 million and Malaysia has a population of around 34 million.

Instead, a mix of extensive deforestation, poor spatial planning, weak disaster preparedness and geographical vulnerability contributed to the devastation, all compounded by the effects of climate change.

“Indonesia is highly susceptible to landslides and flash floods, particularly because of its tectonic and geological conditions and its highly unstable atmospheric conditions,” said Dwikorita Karnawati, an environmental geology and disaster mitigation expert from the University of Gadjah Mada.

“Even without external factors … it is already fragile, let alone if there is land clearing and there is inappropriate land use.”

Indonesia sits at the convergence of major tectonic plates, making it part of the “Ring of Fire,” vulnerable to heavy tropical rainfall and natural disasters.

And as analysts warn that climate change will lead to more frequent weather anomalies in the years to come, they say the government must be better prepared and train people to avoid the worst.

UNIQUE GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY

Cyclone Senyar formed in the north of the Malacca Strait, said Dwikorita, who was also the head of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) from 2017 until last month.

This is an anomaly, she said. Such a cyclone rarely happens along the equator, but climate change has warmed the atmosphere in the area, leading to more intense rainfall.

Dwikorita said the cyclone is an atmospheric or natural phenomenon that begins with a low-pressure area. It started in Indonesia’s Sumatra on Nov 26.

“(The cyclone) moved from the western region of West Sumatra to the northwest of West Sumatra, then towards Aceh and then North Sumatra. It went on land,” she said.

Cyclones usually do not make landfall, she added, and if they do, they will weaken.

Typically, if the cyclone is at sea and people only get the tail of the cyclone, they experience indirect, less damaging impacts in the form of heavy rain, said Dwikorita.

However, this was not the case with Cyclone Senyar.

“This is on land. That’s why the impact on the ground is also devastating,” she said.

Dwikorita said that land in Sumatra is formed by tectonic plates, leaving it vulnerable to landslides and flash floods, while Peninsular Malaysia has a gentler topography, which is why it reported a significantly lower death toll.

She said most of Indonesia is formed by tectonic plates, so if a cyclone of a comparable nature were to hit elsewhere in the archipelago, the effects could be similar.

DEFORESTATION AND LAND CONVERSION

The dire situation is exacerbated by massive deforestation and land conversion in Sumatra, said analysts.

Deforestation has been happening massively in the past two decades, said Dwi Sawung, infrastructure and spatial planning campaign manager with environmental non-governmental organisation Walhi.

This has resulted in the soil losing its ability to absorb water, leading to flash floods and landslides.

Walhi recorded that between 2016 to 2025, about 1.4 million ha of forest in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra have been deforested.

This is due to the activities of about 631 companies which hold permits for mining, land use for oil palm plantations, geothermal, hydropower and micro-hydro activity.

The disasters in the three provinces hit the Bukit Barisan forest area, which in North Sumatra covers Batang Toru, home to the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, as well as North, Central and South Tapanuli, Walhi noted.

Kiki Taufik, global head of Indonesia Forest campaign at Greenpeace Indonesia, said that while some land conversion is done illegally, most of it is done legally with a permit from the government.

“So the forest ministry must take responsibility because it gave the permit, as well as the ministry of energy and mineral resources … which gave the mining permit, such as to mine gold,” said Kiki.

He added that the environment ministry must also be held accountable because they issue the environmental impact analysis (AMDAL),” which in Indonesia, is required for obtaining permits.

Mahawan Karuniasa, an environmental expert from the University of Indonesia, said there are areas which should be free of buildings as they are disaster-prone.

However, there are settlements there, as many Indonesians economically rely on the land for their livelihood.

Regional and central governments have not been supervising spatial planning, he added.

DISASTER MITIGATION AND PREPAREDNESS

BMKG said they had given a warning about the cyclone before it landed.

Head of BMKG Teuku Faisal Fathani told lawmakers on Dec 1 that his agency had sent out a press release about a potential disaster in Aceh and West Sumatra following the cyclone, four days before it happened.

He also said it sent a press release about a potential disaster in North Sumatra tied to the cyclone eight days before it happened.

Mahawan from the University of Indonesia said BMKG often posts about potential disasters, and it wasn’t clear that this was a warning for a flood with an exceptional scale of impact.

“So, I think (a lack of) early warning systems is the reason why disaster preparedness is lacking,” said Mahawan.

What’s more, in Indonesia, the focus tends to be on volcanic disasters and tsunamis, not on hydrometeorological ones.

Mahawan noted that even in the capital Jakarta, which suffers from regular floods, those who disseminate the information are the people, not the government and that once a disaster occurs, most governments and people do not know what to do.

The speed of how aid is distributed or authorities reach out to the affected areas is slow, and the remoteness of certain areas makes it even harder for them to move once the roads are cut off, said Mahawan.

He said that the government could have deployed helicopters and hospital ships carrying aid even before the Sumatra disaster happened, given the information available, highlighting a lack of coordination.

“But this did not happen, and they only sent the hospital ships from Jakarta days after the floods,” said Dwi from Walhi, pointing out that the ships deployed from Jakarta could take days to land in the affected areas.

“Thus, much needs to be improved so people really know what will happen with the rainfall and the current weather.”

Dwi from Walhi compared this to the Philippines, which was recently hit by typhoon Fung-wong. Residents got a message to evacuate before the typhoon even made landfall.

Analysts also noted that the budget for Indonesia’s national disaster agency (BNPB), which is the main agency in charge of handling the floods, has been cut recently.

BNPB received a budget of about 4.39 trillion rupiah (US$263 million) in 2024.

But that has been cut to 2.01 trillion rupiah this year and 491 billion rupiah next year.

“So the disaster agency has limited resources,” said Mahawan.

LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS

While Indonesia’s geographical condition cannot be easily altered, there are certain things the government could do to prevent a disaster from happening again, said analysts.

This includes reviewing all the permits given to corporations for land conversion.

Authorities should hold the companies accountable and take them to court, said Kiki Taufik from Greenpeace Indonesia.

On Dec 4, Indonesia’s Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni told parliamentarians that 20 production forest permits covering 750,000 ha would be revoked following a review after the floods in Sumatra.

“We are awaiting President Prabowo Subianto’s approval to announce the revocation,” he said during a hearing at the House of Representatives.

Dwikorita from the University of Gadjah Mada also noted that if a region is deemed a dangerous place to live, people must move.

However, she acknowledged that this is not easy since many may have lived in the locations for decades.

The disaster agency and relevant institutions must also be given a larger budget so they can work more effectively and establish an effective warning system, said analysts.

“The budget decisions need to be addressed,” said Mahawan from the University of Indonesia.

“So, I think given this momentum, with the drastic increase in hydrometeorological disasters predicted in the future, in addition to having an early warning system, we need to improve disaster awareness and provide valid information with clear signals.”

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-sumatra-floods-cyclone-senyar-climate-change-5563616

Kate Winslet called out “terrifying” cosmetic procedures and weight loss drugs while claiming young women nowadays have no “concept of what being beautiful actually is.”

When talking about how injections make women look the same, the “Titanic” star, 50, told the Times, “Oh, it’s terrifying.”

“It is devastating. If a person’s self-esteem is so bound up in how they look it’s frightening,” she said.

Winslet, 50, explained that she enjoys seeing actresses “dressed how they want, whichever shape,” but “so many people” are also on weight loss drugs.

“Some are making choices to be themselves, others do everything they can to not be themselves,” she added.

“And do they know what they are putting in? The disregard for one’s health is terrifying. It bothers me now more than ever. It is f—king chaos out there.”

Aside from bashing “all the f—king actresses,” Winslet slammed non-famous “people who save up for Botox or the s—t they put in their lips.”

The actress then emphasized that she hadn’t undergone any procedures.

“My favourite thing is when your hands get old,” she told the outlet. “That’s life, in your hands. Some of the most beautiful women I know are over 70 and what upsets me is that young women have no concept of what being beautiful actually is.”

Winslet “blame[d] social media and its effect on mental health” for the type of “perfection” people were aspiring towards.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “Nobody’s looking into the f—*ing world anymore.”

The “Reader” star has previously shared she thinks “women get more beautiful as they get older.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/07/celebrity-news/kate-winslet-blasts-terrifying-and-devastating-plastic-surgery-epidemic-criticizes-weight-loss-drugs/

Bethenny Frankel shut down the haters brutally criticizing her home’s décor by bragging about the millions she’s made off of flipping houses.

The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum’s new home in Florida was recently featured in Architectural Digest, with the outlet describing her home as “a streamlined, contemporary take on classic Floridian design.”

Some of her and designer Lauren Lindner’s choices for the home included a marble waste basket that costs around $1,000, to more attainable pieces from Amazon.

“Highs and lows, baby,” Frankel told the magazine of the items in her home. “There are so many things that are fun to mix in that no one will ever know where they’re from.”

But the social media reaction was overwhelmingly negative, with the top comment on the Architectural Digest Instagram post about her home reading, “What in the HomeGoods is happening here?”

“Made in china dupes is featured in arch digest now,” another comment said.

“Not even bad taste, just an absence of taste,” another user griped.

Other comments criticized Architectural Digest for featuring Frankel’s home.

“Roller blinds, accent wall wallpaper, a coffee table as a side table. I really am confused what about this is appropriate to run in ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST,” one comment said.

Another user wrote, “AD- blink twice if you’re ok.”

The hate continued on X, with one user commenting, “Architectural Digest posting Bethenny’s ugly ass Home Goods slop abomination of a house please be serious.”

Frankel responded to the hate in an Instagram video Sunday, sharing that she’s made at least $12 million in real estate profits over the last few years. The reality star, 55, also clarified there were no HomeGoods or Wayfair pieces in her house, but defended them as multi-billion dollar brands.

Frankel explained that she designs homes as an investment.

“This home that I’m in, I paid $4.2 [million], getting a million dollar discount because it was going into foreclosure, it’s worth over $6 [million] now and I could sell it when I decide to move in three years when [my daughter] Bryn is going into college for about $7 million,” she bragged.

“I approach a home with neutral tones that are something that anybody could relate to, possibly want to buy, but definitely be able to see their own vision when they come to look at a house because I do move a decent amount,” she further explained about her décor choices.

“I’m not the one who’s going to like, get in bone from China and inlay it onto my floor. I’m not that bitch,” she added.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/07/lifestyle/bethenny-frankel-brags-about-her-12m-real-estate-profits-after-haters-blast-her-ugly-new-florida-house/

The Trump administration has consistently demanded European governments pay more into NATO defense spending.

The United States wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO’s conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027, Pentagon officials told diplomats in Washington this week, a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic.

The message, recounted by five sources familiar with the discussion, including a US official, was conveyed at a meeting in Washington this week of Pentagon staff overseeing NATO policy and several European delegations.

The shifting of this burden from the US to European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would dramatically change how the United States, a founding member of the post-war alliance, works with its most important military partners.

In the meeting, Pentagon officials indicated that Washington was not yet satisfied with the strides Europe has made to boost its defense capabilities since Russia’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The US officials told their counterparts that if Europe does not meet the 2027 deadline, the US may stop participating in some NATO defense coordination mechanisms, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Some officials on Capitol Hill are aware of and concerned about the Pentagon’s message to the Europeans, one US official said.

NO CLARITY ON HOW US WOULD MEASURE NATO’S PROGRESS
Conventional defense capabilities include non-nuclear assets from troops to weapons and the officials did not explain how the US would measure Europe’s progress toward shouldering most of the burden.

It was also not clear if the 2027 deadline represented the Trump administration position or only the views of some Pentagon officials. There are significant disagreements in Washington over the military role the US should play in Europe.

Several European officials said that a 2027 deadline was not realistic no matter how Washington measures progress, since Europe needs more than money and political will to replace certain US capabilities in the short term.

Among other challenges, NATO allies face production backlogs for military equipment they are trying to purchase. While US officials have encouraged Europe to buy more US-made materiel, some of the most prized US-made weapons and defense systems would take years to be delivered if ordered today.

The US also contributes capabilities that cannot simply be purchased, like unique intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance that have proven key to the Ukrainian war effort.

Asked for comment, a NATO official speaking for the alliance said European allies had begun taking more responsibility for the continent’s security, but did not comment on the 2027 deadline.

“Allies have recognized the need to invest more in defense and shift the burden on conventional defense” from the US to Europe, the official said.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said: “We’ve been very clear in the need for Europeans to lead in the conventional defense of Europe. We are committed to working through NATO coordination mechanisms to strengthen the alliance and ensure its long-term viability as European allies increasingly take on responsibility for conventional deterrence and defense in Europe”.

European nations have broadly accepted US President Donald Trump’s demand they take more responsibility for their own security and have pledged big increases in defense spending.

The European Union has set a target of making the continent ready to defend itself by 2030 and says it must fill gaps in its air defenses, drones, cyber warfare capabilities, munitions and other areas. Officials and analysts said even that deadline is highly ambitious.

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I appreciated the opportunity to represent @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @SecRubio at the NATO Ministerial Meeting in Brussels. I emphasized what should be obvious: Europe must take primary responsibility for its own security. Successive US Administrations have been saying this in… pic.twitter.com/txy3GuQRnQ

— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) December 4, 2025

WASHINGTON-NATO RELATIONSHIP RUNS HOT AND COLD
The Trump administration has consistently argued that European allies need to contribute more to the NATO alliance, but it’s not always clear where the president stands on NATO.

On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump frequently bashed European allies, and he said he would encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade NATO countries that did not spend their fair share on defense.

But at the annual NATO leaders’ summit in June, Trump effusively praised European leaders for agreeing to a US plan to boost the annual defense spending target for member states to 5 per cent of gross domestic product.

Source:https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-sets-2027-deadline-europe-led-nato-defense-officials-say-5565846

China’s national security office in Hong Kong warned foreign media on Saturday (Dec 6) not to spread “false information” or “smear” government efforts to deal with the city’s worst fire in nearly 80 years.

Ahead of a legislative council election on Sunday in the global financial hub, the Office for Safeguarding National Security said it had summoned a number of unspecified foreign media outlets, criticising coverage of the fire that killed at least 159 people at the Wang Fuk Court high-rise residential complex.

Reuters was not contacted about the meeting and did not participate.

“Some foreign media have recently reported on Hong Kong ignoring the facts, spreading false information, distorting and smearing the government’s disaster relief and aftermath work, attacking and interfering with the Legislative Council election, provoking social division and opposition,” the statement said.

The office said it convened the meeting in line with a national security law Beijing imposed on the former British colony in 2020 after mass pro-democracy protests.

Russia unleashed a major missile and drone barrage on Ukraine overnight into Saturday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “substantive phone call” with American officials engaged in talks with a Ukrainian delegation in Florida, aimed at ending the nearly 4-year war.

Russia used 653 drones and 51 missiles in the wide-reaching overnight attack on Ukraine, which triggered air raid alerts across the country and came as Ukraine marked Armed Forces Day, the country’s air force said Saturday morning.

Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralized 585 drones and 30 missiles, the air force said, adding that 29 locations were struck.

At least eight people were wounded in the attacks, Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said.

Among these, at least three people were wounded in the Kyiv region, according to local officials. Drone sightings were reported as far west as Ukraine’s Lviv region.

Nuclear plant temporarily cut off from power
Russia carried out a “massive missile-drone attack” on power stations and other energy infrastructure in several Ukrainian regions, Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo, wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant temporarily lost all off-site power overnight, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Saturday, citing its Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The plant is in an area that has been under Russian control since early in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and is not in service, but it needs reliable power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel, to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incidents.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that energy facilities were the main targets of the attacks, also noting that a drone strike had “burned down” the train station in the city of Fastiv, located in the Kyiv region.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its air defenses had shot down 116 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Saturday.

Russian Telegram news channel Astra said Ukraine struck Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refinery, sharing footage appearing to show a fire breaking out and plumes of smoke rising above the refinery. The Associated Press could not independently verify the video.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces later said Ukrainian forces had struck the refinery. Ryazan regional Gov. Pavel Malkov said a residential building had been damaged in a drone attack and that drone debris had fallen on the grounds of an “industrial facility,” but did not mention the refinery.

Months of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries have aimed to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue the war. Meanwhile, Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” the cold.

Slow progress on agreeing security framework
The latest round of attacks came as U.S. President Donald Trump’s advisers and Ukrainian officials said they’ll meet for a third day of talks on Saturday in Florida, after making progress on finding agreement on a security framework for postwar Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said Saturday that he had been given an update over the phone by U.S. and Ukrainian officials at the talks.

“Ukraine is determined to keep working in good faith with the American side to genuinely achieve peace,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

Following Friday’s talks, the two sides had also offered the sober assessment that any “real progress toward any agreement” ultimately will depend “on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace.”

Source: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-witkoff-trump-7f5e063223a426a4629b67c5991d1a73

It took 13-year-old Isobel less than five minutes to outsmart Australia’s “world-leading” social media ban for children.

A notification from Snapchat, one of the ten platforms affected, had lit up her screen, warning she’d be booted off when the law kicked in this week – if she couldn’t prove she was over 16.

“I got a photo of my mum, and I stuck it in front of the camera and it just let me through. It said thanks for verifying your age,” Isobel claims. “I’ve heard someone used Beyoncé’s face,” she adds.

“I texted her,” she gestures to her mum Mel, “and I was like, ‘Hey Mummy, I got past the social media ban’ and she was just like, ‘Oh, you monkey’.”

It made her laugh, Mel explains: “This is exactly what I thought was going to happen.”

Though she had let Isobel use TikTok and Snapchat with tight supervision – preferring that to the teenager using it covertly – she had been hoping the ban, as promised, would help parents like her protect their children from the dangers of the online world.

That hope has now wavered, as a series of experts – and kids themselves – sound the alarm on the viability and safety of the landmark policy, which is being closely watched around the globe and eyed with trepidation by some of its most influential companies.

There’s concern about the reliability of the technology enforcing the ban, along with fears it could isolate vulnerable children and push others into darker, less-regulated corners of the web.

The question nervously being asked in the halls of Canberra, in households across the nation, and in tech boardrooms around the world: is this actually going to work?

At the edge of Doha, a new grey-blue building rises like a drawing on its skyline, its shimmering tiles shifting with the sun and casting geometric shadows.

The building seems to be leaning forward, as if eager to tell a story.

In a video clip of Lawh Wa Qalam, the world’s first museum dedicated to MF Husain, we see glimpses of the extraordinary work of the late legendary Indian artist, whose prolific paintings and turbulent personal history have fascinated the world.

The museum honours the legacy of the artist who spent his last years in Qatar and was granted citizenship in 2010.

Spanning over some 3,000 sq m, it opened to visitors last week and is part of the expansive campus of Qatar Foundation’s Education City, an educational and research hub.

Inside, more than 150 works and objects – including paintings, sculptures, films, tapestries and photos – map the astonishing breadth of Husain’s career, offering visitors a rare window into the artist’s late-life reflections and inspirations.

Husain always wanted his museum to feel like home, says Noof Mohammed, the curator. “We want visitors to experience the world as he did, in an intimate, playful and reflective manner.”

Few artists have travelled as widely, or imaginatively, as Husain. His horses – muscular and dynamic – remain some of the most prized and instantly recognisable paintings in contemporary art, sold for millions of dollars.

An artist who was often described to have a nomadic and bohemian disposition, he dabbled seamlessly with Cubist-inspired modernism and traditional Indian themes, creating bold and vibrant canvases with scenes from history and mythology.

His signature style earned him the moniker of “the Picasso of India”. He also made two Bollywood films, which failed at the box office.

Husain was also never without controversy. His paintings of nude Hindu goddesses angered hardline Hindus who accused him of obscenity, forcing him into a self-imposed exile.

Elon Musk criticised the EU, calling for its abolition after X was fined $140 million on Friday for violating Digital Services Act. Details here.

Elon Musk sharply criticised the European Union on Saturday, declaring that the bloc “should be abolished” after his social media platform X was slapped with a $140 million fine just a day before.

The penalty was imposed for alleged violations of the EU’s strict content and transparency rules. These rules, enforced in August 2023, set out what big tech companies can and cannot do when it comes to moderating content and handling user data.

Musk argued that sovereignty must be returned to individual nations, so that governments can truly represent the interests of their people. His remarks come amid rising tensions between X and European regulators over the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Services Act.

“The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries, so that governments can better represent their people,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), which his startup xAI acquired in 2022.

In another tweet, Musk made a controversial comment, stating, “how long before the EU is gone? AbolishTheEU.”

What did X do to attract the penalty?
The European Commission said in a statement that it was penalising Elon Musk’s social media platform for violating three different transparency requirements under the law, AP reported.

According to the regulators, the platform’s blue checkmarks broke the law because of their “deceptive design” that could potentially expose X users to various scams and manipulation.

X also fell short of the requirements for its ad database and giving access to researchers access to public data, AP reported.

The platform received a formal warning last year, as EU claimed that it has failed to combat dangerous content.

All about the Digital Services Act
The Digital Services Act or DSA, is a comprehensive rulebook aimed at holding online platforms more accountable for the safety and integrity of their digital spaces.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/trends/want-healthy-hair-follow-these-simple-tricks-to-ensure-better-growth-11765027116856.html

President Donald Trump on Saturday presented the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees with their medals during a ceremony in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he was deeply involved in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled.

This year’s recipients are actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, the rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford.

Trump said they are a group of “incredible people” who represent the “very best in American arts and culture” and that, “I know most of them and I’ve been a fan of all of them.”

“This is a group of icons whose work and accomplishments have inspired, uplifted and unified millions and millions of Americans,” said a tuxedo-clad Trump. “This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center Honorees ever assembled.”

Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center
Trump ignored the Kennedy Center and its premier awards program during his first term as president. But the Republican has instituted a series of changes since returning to office in January, most notably ousting its board of trustees and replacing them with GOP supporters who voted him in as chairman of the board.

Trump also has criticized the center’s programming and its physical appearance, and has vowed to overhaul both.

The president placed around each honoree’s neck a new medal that was designed, created and donated by jeweler Tiffany & Co., according to the Kennedy Center and Trump.

It’s a gold disc etched on one side with the Kennedy Center’s image and rainbow colors. The honoree’s name appears on the reverse side with the date of the ceremony. The medallion hangs from a navy blue ribbon and replaces a large rainbow ribbon decorated with three gold plates that rested on the honoree’s shoulders and chest and had been used since the first honors program in 1978.

Trump honors the honorees
Strait, wearing a cowboy hat, was first to receive his medal. When the country singer started to take off the hat, Trump said, “If you want to leave it on, you can. I think we can get it through.” But Strait took it off.

The president said Crawford was a “great star of Broadway” for his lead role in the long-running “Phantom of the Opera.” Of Gaynor, he said, “We have the disco queen, and she was indeed, and nobody did it like Gloria Gaynor.”

Trump was effusive about his friend Stallone, calling him a “wonderful” and “spectacular” person and “one of the true, great movie stars” and “one of the great legends.”

Kiss is an “incredible rock band,” he said.

Songs by honorees Gaynor and Kiss played in the Rose Garden just outside the Oval Office as members of the White House press corps waited nearby for Trump to begin the ceremony.

The president said in August that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing the 2025 honorees when he personally announced them at the Kennedy Center, the first slate chosen under his leadership. The honorees traditionally had been announced by press release.

It was unclear how they were chosen. Before Trump, it fell to a bipartisan selection committee.

“These are among the greatest artists, actors and performers of their generation. The greatest that we’ve seen,” Trump said. “We can hardly imagine the country music phenomena without its king of country, or American disco without its first lady, or Broadway without its phantom — and that was a phantom, let me tell you — or rock and roll without its hottest band in the world, and that’s what they are, or Hollywood without one of its greatest visionaries.”

“Each of you has made an indelible mark on American life and together you have defined entire genres and set new standards for the performing arts,” Trump said.

Trump also attended an annual State Department dinner for the honorees on Saturday. In years past, the honorees received their medallions there but Trump moved that to the White House.

Trump said during pre-dinner remarks that the honorees are more than celebrities.

“It gives me tremendous pleasure to congratulate them once again and say thank you for your incredible career,” he said. “Thank you for gracing us with this wisdom and just genius that you have.”

Trump to host the Kennedy Center Honors
Meanwhile, the glitzy Kennedy Center Honors program and its series of tribute speeches and performances for each recipient is set to be taped on Sunday at the performing arts center for broadcast later in December on CBS and Paramount+. Trump is to attend the program for the first time as president, accompanied by his wife, first lady Melania Trump.

The president said in August that he had agreed to host the show. At dinner Saturday, he said he was doing so “at the request of a certain television network.” Trump predicted that the broadcast would garner its highest ratings ever as a result. No president has ever been the host.

At the White House, Trump said he looked forward to Sunday’s celebration.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/trump-kennedy-center-honorees-awards-ceremony-medal-5f4b60fb514f978d34e3468a711f0132

TAYLOR Swift has pulled out all the stops in planning her fairytale wedding to her fiancé, Travis Kelce, including multiple bachelorette parties and an $8 million price tag.

More details have emerged about the celebrity couple’s impending nuptials, and it’s expected to be quite the extravagant event.

It appears there’s not much that the billionaire songwriter and the Kansas City Chiefs‘ tight end haven’t ironed out regarding their big day, which, according to Page Six, is only six months away.

Multiple sources told the outlet that Taylor, 35, and Travis, 36, plan to exchange vows on Saturday, June 13, 2026 – which has numerical significance to the multi-Grammy Award winner as 13 is her favorite number and the date is her half birthday – at Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, near the singer’s mansion.

However, it wasn’t the Cruel Summer singer’s first choice, as The U.S. Sun exclusively reported last month that Taylor initially had her eye on transforming her sprawling $32 million pad into a flower-filled oasis for the occasion.

“Taylor dreams of being fully surrounded by flowers, with lush floral bushes everywhere, making her teenage dream of marrying in a sea of flowers come true,” an insider revealed.

Recent reports claimed the bride wrote a sizable check to another couple who had already booked the venue, but The U.S. Sun confirmed with Area Director of Sales & Marketing for Ocean House, Stephanie Leavitt, that wasn’t the case.

Still, Taylor is expected to get the dream wedding she’s always envisioned, and she has the support of her A-list pals all the way.

The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed in November that Taylor asked her closest girlfriends, Gigi Hadid and Selena Gomez, to be a part of her bridal party.

Sources also said that her mother, Andrea, and Travis’s mom, Donna, are very involved in the planning process and have been exchanging ideas with the bridesmaids to make it a memorable experience.

Taylor has Selena to offer advice on bringing her vision to life, as the actress recently said “I do” to music producer Benny Blanco in a lavish ceremony, which Taylor attended.

Gigi was also “thrilled” to get the coveted invite and accepted immediately, an insider told The U.S. Sun.

The Era’s Tour performer made the moment special and planned to ask everyone involved in person to make sure they knew how much they meant to her.

“Taylor wants to start the wedding process this way — building her bridesmaid group and getting everyone involved in the preparations, celebrations, and planning,” the source said of the Blank Space singer’s bridal crew.

“She wants it to be fun and memorable for everyone, with parties, trips, and time spent together leading up to the big day.”

And her bridesmaids intend to return the gesture by organizing three big trips to have numerous bachelorette celebrations.

A source also shared with The U.S. Sun that the ladies have been working hard to plan “at least three or four girls’ trips or bachelorette-style getaways” to some of Taylor’s favorite spots, including New York, Nashville, the Bahamas, and Italy.

“The goal is to have fun, spend weekends together, and enjoy the process while also working on the planning in beautiful locations where they can relax, celebrate, and bond,” they explained.

Taylor and Travis are executing a similar idea for the wedding, which will be a multi-day event, per the insider.

“The plan is to organize an entire wedding weekend — from Friday to Sunday — not just a single ceremony,” the source said about the summer nuptials.

“Taylor and the girls are working on a multi-day celebration, wanting to make it a unique, unforgettable memory they’ll cherish for the rest of their lives.”

It appears she’ll achieve just that, given the amount she’s reportedly spent on the shindig.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/15600068/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-wedding-details-venue-date-bridesmaids/

 

Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau are Instagram-official.

On Saturday, the “Fireworks” singer took to the social media platform to share a carousel of intimate photos and videos of her trip to Tokyo with the politician.

In one of the snaps, Perry, 41, and Trudeau, 53, smiled as they posed cheek to cheek for an outdoor selfie.

In another photo, the couple watched what appeared to be an illuminated piece at an art exhibit.

Perry also posted a video of them dining together. In the clip, Trudeau lovingly watched on as the pop star indulged in sushi.

“tokyo times on tour and more ( ◠‿◠ ) 🎄🍣🐡🥞💐☃️♥️,” she captoned the post.

On Monday, Perry, who traveled to Japan as part of her ongoing Lifetimes Tour, and Trudeau were spotted holding hands while walking through Tokyo’s popular tourist area, Asakusa, before heading to a restaurant for dinner and a show.

Three days later, the pair enjoyed a double date with Japan’s former prime minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko Kishida.

The “Dark Horse” singer and the former Canadian prime minister first sparked romance rumors in July when they were seen taking a stroll and later grabbing a bite to eat in Montreal.

A few days later, Trudeau was seen watching Perry perform at her “Lifetimes” tour stop in Montreal’s Bell Centre.

Things got hot and heavy for the couple when they were spotted making out while spending time together on a yacht off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., in October.

In October, sources exclusively told Page Six that Trudeau is “crazy” about Perry.

“He is crazy about her and thinks she is the perfect woman,” the insider told us. “They are simpatico on everything, including politics, kids and French food.”

“They both have a sparkle for each other,” gushed our source.

Perry’s new romance comes on the heels of her split from Orlando Bloom.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/06/celebrity-news/katy-perry-goes-instagram-official-with-justin-trudeau/

Two survivors attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea were rescued after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Crete. Authorities have not said where the vessel came from.

At least 17 people attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea were found dead Saturday after a boat capsized south of the island of Crete, Greek authorities said.

“Two survivors in critical condition have been hospitalized,” a coastguard spokeswoman told the AFP news agency.

The survivors told rescue workers that they had lost control of the vessel during a severe storm, leaving those on board stranded in the open sea without access to water, food, or proper shelter.

According to local reports, the coastguard said that the migrants had been dead for over a day by the time the boat was located.

What else do we know about the boat capsize?

Greek officials said the vessel was found 26 nautical miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Crete.

The boat was initially detected by a Turkish cargo ship, which alerted the Greek authorities.

“The vessel the migrants were on was deflated on two sides, which forced the passengers into a reduced space,” said Manolis Frangoulis, the mayor of Cretan port city of Ierapetra.

He said all the victims had been young. It is still unclear where the migrants came from.

Greek state television channel ERT reported that coroners are looking into whether dehydration may have caused the deaths.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/greece-at-least-17-dead-in-boat-capsize-off-crete/a-75048685

This blog is paused

For now, we are pausing our coverage. Tune in again on Sunday morning for more German news and analysis.

German coalition government at lowest approval rating since May

The ruling coalition in Germany is continuing to see diminishing public support, an Insa poll conducted for the Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed.

Nearly 70% of the respondents said that they were dissatisfied with the performance of the governing coalition. which comprises the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU), and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

With only 21% expressing satisfaction, this is the lowest approval rating recorded since the government took office in May.

The poll interviewed 1,005 people from December 4 to 5.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz was also rated poorly, with 68% of respondents expressing dissatisfaction with his work and only 23% approving of it.

An Indian-origin Uber driver has been sentenced to jail in New Zealand for raping a teenage passenger in 2023.

Satwinder Singh, an Indian-origin Uber driver in New Zealand, has received a sentence of seven years and two months in prison for raping a teenage passenger in 2023. The incident occurred during a short late-night ride from Speight’s Ale House to Hamilton East, as reported by the NZ Herald.

Singh diverted the cab by switching off the GPS, creating the false impression that the trip had ended. When the teenager’s dress shifted, he asked if she was wearing underwear and ignored her protests of “no, can you not?” and “get off me”. Cameras captured his vehicle despite the GPS trick, and the victim was later dropped at a friend’s home in distress.

Satwinder Singh claimed to police that the encounter was consensual and made derogatory remarks about New Zealand women being “forward and promiscuous”. His counsel requested a sentence reduction, citing hardships as a Sikh Indian who had lived in New Zealand for only 11 years, arguing prison would be tougher for him than for locals.

The judge rejected this, noting Singh’s extensive public interactions as an Uber driver meant he understood local norms and deserved no special treatment. A plea to suppress his photo, due to a relative’s mental health issues, was also denied.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/indian-origin-uber-driver-satwinder-singh-jailed-in-new-zealand-for-raping-teenager-9754962.html

The House Committee on Homeland Security has asked Google (GOOGL.O), and Apple (AAPL.O), to detail what steps they are taking to remove mobile applications that allow users to track federal immigration officers.
In letters sent on Friday to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple head Tim Cook, committee leaders singled out ICEBlock, an app previously used to monitor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, saying apps hosted on their app stores risk “jeopardizing the safety of DHS personnel.” Lawmakers requested a briefing by December 12.

The letters urged Google and Apple to ensure these apps cannot be used to target officers or obstruct lawful immigration enforcement.
The committee noted that while free speech is protected, it does not extend to advocacy that incites imminent lawless action, referencing a landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Google and Apple did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The letters follow concerns that these tools allow users to anonymously report and track the movements of federal agents, including those from ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
In October, Google said that ICEBlock was never available on Google’s Play Store and added it had removed similar apps due to policy violations.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-lawmakers-press-google-apple-remove-apps-tracking-immigration-agents-2025-12-05/

What started as a fact-finding mission for Netflix (NFLX.O), culminated in one of the biggest media deals in the last decade and one that stands to reshape the global entertainment business landscape, people with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.
Netflix announced on Friday it had reached a deal to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s for $72 billion.

Although Netflix had publicly downplayed speculation about buying a major Hollywood studio as recently as October, the streaming pioneer threw its hat in the ring when Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), kicked off an auction on October 21, after rejecting a trio of unsolicited offers from Paramount Skydance PSKY.O.

Details of Netflix’s plan and the Warner Bros board’s deliberations, based on interviews with seven advisers and executives, are reported here for the first time.
Initially motivated by curiosity about its business, Netflix executives quickly recognized the opportunity presented by Warner Bros, beyond the ability to offer the century-old studio’s deep catalog of movies and television shows to Netflix subscribers. Library titles are valuable to streaming services as these movies and shows can account for 80% of viewing, according to one person familiar with the business.
Warner Bros’ business units – particularly its theatrical distribution and promotion unit and its studio – were complementary to Netflix. The HBO Max streaming service also would benefit from insights learned years ago by streaming leader Netflix that would accelerate HBO’s growth, according to one person familiar with the situation.

Netflix began flirting with the idea of acquiring the studio and streaming assets, another source familiar with the process told Reuters, after WBD announced plans in June to split into two publicly traded companies, separating its fading but cash-generating cable television networks from the legendary Warner Bros studios, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service.
Netflix and Warner Bros did not reply to requests for comment.
The work intensified this autumn, as Netflix began vying for the assets against Paramount and NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast (CMCSA.O).

‘STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY’

Warner Bros kicked off the public auction in October, after Paramount submitted the first of three escalating offers for the media company in September. Sources familiar with the offer said Paramount aimed to pre-empt the planned separation because the split would undercut its ability to combine the traditional television networks businesses and increase the risk of being outbid for the studio by the likes of Netflix.

Around that time, banker JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), was advising Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav to consider reversing the order of the planned spin, shedding the Discovery Global unit comprising the company’s cable television assets first. This would give the company more flexibility, including the option to sell the studio, streaming and content assets, which advisers believed would draw strong interest, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Executives for the streaming service and its advisory team, which included the investment banks Moelis & Company , Wells Fargo (WFC.N), and the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, had been holding daily morning calls for the past two months, sources said. The group worked throughout Thanksgiving week – including multiple calls on Thanksgiving Day – to prepare a bid by the December 1 deadline.

Warner Bros’ board similarly convened every day for the last eight days leading up to the decision on Thursday, when Netflix presented the final offer that sources described as the only offer they considered binding and complete, sources familiar with the deliberations said.
The board favored Netflix’s deal, which would yield more immediate benefits over one by Comcast. The NBCUniversal parent proposed merging its entertainment division with Warner Bros Discovery, creating a much larger unit that would rival Walt Disney (DIS.N). But it would have taken years to execute, the sources said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/how-netflix-won-hollywoods-biggest-prize-warner-bros-discovery-2025-12-06/

Their royal height-ness have arrived!

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis looked all grown up at the “Together at Christmas” carol service in London on Friday.

The little ones coordinated in navy ensembles at the Westminster Abbey event.

George, 12, towered over Louis, 7, as the brothers matched their dad, Prince William, in blue suits.

Charlotte, meanwhile, sported a dress and tights of the same color, with her hair pulled back with a large bow.

The 10-year-old princess, whose outfit featured an oversized white collar and long sleeves, completed her look with black ballet flats.

The siblings’ mom, Kate Middleton, opted for a green coat dress and a pair of black boots.

The Princess of Wales, 43, started her annual “Together at Christmas” carol service in 2021, with this year marking its fifth rendition.

While originally launched to honor those supporting their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest theme is “love in all its forms” — “within families, through friendships, across communities or even through powerful moments of connection with stranger.”

Middleton initially arrived solo to greet guests before making another entrance with her husband, 43, and their kids.

She and William have been married since April 2011 and started growing their family two years later when George arrived.

Charlotte was born in 2015, followed by Louis in 2018.

George is second in line for the throne — although his parents reportedly “delayed” telling him about his future as the King of England.

The preteen has had a busy year with many public appearances, from Trooping the Colour to Wimbledon.

Most recently, the royal heir attended the Festival of Remembrance for the first time with Middleton — and made headlines for looking tall at his mom’s side.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/05/royal-family/prince-george-princess-charlotte-prince-louis-look-grown-up-at-christmas-carol-service/

Charlie Sheen has been accused by his ex-wife Brooke Mueller of owing over $15 million in back child support, PageSix can confirm.

In documents filed on Thursday, the “Witchhouse” actress claimed Sheen has, for years, failed to pay her the full $660,000 per year in child support.

The actor — who shares 16-year-old twin boys, Bob and Max, with Mueller, allegedly owes her almost $9 million for the period between March 2011 and December 2025.

In her filing, Mueller also claimed he owes her over $6.4 million in interest, making the total more than $15 million.

The 48-year-old — who was married to Sheen from 2008 to 2011 — is demanding Sheen, 60, pay the amount owed, plus $25,000 in her legal fees associated with the motion, within 30 days of a court order.

In her plea, she told the judge that “Charlie made full child support payments through June 2011,” but in the “beginning of July 2011, he made either partial payments or failed to make any payments.”

She claimed that the “Two and a Half Men” star paid her $295,000 out of $550,000 in 2011. He allegedly failed to make any payments between 2012 and 2015.

Sheen then allegedly paid her $96,000 in 2016; $228,366 in 2017; $113,000 in 2018 and nothing between 2019 and 2022.

Mueller, however, claimed that he paid her $20,000 in 2023; $30,000 in 2024 and, so far, in 2025, he’s only paid $39,000 out of the $660,000.

Sheen has yet to respond to Mueller’s petition.

TMZ was the first to report on the news.

Mueller taking Sheen to court comes just three months after she praised him in his Netflix documentary and thanked him for his support as she battled substance addiction.

Since their divorce, Sheen and Mueller have been battling over how much child support he pays his ex for their twins.

In March 2016, the “Platoon” actor requested his payments be cut after he sold his profit rights to “Two and a Half Men” for $27 million.

At the time, he declared that his monthly income would drastically change from $600,000 a month to $167,000. He also listed having over $12 million in debt.

However, things got uglier a month later when Mueller took him to court as she claimed he owed over $89,000 in child support.

Despite requesting a second time that his payments to Mueller be slashed in late 2016, he was still forced to pay her $55,000 a month for their sons.

Meanwhile, he reduced his child support payments to Denise Richards, with whom he shares two daughters, from $55,000 a month to $20,000.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/05/celebrity-news/charlie-sheens-ex-brooke-mueller-claims-actor-owes-her-15m-in-child-support/

Meghan Markle reached out to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, following his emergency leg amputation, Page Six can confirm.

“I can confirm she has reached out to her father,” a spokesperson for the former actress said in a statement.

Page Six reported earlier Friday that Thomas had his left leg amputated below the knee after a blood clot blocked circulation and his foot became discolored. We’re told a report claiming Markle relied on her aides for help in getting in touch with her dad is untrue.

According to the 81-year-old’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., the procedure took place in the Philippines.

“My dad is being very brave. His foot turned blue and then black. It happened very quickly,” he told the Daily Mail Thursday.

The three-hour surgery came after Thomas Markle, Jr. said medical staff “did some scans and an ultrasound and said the leg had to be amputated.”

The retired lighting director was subsequently transported via ambulance to a facility in Cebu, where he was immediately rushed into surgery to have the limb removed.

Thomas Jr. explained that they had “no option” but to agree to the amputation as it was “a case of life or death.”

Meghan’s father is facing an additional procedure to remove a blood clot in his left thigh as the urgent situation unfolds.

Doctors are “extremely concerned,” Thomas Jr. told the outlet.

“One of his doctors said the next two or three days are critical. His left leg has been removed below the knee. They were worried about infection setting in — sepsis or gangrene. The flesh was black and dying,” Thomas Jr. shared.

He added that there “was no option given” in a dire medical emergency.

“It was either, ‘We have to operate now and remove the leg, or he may die.’ It was a life-threatening situation,” Thomas Jr. explained.

Thomas Jr. initially told the outlet on Dec. 2 that his father had entered the intensive care unit after an emergency procedure.

Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, expressed hope that their father could weather the stresses of the surgery.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/05/celebrity-news/meghan-markle-reached-out-to-dad-thomas-following-his-leg-amputation/

Taiwan said on Friday (Dec 5) that China had deployed warships for “military operations” stretching hundreds of kilometres from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea, posing a “threat” to the region.

Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, neither confirmed nor denied the manoeuvres.

Taiwan’s defence ministry and other security agencies were monitoring China’s activities and had a “complete grasp of the situation”, presidential office spokeswoman Karen Kuo told reporters.

She did not say how many Chinese ships were involved in the deployment, but a security source told AFP the number was “significant”. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The operations were not limited to the Taiwan Strait, but extended from the southern Yellow Sea to the East China Sea near the disputed Diaoyu Islands and on into the South China Sea and even the Western Pacific, Kuo said.

“This indeed poses a threat and impact on the Indo-Pacific and the entire region,” she said.

Taiwan urged China to “exercise restraint”, Kuo said, adding: “We are also confident that we can handle this matter well.”

Neither China’s armed forces nor state media have announced any increased military activity in the region where Taiwan said Chinese ships had been detected.

Beijing’s defence ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said on Friday that the navy’s training on the high seas complies with international law and “is not directed at any specific country or target”.

He was responding to a question about a Chinese naval flotilla that reportedly may be heading towards Australia.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said Beijing “has consistently followed a defensive policy” and urged “relevant parties” not to “overreact or … engage in groundless hype”.

China has refused to rule out using force to take Taiwan, and also contentiously claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea.

Taiwan’s intelligence chief Tsai Ming-yen said on Wednesday that October to December was the “peak season” for China’s “annual evaluation exercises”.

There was a possibility that China’s ruling Communist Party could turn seemingly routine military activities into drills targeting Taiwan, Tsai warned.

Last December, Taiwan said about 90 Chinese warships and coast guard vessels took part in vast exercises, including simulating attacks on foreign ships and practising blockading sea routes in Beijing’s biggest maritime drills in years.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/taiwan-china-warships-military-operations-south-china-sea-5563881

The number of people affected by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka has risen to over 2 million.

Heavy rains triggered fresh landslide warnings in Sri Lanka’s worst-affected central hills on Friday (Dec 5), as the death toll from last week’s Cyclone Ditwah jumped to 607.

The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), which monitors the stability of mountain slopes, said heavy rainfall could further saturate the hills and make them unstable.

“Since rainfall within the past 24 hours has exceeded 150mm, if the rains continue, evacuate to a safe location to avoid the risk of landslides,” the NBRO said in a statement.

The latest deluge was brought on by the onset of the monsoon rains, although some of the earlier flooding that began last week has started to subside.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said 607 people had been confirmed dead, with many of those previously unaccounted for now presumed killed in the devastating mudslides.

The number of missing was revised down from 341 to 214, while the number of people affected rose to just over 2 million.

The number of people in state-run refugee camps fell further to 150,000 from a peak of 225,000 as floodwaters receded in and around the capital Colombo.

Record rainfall triggered the floods and deadly landslides, which President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has described as the most challenging natural disaster in the history of the island.

FRESH IMF TALKS

Addressing parliament on Friday, Dissanayake said he had asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to delay the release of the sixth instalment of a US$2.9 billion bailout loan in order to negotiate a bigger payout.

“The IMF board was to sign off on releasing US$347 million on Dec 15, but we have now asked them to put it off because we want time to negotiate a bigger instalment,” Dissanayake said.

He said fresh talks with the Washington-based lender of last resort were essential because the country’s economic situation had drastically changed following the disaster across the island.

Friday’s new landslide alert covered areas not previously identified as high risk.

Residents evacuated from the landslide-prone central hills have already been told not to return immediately to their homes, even if they were unaffected by the slips.

In the central town of Gampola, residents worked to clear mud and repair water damage.

“We are getting volunteers from other areas to help with this clean-up,” Muslim cleric Faleeldeen Qadiri told AFP at the Gate Jumma Mosque.

“We have calculated that it takes 10 men a whole day to clean one house,” said a volunteer, who gave his name as Rinas. “No one can do this without help.”

TROOPS DEPLOYED

Sri Lanka’s military said it had deployed thousands of troops in flood-hit areas to assist with clearing operations.

The top official in charge of the recovery, Commissioner-General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi, said reconstruction costs were estimated at between US$6 billion and US$7 billion.

Dissanayake announced a raft of measures to offer generous compensation to the victims to rebuild their homes as well as livelihoods.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/sri-lanka-cyclone-ditwah-death-toll-landslides-5564256

Babies have been getting the hepatitis B vaccine worldwide since 1991, the US panel’s decision to scrap the recommendation has caused controversy, with health experts saying it “puts infants at unnecessary risk.”

Vaccine makers expressed concern on Friday’s decision (Dec 5) by a US advisory panel to scrap its long-standing recommendation that all infants receive a hepatitis B vaccine at birth, a shift that public health experts fear will undermine decades of public health advances.

Merck, whose Recombivax HB has been a staple of the US childhood immunisation programme, said it was “deeply concerned” by the decision of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP), warning it “puts infants at unnecessary risk of chronic infection, liver cancer and even death.”

The company said the universal birth dose, which was instituted in 1991, has driven a 99 per cent drop in acute hepatitis B cases in children and young adults and argued there is no evidence that delaying it provides any benefit. Infectious disease experts, as well as organisations representing paediatricians, pharmacists and public health professionals decried the move.

Hepatitis B, which can spread from mother to child during birth, can cause severe liver disease and early death, and has no cure. According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the universal hepatitis B birth dose has prevented more than 500,000 childhood infections, cut infant cases by 95 per cent and averted an estimated 90,100 deaths.

Many of the committee members, which were appointed by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine sceptic, criticised the vaccine safety data and said that the US vaccine schedule was out of step with other countries, particularly Denmark, that have low hepatitis B rates.

GSK said it stands behind the science supporting its vaccine and is awaiting the CDC’s formal adoption of the recommendation to assess its impact.

Its vaccine, Engerix-B, has been approved since 1989, with 1.4 billion doses administered worldwide.

Merck and GSK shares fell about 1 per cent each following the vote. US-listed shares of Sanofi, another maker of hepatitis B shots, rose about 0.7 per cent.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/trump-vaccine-birth-health-us-shots-5564656

The New York Times filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI on Friday (Dec 5), claiming that the artificial intelligence startup was copying, distributing and displaying millions of its articles without permission.

The startup has become a target of multiple legal disputes and faces similar accusations from a number of publishers as it tries to aggressively build market share in a hyper-competitive market for generative AI tools.

The Times said that Perplexity AI is also violating its trademarks under the Lanham Act, claiming the startup’s generative AI products create fabricated content, or “hallucinations”, and falsely attribute them to the newspaper by displaying them alongside its registered trademarks.

It said that Perplexity’s business model relied on scraping and copying content, including paywalled material.

“While we believe in the ethical and responsible use and development of AI, we firmly object to Perplexity’s unlicensed use of our content to develop and promote their products,” NYT spokesperson Graham James said in a statement.

The NYT is seeking damages, injunctive relief and other equitable remedies to prevent Perplexity from continuing its alleged unauthorised use of content.

Perplexity, which was also sued by the Chicago Tribune on Thursday, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

However, it had previously told Reuters that it was not scraping data for building foundation models, but rather indexing web pages and providing factual citations.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, comes more than a year after the NYT sent a cease and desist notice to Perplexity.

It is also the latest salvo in a bitter ongoing battle between publishers and tech companies over the use of copyrighted content without authorisation.

In October, social media company Reddit sued Perplexity in New York federal court, accusing it and three other companies of unlawfully scraping its data.

The San Francisco-based startup, which is valued at about US$20 billion, is also facing lawsuits from Encyclopedia Britannica and media baron Rupert Murdoch’s Dow Jones and the New York Post.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/new-york-times-sues-perplexity-ai-illegal-copying-content-5564191

A new government website lists journalists and media outlets that Donald Trump’s administration considers liars. Experts say the move endangers free media ― and thus erodes democracy in the US.

It’s no secret that the current US administration doesn’t have too high an opinion of journalists. President Donald Trump recently called a female reporter asking him about his involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal “piggy.”

And in a press briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt talked about how much of her job is taken up by dealing with what she labeled inaccurate characterizations published by White House correspondents.

“The fake news that we see pumped out of this building on a day-to-day basis — it’s honestly overwhelming to keep up with it all,” she said.

New White House website a media ‘Hall of Shame’

In response to what Leavitt said were “fake news and … attacks” being spread by reporters, the White House has created a website that lists media outlets and reporters who, according to the government, publish false, biased or misleading stories.

The new “Media Offenders” website includes featured “Offenders of the Week” as well as a “Hall of Shame” that consists of four pages (at time of publication) of media reports the White House has sorted into the categories bias, lie, false claim, malpractice, omission of context, mischaracterization, circular reporting, failure to report and left-wing lunacy.

In a statement released on December 1, the White House said by creating the website, it “dropped a flamethrower on the Fake News Media.”

Katherine Jacobsen, the US, Canada and Caribbean program coordinator at the non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists sees it differently.

“When the language that is being used on the website … looks like a smear campaign [and] smells like a smear campaign, it probably is a smear campaign,” Jacobsen told DW. “And I can’t overstate how concerning that is.”

White House rhetoric puts journalists at risk

Jacobsen said a website like this, created by the US government, “creates a permission structure not only for potential verbal attacks against the press, but real-world attacks.”

In addition to the criticized outlets, the website also lists the names of the reporters who wrote or produced the offending report in question.

“These journalists are trying to expose factual information, create a more transparent environment,” Jacobsen said. “We do know this kind of rhetoric ratchets up the atmosphere, and that in turn makes it less safe for journalists out there doing their job.”

The website set up by the Trump White House amounts to threatening media outlets, Jonathan Katz, a fellow in governance studies at the think tank Brookings Institution, says, too.

“It can have a chilling effect on free speech, on independent media,” Katz told DW. “We’re watching carefully to see how this affects press freedom in the United States.”

Press freedom one of the foundational principles of the US

Anything but a fully free press goes against the very DNA of the country. The first amendment to the US Constitution reads, in part, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press …”

In 1776, lawmakers in colonial Virginia passed a declaration of rights that noted the importance of a free press: “The freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.”

The late Ben Bradlee, executive editor of the Washington Post from 1968 to 1991, spoke about press freedom in 2009, on the 215th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, which includes the first amendment.

“You will never get a reporter to say that the relationships with the government are good,” Bradlee told Voice of America. “Because if he did, he would probably be lying and the government would be treating him too well. They don’t have to treat us all that well. They just have to stay out of the way.”

‘We’ve never seen a president attack the media the way Trump has’

The relationship between the federal US government and the press has never been purely harmonious. In a democracy, journalists are supposed to hold government officials accountable for their actions. That means they sometimes report stories that the government doesn’t like, and sometimes, the president and members of his government treat journalists in ways they don’t like.

But the “Media Offenders” website, along with the Pentagon’s reporting restrictions and Trump’s lawsuits against several media outlets publishing unfavorable stories about him, is a sign of how unprecedented the current US government’s antagonism against the press is.

“Every president, at times, has had issues with the media and media coverage. But we’ve never seen a president attack the media the way Trump has,” Tom Jones, senior writer at the nonprofit Poynter Institute, which, among other functions, provides journalism ethics training, told DW. “Donald Trump, by far, has been the most adversarial president when it comes to the press.”

Americans split on how critical they are of the press

White House press spokeswoman Leavitt says it is the journalists that are the problem, not the president.

“The standard for journalism has dropped to … a historic low in this country,” she said in her press briefing on December 1.

A significant number of Republican voters appear to agree with her, at least when it comes to coverage of the 2024 presidential elections.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in September 2024, before the actual election on November 5 of that year, 60% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters said the media was doing not too well or even not well at all covering the election campaign. Among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters on the other hand, 77% said the media were doing a somewhat good or even a very good job of covering the election.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/how-white-house-attack-on-journalists-affects-us-press-freedom/a-75040640

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro declared himself heir to his father’s political dynasty, saying he’ll run for president in 2026.

Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of Brazil’s jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro, said his father has chosen him to lead his far-right Liberal Party and run for president in next year’s election.

“It is with great responsibility that I confirm the decision of Brazil’s greatest political and moral leader, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, to entrust me with the mission of continuing our national project,” the younger Bolsonaro wrote on X on Friday.

His father was sentenced in September to a 27-year prison term for planning a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to current leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Shakeup for Brazil’s 2026 general elections

Flavio Bolsonaro was elected to Brazil’s senate in 2018 for an eight-year term after previously serving as a state legislator in Rio de Janeiro.

He is considered extreme on law-and-order issues, having even requested US airstrikes on boats in Rio de Janeiro to combat drug trafficking.

In his social media announcement, which included a picture of him kissing his father on the head, Bolsonaro said he “will not stand idle while families lose hope and democracy is crumbling.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/brazils-bolsonaro-backs-eldest-sons-bid-for-presidency/a-75043900

The new military service law will come into effect in January. Many think it goes too far, while others want to return to full conscription.

It is snowing, and 16-year-old Carlotta is standing on the vast military training ground in Grafenwöhr watching a howitzer 2000 fire live ammunition. It is cold and very loud when the shells are fired, so Carlotta has to wear earplugs.

This is not a day like any other for the young school student: While her friends are sitting in warm classrooms in Cologne, she has made her way to Bavaria by train alone. In the barracks of Tank Artillery Battalion 375 in Weiden, she has moved into a room and been given a uniform, in which she now stands in the winter cold on the grounds, together with two dozen other young men and women.

A whole team of supervisors looks after the young people: The German military is sparing no effort to recruit new soldiers. Carlotta also wants to see if the Bundeswehr is really something for her. To do so, she is taking part in the so-called “Discovery Days” — a kind of short internship with the troops, including early morning sports and camaraderie evenings.

The student can well imagine joining the army later. “For three or four years to start with, and if I like it, for eight years,” she told DW. But she doesn’t think much of conscription: “You shouldn’t force anything on people. It’s much better to join voluntarily than to be forced, because then you lose your motivation.”

Conscripts will earn more starting in January

Defense Minister Boris Pistoriussees it the same way: The aim of the new military service law, he says, is to motivate more young people to volunteer. One incentive is better pay: Starting in early 2026, new recruits will receive a respectable monthly wage of €2,600 ($3,000) before tax. In return, they must serve in the military for at least six months. Those who commit to at least twelve months will also receive a subsidy for their driving lessons.

Germany’s new military service, which the Bundestag approved on Friday, is therefore a kind of incentive drive with which Pistorius wants to avoid one thing: A rapid return to full conscription, which his center-left Social Democrats (SPD) reject. Military service will remain voluntary “if everything goes as well as we hope,” Pistorius emphasized in the Bundestag debate.

But will it be possible to fill the gaps in personnel without conscription? While the SPD hopes so, politicians from the other government parties, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) parties are skeptical. They would prefer to return to national service, which Germany suspended in 2011.

The Bundeswehr wants to recruit 80,000 new soldiers by 2035, and the path to that target is laid down in detail in the new law. The Defense Ministry must report its progress to the Bundestag every six months. In view of the perceived threat posed by Russia, the standing army is to grow from its current level of just under 182,000 soldiers to 260,000 — this is Germany’s commitment to NATO. In addition, there are to be 200,000 reservists.

First favored, then rejected: The lottery

The dispute over future military service plans has divided the governing coalition for months. Among the controversially discussed models was a lottery system. A proposal to determine who has to join the Bundeswehr by lottery outraged many young people in particular: Potentially life-and-death decisions should not be made at random. In general, many young people feel like they have been left out of the discussion about military service.

The new “Military Service Modernization Act” is now a compromise: For the time being, military service remains voluntary. But at the same time, all 18-year-old men will have new obligations: Starting in early 2026, they will receive a questionnaire that they must fill out. It will ask about their willingness to serve in the Bundeswehr, their physical fitness, and their education. For women, answering the questions is voluntary, as they cannot be required to perform military service under the Constitution.

From mid-2027, the process will go one step further: All men born in 2008 or later will then have to appear at an appointed to time for a fitness test that will determine, in the event of conflict, who could be drafted. Although the process will begin in 2026, it will not be until mid-2027 that the Bundeswehr will have sufficient capacity to take on new recruits.

Criticism of compulsory medicals

The compulsory medical examination is particularly controversial: Critics see it as a first step towards full conscription. They also fear that the lottery system will be back on the table if not enough volunteers come forward. In that case, the government may decide to introduce a so-called “needs-based conscription,” whereby a portion of the young men in a given age group would be drafted depending on the needs of the Bundeswehr. The decision on whether to reinstate conscription in whole or in part lies with the Bundestag.

On the day the law was passed, schoolchildren took to the streets in many German cities: “We don’t want to be locked up in barracks for half a year, trained in drill and obedience, and taught to kill,” wrote the organizers of the “school strike against conscription” in their call for nationwide rallies. “We feel neglected as a generation, and we don’t see why our generation should jump into the trenches for the government,” Leo Reinemann, a student and co-organizer of the school strike in Koblenz, told public broadcaster SWR.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/germany-new-military-service-law-polarizes-society/a-75033848

In his second term, US President Donald Trump has taken his MAGA movement global, criticizing election outcomes, climate change initiatives and migration policy while backing populist presidential candidates.

Days after the presidential election in Honduras, the two leading candidates are still neck and neck. At one point, only about 500 votes were separating the centrist Salvador Nasralla and the conservative Nasry Asfura.

This was reason enough for US President Donald Trump to pipe up for his favorite, Asfura. “Looks like Honduras is trying to change the results of their Presidential Election. If they do, there will be hell to pay!” he posted on his own social media platform Truth Social.

There have been allegations of election fraud on both sides. This is not uncommon in Honduras, where serious allegations of the like overshadowed the elections of 2013 and 2017. But since Honduras is a small country with little influence over global politics, why has Trump reacted so strongly?

For Cathryn Clüver-Ashbrook, a trans-Atlantic expert at the independent German Bertelsmann Foundation, the US president has clearly taken a liking to the idea of political spheres of influence.

“He sees himself almost as imperial in his role in the White House, and he likes it when the world dances to his tune — especially in the Western Hemisphere. And it must be emphasized that these are his interests, not those of traditional US foreign policy.”

One of his “spheres of interest” seems to be Latin America. “The military operations off the coast of Venezuela, the well over $20 billion that went to Argentinian President (Javier) Milei to save his election, the intimidation of the Colombian head of state, the election recommendation in Honduras, with threatening postures,” Clüver-Ashbrook lists.

“A new policy is emerging here that the US has not pursued so actively toward its neighbors in Latin and South America for a long time.”

Interference in Europe

But Europe is also a target.

• In Poland, Trump openly supported the nationalist-conservative EU skeptic Karol Nawrocki.
• In Hungary, he stands behind Viktor Orban.
• In Germany, the US government and the far-right AfD party are currently intensifying their contacts.

Just a few days ago, the US instructed its diplomats to promote anti-immigration policies in Europe.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that is closely aligned to Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement , has actively lobbied against the EU’s climate targets. In April, it published “Project 2025,” which is considered a blueprint for restructuring the US government.

In the first year of his second presidential term, Trump has radically changed the US’s foreign policy. More radically than almost any of his predecessors, he is breaking with the unwritten principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of allied states.

Trump sees Europe as a ‘parasite’ exploiting the US

In this context, domestic and foreign policy are essentially one and the same for the US president, concluded Celia Belin, the author of a study by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in May 2025. She argued that the US president saw his foreign policy primarily as an international continuation of the cultural struggle raging within the US.

“Liberals and Democrats are the enemy within; Europeans are their extension outside,” she wrote. She went on to say that Trump perceived Europe as a “parasite” exploiting the US, just as he accuses Democrats in the US of weakening the country.

“An ideologization of US foreign policy can already be found in the core documents of Project 2025,” agreed Clüver-Ashbrook, explaining that these argued that US foreign policy should be more closely aligned with strict conservative values.

This, she continued, fits in with the attitude of Trump’s former campaign advisor Steve Bannon, who recently described Russia in an interview as a “devoutly Christian nation” and a “true ally during World War II.”

She explained that the Trump administration was breaking with previous foundations of US foreign policy and pursuing a “major ideological shift” driven by “very strategic ambitions regarding foreign policy.”

Clüver-Ashbrook pointed out that Europeans were not only on ending the war in Ukraine but there had been several occasions, on which left-wing liberal Europeans in particular had been treated with contempt by representatives of the US government.

She cited a Signal chat about a potential US attack on Yemen that was leaked by The Atlantic, a US magazine, earlier this year, in which US Vice President JD Vance said that it would benefit Europe more than the US. “I just hate bailing Europe out again,” he wrote. And in response, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who now calls himself Secretary of War, wrote: “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC.”

Europe is in the midst of a cultural war

According to Pawel Zerka from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Europe is in the midst of a cultural war fueled by this mindset. He believes the US government is waging an open ideological battle in Europe too over values such as migration, climate change, “wokeism” and freedom of expression.

He says that Trump supports New Right movements wherever possible, normalizing its radical positions. The strategies supported by MAGA ideology include active interference in elections in favor of right-wing and conservative candidates, he explains, as well as the establishment of a kind of “MAGA International” through the creation of conservative networks and the promotion of right-wing media outlets, parties, and conferences such as the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/donald-trump-maga-honduras-2025-election-migration-climate-change-policies/a-75023825

Bihar-born Abhay Kumar Singh, a medical graduate from Russia, joined President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party in 2015. He became the first Indian-origin lawmaker in Russia after winning an election in 2017. Speaking to India Today TV, he recalled how he infused Indian-style campaigning into Russian elections, which helped him secure a record-margin victory.

In 1991, when Abhay Kumar left Patna to study medicine in Russia, he never imagined he would one day become a lawmaker in a foreign land. Today, the Bihar-born Kumar serves as a Deputat in the Kursk city legislature, a role equivalent to an MLA in India.

Days before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tenth state visit to India, Abhay Kumar Singh hailed Russia-made India’s S-400 batteries as “a very good missile system”. He, however, urged India to acquire the advanced S-500 missile system.

“S-400 is a very good missile system. But the S-500 is the latest technology, and it is being used in Russia only. Russia is not giving it to any other country. If Russia decides to supply it to India, India will become the first country to get it. Even China hasn’t got this system,” Singh, who also won his second election in 2022, said.

So, who is Abhay Kumar Singh, the boy from Patna who went on to become an MLA in Russia and a member of Putin’s party.

HOW ABHAY KUMAR SINGH, MEDICINE STUDENT FROM PATNA, GET INTO RUSSIAN POLITICS?

Abhay Kumar Singh is a native of Bihar’s Patna, and did his schooling at Loyola High School. In Russia, he completed his graduation from Kursk State Medical University in Russia.

After the course’s completion, he returned to Patna to practice as a registered doctor. But he soon went back to Russia to start a pharmaceutical business, later expanding into real estate and construction.

Soon, the Patna boy became a known business personality in Kursk, overcoming all the obstacles being a non-white foreigner he found on his way.

He joined politics in 2015 and contested the polls for the first time in 2017.

HOW SINGH JOINED PUTIN’S PARTY, TOOK BIHAR TO RUSSIA

Singh’s foray into politics began when he joined the United Russia party, the ruling party of Putin, in 2015.

Just two years later, in 2017, he contested and won a seat in the Kursk city assembly as a “deputat”, becoming the first Indian-origin lawmaker elected to public office in Russia.

Speaking to India Today TV, Abhay Kumar Singh recalled his political journey and how he blended Indian politics into Russian elections.

“Politics has always been a part of me. You know, even school children in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh talk about politics and understand it. I joined politics in 2015 after being inspired by Putin,” he said.

Speaking about Russian politicians, he said that in Russia, lawmakers do not interact with people. However, when he first contested elections in 2017, he decided to add an Indian political ‘tadka’ to the Russian elections.

“In Russia, MLAs and MPs do not stay in touch with the people. We brought a tadka of Indian politics to the Russian elections. We held many public meetings and interacted with the local people. In return, they ensured I won with record numbers,” Singh, who represents Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine, told India Today TV.

According to a 2023 report in The Week, Kursk elected Singh as the “first Indian-origin lawmaker not once but twice”, in 2017 and 2022.

Singh also noted Russia’s growing openness to Indian skilled and semi-skilled workers, while claiming Western countries, especially the US, are tightening long-term stay opportunities for Indians.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/putin-bihari-mla-dr-abhay-kumar-singh-kursk-region-who-added-indian-tadka-to-russian-polls-s500-defence-patna-2831222-2025-12-06

A HUGE fire has erupted at the Roswell Air Center nearby the mysterious Hangar 84, the site linked to the bizarre 1947 UFO crash.

Just south of the “alien” site, local fire crews arrived at the scene after the blaze was reported late on Thursday.

Massive plumes of smoke filled the sky, in New Mexico, as the horror fire unfolded.

Officials were initially alarmed the fire could trigger a devastating explosion with hazardous materials and oxygen canisters stored in close proximity.

After considering the risk of explosion, authorities expanded the safety perimeter and were forced into a shock evacuation of neighbouring facilities.

Conspiracy theorists are convinced the eerie coincidence was set-up by officials to burn the bodies of stashed aliens.

The smoking scene was reported at 7:55pm and by 9:45pm Roswell firefighters were able to contain the flames.

No injuries have been reported and authorities are yet to confirm the cause of the blaze and if any historical objects were destroyed by the flames.

Alien conspiracy theorists have been having a field day with the incident launching a fresh wave of extraterrestrial speculation.

Theorists have often sparked rumours about Hangar 84, claiming it’s linked to the mysterious 1947 Roswell crash.

They have taken to social media to discuss the fire, raising questions about what secrets are still buried at this iconic landmark.

One Reddit user said: “Chances are they were storing alien bodies in this hangar for over 80 years, but then when a documentary came out, they were like “alright boys, they all know now. Time to light it up and skedaddle.”

Another person wrote on X: “Well, isn’t that super interesting and an oddly timed “coincidence”… that right as the public starts getting all curious about our past… weird fire breaks out for no reason right next to Hangar 84.”

Authorities are yet to release further information regarding the incident.

The infamous Roswell incident captured international attention when the US Air Force claimed they had recovered debris from a “flying disk.”

Officials attended the peculiar scene on a rancher’s land, after he reported the unusual debris.

On July 8 1947, the intelligence office announced the wreckage was pieces of a flying saucer.

Major Jesse Marcel, an investigator, recalled the site as being ” a large area heavily scattered with metallic debris from a single impact point that scarred the Earth.”

In what conspiracists call a suspicious twist, the military did a u-turn less than 24-hours later, announcing the debris had come from a crashed weather balloon.

Since the incident, worldwide fascination with UFO’s and Aliens has exploded with many alleging the American government have been covering-up their existence.

Earlier this year Britain’s brainiest scientists told The Sun aliens might be lurking on a far-off ocean planet in an “astounding” discovery.

Top alien-hunting astronomers at the University of Cambridge say they’re now 99.7% confident they’ve spotted the best-ever-seen signal of biological activity – and say the planet may be “teeming with life”.

It’s taking place on a distant alien world called K2-18b, which is 120 lightyears away and roughly 2.5x the size of Earth.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15596916/roswell-fire-ufo-hanger-alien-bodies/

Finland cut Russian energy imports and closed the shared border after the Ukraine war, erasing €12 billion in trade. The shocks deepened the Nordic nation’s deficit, already strained by defense and welfare spending.

Finland, ranked the world’s happiest nation for eight years and traditionally one of the European Union’s most fiscally disciplined countries, has just received a wake-up call from Brussels.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, last week ordered Helsinki to devise a credible plan to resolve the country’s budget deficit, which has crossed the EU’s limit of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP).

The Commission said Finland’s deficit was projected to reach 4.5% of GDP in 2025, while the country’s debt burden was set to hit 90% of GDP next year, up by nearly half since 2019.

The Nordic nation, whose annual economy is worth €300 billion ($349 billion), has now been formally placed under the EU’s Excessive Deficit Procedure. This could lead to financial sanctions, including large fines, suspension of EU funds and stricter fiscal oversight by Brussels.

Low growth, high spending, then Ukraine war

Since the 2008/09 global financial crisis, Finland has struggled with fiscal discipline. The collapse of mobile phone maker Nokia, once the engine of growth, left the economy without a clear driver.

That challenge was deepened in recent years by high welfare costs, a huge increase in defense spending and the economic shock of severing energy and trade ties with neighbor Russia over the war in Ukraine.

In 2021, before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, bilateral trade between Moscow and Helsinki reached €12.71 billion and made up 4.3% of the Finnish economy. By the first three quarters of this year, trade had fallen by nearly 93%.

The collapse was compounded by Finland’s decision to close its eastern border in late 2023, citing security concerns and Moscow’s weaponized migration tactics. The move halted cross‑border shopping and tourism almost overnight, hitting Finnish border regions especially hard.

According to the Bank of Finland, the country’s central bank, more than 2,000 Finnish firms exported to Russia in 2019. By the end of 2023, that number had dropped to around 100.

Jarkko Kivisto, adviser to the Bank of Finland’s forecasting division, told DW that it’s hard to measure the direct impact of the collapse in Finnish-Russian trade on the deficit.

“We don’t have an estimate for this effect,” Kivisto told DW, adding that the impact had been “indirect through weaker economic activity and lower value added, as well as missing tax revenues from Russian tourism.”

Defense budget hiked over Russian aggression

Faced with its own threats from the Kremlin, from disinformation campaigns to airspace violations, Finland has sharply raised defense spending from €5.1 billion in 2022 to over €6.2 billion in 2024, now exceeding 2.3% of GDP.

The NATO member has pledged to push military spending toward 3% by 2029, which would make it one of the highest spenders in Europe.

Asked whether the fallout from the Ukraine war would have tipped Finland’s deficit over the edge, forcing additional EU scrutiny, Lauri Holappa, Executive Director of the Finnish Centre for New Economic Analysis (UTAK), told DW: “Maybe. It’s possible.”

“Without the invasion, you can argue that we could have used those inputs [defense spending] on more productive things,” added Holappa.

The combination of military spending, collapse of bilateral trade and near-total loss of Russian tourism would have forced the Finnish government to take on additional debt — at a time when the debt burden was already climbing sharply.

Before the war, about a third of Finland’s energy supply came from Russia, leaving the country highly exposed when supplies were cut.

“The largest effect came from the higher energy prices as Finland was quite dependent on energy inputs from Russia,” Heil Simola, senior economist at the Bank of Finland’s Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT), told DW.

Energy crisis hiked Finland’s oil costs

Simola said the Nordic country was able to diversify from Russian energy sources relatively quickly — albeit at much higher prices. The switch jacked up Finland’s oil import costs by 109% to over €6 billion in 2022 alone, according to state agency Statistics Finland. Finnish exporters were able to adjust to the wiping of nonenergy trade with Russia without cutting output or jobs, Simola added.

Moscow has, meanwhile, sought to weaponize the deficit debate by spreading disinformation that exaggerates the economic fallout of cutting trade with Moscow, framing Helsinki as unstable, when the deficit issue had been growing for years.

Domestic pressures have mainly pushed Finland’s deficit over EU-acceptable limits. An ageing population has swelled pension and health care costs, while the country’s extensive welfare state — employing nearly a third of the workforce — makes fiscal consolidation politically fraught.

Finland faces years of austerity

Despite the challenges, Finland’s government has passed one of the EU’s strictest budgets for 2025, combining steep spending cuts with tax hikes. A new so-called debt-brake mechanism commits all political parties to long-term deficit reduction. However, some policymakers warn that additional austerity measures and tax hikes will be needed in the next parliamentary term.

“Economic growth alone will not be sufficient to restore fiscal balance,” the Bank of Finland’s Kivisto told DW. “Rough estimates suggest adjustments [tax rises and public sector cuts] of approximately 3% of GDP, or €9–10 billion, are needed over the next 5–10 years.”

But with 80% of Finland’s GDP coming from domestic sectors like household consumption, public services, construction, retail and state-sector employment, economists caution that strict fiscal rules risk choking off the very growth the country needs.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/finland-russia-war-ukraine-eu-budget-deficit-spending-trade-nato/a-74917409

On a jagged coastline in Central California, brown pelicans gather on rock promontories, packed in like edgy commuters as they take flight to feed on a vast school of fish just offshore. The water churns in whitecaps as the big-billed birds plunge beneath the surface in search of northern anchovies, Pacific sardines and mackerel.

If awkward and wobbly in appearance on land, they are graceful once airborne. The signature pouch dangling beneath the lower bill can scoop up to 3 gallons of water with every dip into the ocean — the largest pouch of any bird in the world.

It is what scientists call a “feeding frenzy.” And it is an encouraging sign for a bird that has struggled in recent years with a warming ocean, inconsistent breeding patterns and toxic algae blooms in Southern California.

“I would say the populations are somewhat stable, but some events are concerning,” says marine ornithologist Tammy Russell, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The gorging seabirds are a “good sign for the marine environment,” Russell said.

On this warm, clear day, thousands of birds have populated the nearby beaches and cliffs, drawn by the abundant food. Cormorants and gulls mix with the pelicans. The incessant roar of the waves and the chorus of bird cries are all that can be heard on this jutting jawbone of coast.

The bird’s range along the Pacific coast extends from British Columbia, Canada, into Mexico. In their struggle for survival, Russell notes that the California brown pelican was once on the federal endangered species list, after a sharp population decline was attributed to the pesticide DDT, which causes eggshell thinning. The population recovered, and the bird was removed from the list in 2009, though it still faces multiple challenges.

They are large birds, with adults weighing about 8 pounds with a wingspan of nearly 7 feet. And because they are big, they need large volumes of fish each day, their favorite food.

“When they don’t get that, they can crash pretty quickly,” Russell noted.

If the water warms, fish can move into deeper, colder water, making it more difficult for the birds to feed. Last year, scores of sick and starving pelicans were found in coastal California communities, and many others died. Wildlife authorities were baffled in 2022 when large numbers of California brown pelicans were found sick and dying.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/california-brown-pelicans-feeding-frenzy-coast-c7292ef7377c5c123eda38e4afe62110

 

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on whether some children born in the US have a constitutional right to citizenship.

On his first day in office in January, President Donald Trump signed an order to end birthright citizenship for those born to parents who are in the country illegally, but the move was blocked by multiple lower courts.

No date has been set yet for the Supreme Court arguments, and a ruling is months away.

Whatever the court decides could have major implications for Trump’s immigration crackdown and for what it means to be an American citizen.

For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution has established the principle that anyone born in the country is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and foreign military forces.

The language of the amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”

Trump’s executive order seeks to deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas. It is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to reform the nation’s immigration system and combat what they have called “significant threats to national security and public safety”.

The administration has argued the 14th Amendment clause “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means the amendment excludes children of people who are not in the country permanently or lawfully.

Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the plaintiffs in the case, told the BBC’s news partner CBS that no president can change the 14th Amendment’s fundamental promise of citizenship.

“For over 150 years, it has been the law and our national tradition that everyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen from birth,” Ms Wang said in a statement.

“We look forward to putting this issue to rest once and for all in the Supreme Court this term,” she added.

The US is one of about 30 countries – mostly in the Americas – that grant automatic citizenship to anyone born within their borders.

After legal challenges were brought to Trump’s executive order, several federal court judges ruled that it violated the Constitution, while two federal circuit courts of appeals upheld injunctions blocking the order from going into effect.

Trump then went to the Supreme Court to fight the injunctions. In a win for Trump, the court ruled in June that the injunctions issued by the lower courts exceeded their authority, though it did not address the issue of birthright citizenship itself.

The 14th Amendment was passed in the wake of the US Civil War in order to settle the question of the citizenship of freed, American-born former slaves.

US Solicitor General D John Sauer has argued that the amendment was adopted “to confer citizenship on the newly freed slaves and their children, not on the children of aliens temporarily visiting the United States or of illegal aliens”.

He has said it’s a “mistaken view” that birth on US soil confers citizenship and has argued that that understanding has had “destructive consequences”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c208j0wrzrvo

Frank Gehry, one of the most influential architects of the last century, has died aged 96.

Gehry was acclaimed for his avant garde, experimental style of architecture. His titanium-covered design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, catapulted him to fame in 1997.

His breakthrough in the architectural world came years earlier when he redesigned his own home in Santa Monica, California, using materials like chain-link fencing, plywood, and corrugated steel.

His death was confirmed by his chief of staff Meaghan Lloyd. He is survived by two daughters from his first marriage, Leslie and Brina, as well as his wife, Berta Isabel Aguilera, and their two sons, Alejandro and Samuel.

Born in Toronto in 1929, Gehry moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to study architecture at the University of Southern California, before completing further study at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1956 and 1957.

After starting his own firm, he broke from traditional architectural principles of symmetry, using unconventional geometric shapes and unfinished materials in a style now known as deconstructivism.

Through blending unexpected materials and sheathing buildings in stainless steel to create curvy exteriors, Gehry created buildings that took on arresting sculptural shapes.

Later in his career, Gehry used 3D modelling similar to that used by aerospace engineers to shape windy buildings, a practice largely avoided by other architects because of the complexity and costliness of construction.

In 1989, at the age of 60, Gehry was awarded the industry’s top accolade, the Pritzker Architecture prize, for lifetime achievement.

The Pritzker jury said his work possessed a “highly refined, sophisticated and adventurous aesthetic”.

“His designs, if compared to American music, could best be likened to Jazz, replete with improvisation and a lively unpredictable spirit,” the panel said at the time.

Gehry’s international breakthrough with the Guggenheim transformed the city of Bilbao, boosting tourism to the city and the local economy. Crafted out of titanium sheets, limestone, and glass, the museum was instantly celebrated as a modern marvel.

Architect Philip Johnson, Gehry’s American contemporary, described the structure as “the greatest building of our time”.

Other cities tried to replicate its success, branded the “Bilbao effect”, where investment in daring art could revitalise ailing economies.

The cultural phenomenon was parodied in a 2005 episode of The Simpsons, in which the fictional town of Springfield invites Gehry, who voiced himself in the cartoon TV show, to design a new concert hall.

In the episode, the shape of the concert hall is jokingly inspired by a letter Gehry had scrunched up.

The guest appearance later “haunted” Gehry, who told the Observer in 2011 that people sincerely believed his real-life designs were inspired by crumpled paper instead of complex computations.

Washington must move even faster to bolster critical minerals projects and offset Beijing’s grip on the world’s supply of the building blocks for electronics, weapons and a range of other goods, three U.S. mining and refining executives said on Thursday.
The push underscores how Washington’s surging support this year for the sector – including taking stakes in mining companies and guaranteeing a price floor for the only U.S. rare earths mine – is falling short of what industry leaders say is needed amid intense Chinese competition.

Executives from Perpetua Resources (PPTA.O), American Rare Earths (ARR.AX), and Westwin Elements told the Reuters NEXT conference in New York that the U.S. government should release a comprehensive minerals plan, pressure Indonesia to trim nickel production, and speed up the time for the U.S. Export-Import Bank and other agencies to approve loan funding, among other steps.
“We need an industrial vision,” said Melissa Sanderson, a director at American Rare Earths, which is working to build a rare earths mine in Wyoming.
“What we need is an integrated plan for building the critical minerals supply chain with all of the myriad inputs, antimony, nickel, copper, rare earths and how that flows through to the battery makers, to the magnet manufacturers, to the various end-users.”

KaLeigh Long, CEO of privately held Westwin, which is building the only U.S. nickel refinery, is asking the Trump administration to pressure Indonesia to limit its nickel output, which has surged in the past two years to roughly 60% of global supply and dragged down nickel prices nearly 50% as a result.
That forced BHP BHP.AX and others to shutter their operations and has posed a challenge for Westwin as it aims to secure financing to refine 34,000 metric tons of nickel per year in Oklahoma by 2030.
“I’m really urging the U.S. government to think simple,” Long said. “In terms of nickel, let’s get a quota on Indonesian production. You do that, and I can almost promise you that overnight you will see a cure in the nickel price.”
Long said a price floor for nickel from Washington would be impractical given the large size of the market for that metal and pushed for limits on Indonesia’s output instead.

“A price floor is kind of a waste of our energy right now,” she said. “I don’t see that being a stable solution or a near-term solution.”
Rare earths, though, are a much smaller market than nickel and price supports are key until there is more transparent pricing, said Sanderson, a former U.S. diplomat and executive at copper miner Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N).

The London Metal Exchange, for example, trades nickel but not rare earths, a market that China also dominates.
“The LME has shown no interest so far in trying to develop a rare earths market and part of that is because it’s currently a narrow spectrum of an already narrow market,” Sanderson said. “It would be helpful if LME were to develop a pricing mechanism for rare earths, but the question becomes, ‘Would China actually honor it?'”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-minerals-projects-seek-more-support-washington-compete-with-china-2025-12-04/

During a closed-door White House meeting in his first term, President Donald Trump demanded to know why the U.S. was accepting immigrants from “shithole countries” like Haiti and some African nations, remarks widely reported at the time by Reuters and other media outlets.

Outrage followed. Lawmakers, including some Republicans, condemned the language as offensive. Even Trump sought to do damage control, denying in a social media post that he had used those words.

On Tuesday, during a televised cabinet meeting, Trump reacted to reports of government fraud among pockets of Minnesota’s large Somali population by calling immigrants there “garbage” and saying he wanted them sent “back to where they came from.”
This time around, Republican members of Congress stayed quiet. Vice President JD Vance banged the table in agreement, while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized Trump’s remarks as “amazing” and an “epic moment.”
The response underscored how Trump’s racial views are no longer seen as out of bounds among some of his allies and supporters. Civil rights advocates and researchers say his comments have become increasingly bold, normalized and politically permissible.

“Racism is no longer a dog whistle in America. We’re dehumanizing and targeting people,” said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, a group that pushes for better voter access for marginalized and predominantly Black communities.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement that President Trump is right to highlight problems caused by”radical Somali migrants.”
“While the media feigns outrage, Americans who have suffered at the hands of these schemes will celebrate the president’s comments and strong support for American citizens,” Jackson said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week that his agency is investigating allegations that tax dollars from Minnesota were diverted to the militant group Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Trump has a long history of racist rhetoric, particularly against immigrants of color. He propelled himself into national politics by advancing the false conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama, a Democrat, was not born in the United States.

Critics say that, as president, Trump has implemented policies that reflect his rhetoric, particularly his immigration crackdown.
On Wednesday, Trump doubled down on his comments, telling reporters in the Oval Office that Somalia “is considered by many to be the worst country on earth” and accusing Somali immigrants of having “destroyed the country.”
Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and several other Democrats in Congress called his comments “xenophobic and unacceptable” in a statement and warned that militant groups like the Islamic State could use them to stoke anti-American sentiment abroad.

ESCALATING RHETORIC

Alvin Tillery, a political science professor at Northwestern University, said that Trump’s use of the presidential bully pulpit as a platform for racist commentary is “absolutely unique” in the modern era and goes beyond the rhetoric of previous Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, who were often criticized for making what many saw as thinly veiled racial appeals.
“They never went anywhere near this kind of hateful rhetoric targeting communities of color or minority groups,” Tillery said. “It’s very dangerous.”
In many ways, Trump’s immigration policies echo his political statements. He has blocked virtually all new refugees, save for white South Africans whom he falsely claims are the targets of a “white genocide.”
Masked federal officers have employed aggressive tactics in immigration sweeps across the country and have been criticized for detaining people who simply look Latino or speak Spanish.
In recent days, Trump has escalated his rhetoric and immigration restrictions in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C. The suspected shooter, an Afghan national who came to the U.S. under a program for Afghans who helped American forces during the war in their country, pleaded not guilty to murder and other crimes.
In response, the White House announced it was pausing immigration applications from 19 non-European countries.
Immigration remains one of Trump’s stronger issues, though Reuters/Ipsos polling shows his net approval rating on the subject has gone from plus-7 in January to negative-10 in mid-November. Still, analysts say it gives him leverage at a time when broader support for his policies is faltering.
“It is easy to scapegoat immigrants and say they’re the reason for all these problems,” said Melik Abdul, a Republican strategist and political commentator who supports Trump.

LANGUAGE CARRIES RISKS

Historians say there’s risk to people of color when authorities use racist rhetoric. In October, leaked political group chats exposed racist, antisemitic and violent rhetoric among young Republican leaders, fueling concerns that hate speech has become normalized in American politics.
Trump’s comments on Tuesday have alarmed the sizable Somali American community in Minnesota, amid news reports of possible federal immigration raids there. There were 76,000 people of Somali descent living in Minnesota in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau; more than half were born in the United States.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-garbage-rhetoric-about-somalis-draws-cheers-administration-silence-2025-12-04/

The U.S. Supreme Court revived on Thursday a redrawn Texas electoral map designed to add more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives, boosting President Donald Trump’s quest for his party to keep control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.
The court, whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Trump, issued the ruling amid a nationwide battle unfolding in Republican-governed and Democratic-led states involving the redrawing of electoral maps to change the composition of congressional districts for partisan advantage.

A lower court that had blocked Texas from using the map concluded it likely was racially discriminatory in violation of U.S. constitutional protections.
The reinstated map – sought by Trump, approved in August by the Republican-led state legislature and signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott – could flip as many as five currently Democratic-held U.S. House seats to Republicans. Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Texas Republicans cheered the ruling. Texas Democrats called it an affront to democracy, and the Supreme Court’s three liberal justices dissented from the court’s action, which came in an unsigned order.

Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both chambers of Congress. Ceding control of either the House or Senate to the Democrats in the November 2026 elections would endanger Trump’s legislative agenda and open the door to Democratic-led congressional investigations targeting the president.

‘DELICATE FEDERAL-STATE BALANCE’

The Supreme Court granted a request by Texas officials to lift the lower court’s ruling blocking the map.
“The District Court improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections,” the court said in a brief opinion explaining the decision.
The court in the order, acknowledging the political aims of Texas to benefit the Republican Party, also said the lower court mistakenly did not fault the new map’s challengers for not themselves producing “a viable alternative map that met the state’s avowedly partisan goals.”

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan criticized the court’s majority, saying it disrespected the work of the lower court, whose ruling actually was authored by a judge appointed by Trump.
“We are a higher court than the district court, but we are not a better one when it comes to making such a fact-based decision,” Kagan wrote in a dissent joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“This court’s stay guarantees that Texas’s new map, with all its enhanced partisan advantage, will govern next year’s elections for the House of Representatives. And this court’s stay ensures that many Texas citizens, for no good reason, will be placed in electoral districts because of their race. And that result, as this court has pronounced year in and year out, is a violation of the Constitution,” Kagan wrote.

CALIFORNIA REACTS

Democratic-governed California reacted to the Texas redistricting by initiating its own effort targeting five Republican-held districts in the state. California voters in November overwhelmingly approved a new map beneficial to Democrats. The Trump administration has sued California to try to stop its new congressional map from taking effect.
Republicans in the Indiana state House of Representatives are expected on Friday to approve a new map targeting the state’s only two Democratic U.S. House members. It is unclear whether the map has enough support to pass the Republican-controlled state Senate.

Other states including Republican-led North Carolina, Missouri and Florida and Democratic-led Virginia and Maryland have either passed new maps or are considering doing so.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, lauding the Supreme Court’s ruling, said that “Texas is paving the way as we take our country back, district by district, state by state.”
“This map reflects the political climate of our state and is a massive win for Texas and every conservative who is tired of watching the left try to upend the political system with bogus lawsuits,” Paxton said.
Democratic lawmakers in Texas expressed anger.
“The Supreme Court failed Texas voters today, and they failed American democracy. This is what the end of the Voting Rights Act looks like: courts that won’t protect minority communities even when the evidence is staring them in the face,” said Gene Wu, the Democratic State House minority leader, referring to the landmark 1965 U.S. law that barred racial discrimination in voting.
“Latino and Black voters are being punished for how we vote, plain and simple,” State Representative Ramón Romero Jr. said.
Redrawing the boundaries of electoral districts in a state is a process called redistricting. There have been legal fights at the Supreme Court for decades over a practice called gerrymandering – the redrawing of district boundaries in order to marginalize a certain set of voters and increase the influence of others.
The Supreme Court in a 2019 ruling declared that gerrymandering for partisan reasons – to boost the electoral chances of one’s own party and weaken one’s political opponent – cannot be challenged in federal courts. Gerrymandering driven primarily by race remains unlawful under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law and 15th Amendment prohibition on racial discrimination in voting.
Many Texas Republican lawmakers have said the new map was devised in response to Trump’s request to redraw electoral maps for a partisan advantage in House races. But the El Paso-based court ruled 2-1 on November 18 that the map likely amounted to an unlawful racial gerrymander, siding with civil rights groups that sued to block it.
Each of the 50 U.S. states is represented in Congress by two U.S. senators, with representation in the 435-seat House based on population. California, the most-populous state, has the most House members with 52, while Texas is second with 38. Republicans currently hold 25 of 38 U.S. House seats in Texas.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us-supreme-court-revives-pro-republican-texas-voting-map-2025-12-04/

In the days after a Washington Post report raised questions about a September strike by the US military on a suspected drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, lawmakers in Congress pledged to investigate further.

It was a rare moment of bipartisan concern about a controversial Trump administration action – prompting speculation that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was narrowly confirmed to office in January, might be on shaky ground.

“Members are very concerned,” Republican Congressman Mike Turner said in a television interview on Thursday morning. He added that his colleagues were questioning the accuracy of information provided to them by the Trump administration.

By Thursday afternoon, however, after senior members of Congress reviewed footage and heard from the admiral in charge of the operation, familiar partisan divisions had begun to reemerge.

Republicans defended the boat strike operation – and praised Hegseth.

Democrats condemned what they saw – and called for further inquiries.

At the heart of the divide is a fundamental disagreement over the legality, and morality, of the Trump administration’s ongoing anti-narcotics military campaign in the Caribbean, including its decision to designate narcotics traffickers as “terrorist organisations” and to use lethal force against civilians without outside legal oversight.

Since that first September attack, the US has conducted at least 22 similar strikes resulting in more than 80 deaths.

The Post had reported last Friday that the US launched two attacks on the boat in question and that the second had killed two survivors from the first strike, who were in the water, clinging to the “smoldering wreck”.

The newspaper also said that prior to the attack Hegseth had given an order to “kill them all”. In comments on Tuesday, the secretary said he witnessed the first attack but had left the room before the second strike took place.

After being briefed by General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral Frank Bradley, who oversaw the operation and gave the order for the second strike, none of the congressional lawmakers said they had heard evidence that Hegseth did, in fact, issue a “kill everybody” order.

That, however, was where the consensus ended.

Jim Himes of Connecticut, the senior Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said he found the video of the second attack “deeply, deeply troubling”.

“The fact is that we killed two people who were in deep distress and had neither the means nor obviously the intent to continue their mission,” he told reporters after the briefing.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas disagreed, calling the strikes “entirely lawful and needful”.

“I saw two survivors trying to flip a boat loaded with drugs bound for the United States back over so they could stay in the fight,” he said.

For the moment, these differing descriptions from partisan lawmakers, and the original Washington Post reporting, are all the American public has on which to base their own conclusions.

That may change, however. Donald Trump has said he supports releasing the video of the second strike – as the Pentagon has done for many of its Caribbean operations in recent months.

If the video is as disturbing as some Democrats say, it could shift public opinion that has been similarly divided largely along partisan lines.

By Thursday evening, however, Hegseth’s seemingly tenuous position seemed more secure, all the more so after an inspector general report left him largely unscathed.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62dg3x8931o

Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, after Israel was allowed to compete.

They were among a number of countries who had called for Israel to be excluded over the war in Gaza, as well as accusations of unfair voting practices.

Spanish broadcaster RTVE led calls for a secret ballot on the issue at a meeting in Geneva. It said organisers denied that request – a decision that “increased [our] distrust of the festival’s organisation”.

Ireland’s RTÉ said it felt that its “participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”

Spain is one of Eurovision’s “Big Five” countries along with France, Germany, Italy and the UK.

Their artists are allowed straight into the final, as their broadcasters provide the largest financial contribution to the EBU.

Approximately 50 broadcasters, including the BBC, attended a meeting of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on Thursday to discuss the future of the contest, which is watched by more than 150 million people each year.

They were asked to back new rules intended to discourage governments and third parties from organising voting campaigns for their acts, after allegations that Israel unfairly boosted its entrant, Yuval Raphael, this year.

BBC News understands that voting to accept those measures was tied to a clause whereby members agreed not to proceed with a vote on Israel’s participation.

“This vote means that all EBU Members who wish to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 and agree to comply with the new rules are eligible to take part,” the EBU said.

Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said he was “pleased” that members had been given an “opportunity to debate” Israel’s place in the contest before the vote.

“It was a full, frank and honest and quite moving debate, but as we can see from the emphatic result, they really came together on a belief that the Eurovision Song Contest shouldn’t be used as a political theatre, it must retain some sense of neutrality.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog praised the decision to allow the country to compete, calling it “an appreciated gesture of solidarity, brotherhood, and co-operation, symbolising a victory over those who seek to silence Israel and spread hatred”.

He said he was “glad that Israel will participate again in Eurovision and I hope that the competition will remain one that sanctifies culture, poetry, and friendship between peoples and cross-border cultural understanding”.

He added that Israel “deserves to be represented on every stage in the world, and I am fully and actively committed to that”.

The CEO of Israel’s broadcaster, KAN, said the attempt to disqualify its entry “can only be understood as a cultural boycott.

“A boycott may begin today – with Israel – but no-one knows where it will end or who else it may harm,” said Golan Yochpaz.

“Is this what we truly want this contest to be remembered for on its 70th anniversary?”

The BBC, which broadcasts Eurovision in the UK, said in a statement: “We support the collective decision made by members of the EBU. This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.”

However, the decision has exposed a deep rift in the Eurovision community.

In a statement, Dutch broadcaster Avrotros said that “participation under the current circumstances is incompatible with the public values ​​that are essential to us”.

Spanish broadcaster RTVE added: “The board of directors of RTVE agreed last September that Spain would withdraw from Eurovision if Israel was part of it.”

“This withdrawal also means that RTVE will not broadcast the Eurovision 2026 final… nor the preliminary semi-finals.”

Slovenia’s broadcaster RTV added that their position also “remains unchanged”.

“The recent rule changes do not alter our view. As a public service broadcaster, RTV Slovenia is committed to upholding ethical principles and expects that equal rules and standards apply to all EBU members and all participating countries.”

Belgium’s broadcaster said it would “take a position in the coming days”.

Those who approved of the changes included Nordic broadcasters from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland who issued a joint statement saying they “supported” the EBU’s decision to “address critical shortcomings” in the voting system.

Despite that, Iceland’s RÚV said it would not make a final decision on its participation until next week.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cde6d8wyp79o

President Vladimir Putin has warned again that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war in Ukraine.

“Either we liberate these territories by force, or Ukrainian troops will leave these territories,” he told India Today. Moscow controls some 85% of Donbas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out ceding territory.

Putin’s comments come after Donald Trump said his negotiators discussing a US peace plan believed Russia’s leader “would like to end the war” after Tuesday’s talks in Moscow.

Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in Moscow, was due to meet Ukraine’s team in Florida.

Trump said Tuesday’s talks in the Kremlin were “reasonably good”, adding it was too soon to say what would happen as “it does take two to tango”.

The original iteration of the US peace plan proposed to hand over areas of the Donbas still under Ukrainian control to the de facto control of Putin – but the Witkoff team presented a modified version in Moscow.

In his India Today interview ahead of a state visit to Delhi, Putin said he had not seen the new version before his talks with Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

“That’s why we had to go over every point, that’s why it took so long,” the Kremlin leader said.

He also said Moscow disagreed with parts of the US plan.

“At times we said that yes, we can discuss this, but to that we can’t agree,” Putin said.

He did not name the sticking points. At least two significant points of contention remain – the fate of Ukrainian territory seized by Russian forces and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser and key negotiator Yuri Ushakov earlier said straight after the talks that they produced “no compromise” on ending the war.

Ushakov also implied that the Russian negotiating position had been strengthened thanks to what Moscow said were its recent successes on the battlefield.

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of stalling any ceasefire agreements, saying Moscow is seeking to seize more Ukrainian territory.

Commenting on the Kremlin talks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybhia said Putin was “wasting the world’s time”.

Ukraine has long insisted on firm security guarantees for Ukraine in any deal.

On Wednesday, Zelensky said “the world clearly feels that there is a real opportunity to end the war” – but negotiations must be “backed by pressure on Russia”, which Kyiv and its European allies accuse of deliberately stalling any ceasefire agreements.

The Ukrainian president said last week his top negotiators had managed to make some key changes in the original US peace plan – seen as strongly favouring Moscow – during talks with an American delegation in Geneva on 23 November.

In a joint statement, US and Ukrainian negotiators said at the time that they had drawn up an “updated and refined peace framework” – but provided no further details.

Top negotiators from Europe – who had voiced concern over the original US plan – were also in the Swiss city last week, meeting separately with the Ukrainian and the US teams.

In a separate development on Thursday, Germany’s Der Spiegel news website said it had obtained a confidential transcript of a conference call in which European leaders expressed concern over the US negotiations.

“There is a possibility that the US will betray Ukraine on the issue of territory without clarity on security guarantees,” French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly said, according to an English transcript of Monday’s conference call.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was quoted as warning that Zelensky had to be “extremely careful in the coming days”.

“They are playing games, both with you and with us,” Merz reportedly said.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb was also quoted as saying: “We mustn’t leave Ukraine and Volodymyr alone with these guys.”

The BBC has not seen the reported transcript.

In response to a Der Spiegel inquiry, France’s Élysée Palace stated that “the president did not express himself in those terms”. The presidential office declined to provide details on how Macron expressed himself, citing confidentiality.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgexgwr1wrro

A unique natural wonder is being eroded. Can Japan bring its breathtaking “juhyo” back from the brink?

Each winter, the upper slopes of Mount Zao in northern Japan – one of the country’s best-known ski areas – are transformed. Fir trees coated in thick frost and snow swell into ghostly figures known as “juhyo” or “snow monsters”.

Juhyo form only under exceptionally rare atmospheric conditions, emerging when strong, persistent winter winds carry supercooled water droplets that freeze on contact with the local evergreen Aomori todomatsu trees, gradually layering into rime ice.

At Mount Zao, these formations occur during sustained westerly winds of up to 26m per second (85ft per second), with surface air temperatures between -6.3C to -0.1C (21-31F) and unusually high cloud liquid water content. Under these precise conditions, the rime thickens on the windward side of trees into overlapping ridges known as “shrimp tails”, the distinctive shapes that cluster together to form the towering juhyo figures.

“Because such precise meteorological and ecological conditions align in very few places, Zao’s snow monsters are a phenomenon almost unique to northern Japan,” says Fumitaka Yanagisawa, an emeritus professor of geochemistry who studies the juhyo at Yamagata University.

The snow monsters are the biggest winter draw of the Zao area, a mountain range which lies between Japan’s Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures and attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually.

But recent research indicates that the monsters are becoming slimmer.

In August 2025, a research team led by Yanagisawa announced findings that quantified what locals have long observed. By analysing identical-angle photographs of Zao’s summit taken since 1933, the team measured the thickness of the figures on a six-point scale. The findings (which have not yet been published in a scientific journal) indicate a widespread shrinking of the juhyo.

“In the 1930s, we saw juhyo five to six metres [16-20ft] across,” Yanagisawa says. “By the postwar decades, they were often two to three metres [7-10ft]. Since 2019, many are half a metre [1.6ft] or less. Some are barely columns.”

The cause is twofold, says Yanagisawa: a warming climate and a forest under attack. The host tree, Aomori todomatsu, suffered a moth outbreak in 2013 that stripped its needles. Bark beetles followed in 2015, boring into weakened trunks. Yamagata officials report that around 23,000 firs, about a fifth of the prefectural side’s stands, have died. With fewer branches and leaves, there is little surface for snow and ice to cling to.

Another 2019 study found that in nearby Yamagata City, average temperatures from December to March have risen by about 2C (3.6F) over the past 120 years. The lower altitude limit of juhyo formation has shifted upward in step with this warming, it found, while the juhyo also last for fewer days of the year.

“Unique landscapes are already being lost to climate change,” says Akihiko Ito, an ecologist who specialises in forests and climate change at the University of Tokyo.

Research shows that Japan’s warming climate and extreme weather are already damaging many of its high mountain forests. “Seasonal shifts in spring and autumn can harm leaves, and insect outbreaks are expanding. These stresses may reduce forest growth and density,” Ito says.

Across Japan’s alpine zones, temperatures have been rising faster than the global average since the 1980s. “In scenarios where climate change continues to advance significantly by the end of this century, it is possible that in warmer-than-usual winters, juhyo may no longer form at all,” Ito says.

The threat has prompted action across Yamagata. In March 2023, the prefecture launched the Juhyo Revival Conference – a permanent council bringing together researchers, officials, local businesses and residents to coordinate long-term efforts to restore the fir forests and preserve Mount Zao’s snow monsters.

Juhyo are not only a natural spectacle but also a pillar of the local economy. “The influx of tourists supports hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops throughout the area,” says Genji Akiba, deputy director of the Zao Onsen Tourism Association. “If the juhyo disappear, it would be a huge blow.”

“Revival is a strong wish of our citizens,” says Yoko Honma, a conservation specialist at Yamagata Prefecture’s nature division. Since 2019, the local forest office has transplanted more than 190 naturally regenerated saplings from lower slopes to the summit zone near the ropeway station. “Because it takes 50 to 70 years for these firs to mature, the key is sustaining conservation across generations,” says Honma. “We need patience and continuity.”

In Murayama, about 20km (12 miles) north-west of Zao, students from a forestry and environmental science course at Murayama Technical High School have also taken up the challenge of reviving the firs.

Since 2022, the students have been planting Aomori todomatsu trees and studying how to propagate and protect the species. Together with staff from the Yamagata Forest Office, they visit Mount Zao to collect young fir saplings and bring them back to their school for research. There, they cultivate stems through cuttings and experiment with methods for artificially propagating and efficiently producing seedlings.

“It’s been challenging,” says Rin Oizumi, a second-year student in the course. “When the seeds we sowed in heavy rain finally sprouted, I felt both relief and excitement. But it was heartbreaking to find that some plots had been damaged by field mice, which had eaten the young shoots.” The students have also conducted preliminary experiments using branches of a related fir species, which have shown successful germination.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251203-japans-disappearing-snow-monsters

New investigative reports into a series of high-profile and costly Navy mishaps during a U.S.-led campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels reveal that the most intense running sea battle that the military service has faced since World War II took a toll on ships and personnel.

The four reports released Thursday cover a “friendly fire” incident in December 2024 that saw the cruiser USS Gettysburg shoot at two fighter jets from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, downing one, as well as the Truman’s collision with a merchant vessel and the loss of two more multimillion-dollar jets from the carrier to mishaps earlier this year.

Taken together, the reports paint a picture of an aircraft carrier that was not only beset by regular missile attacks that stressed the crew but also other operational demands that put pressure on top leaders to the point that the ship’s captain and navigator were extremely sleep-deprived. That was just halfway through an eight-month deployment originally slated to last six months.

One report also found that, in some parts of the ship, the intense combat operations “led to a numbness among the crew” and some sailors “lost sight of the purpose of their role to the mission.”

The four preventable mishaps cost the Navy over $100 million in three lost aircraft and damage to the Truman as well as injuries to multiple sailors. While no one died, several of the mishaps hinged on just seconds of reaction time.

‘A wake-up call’ for the Navy

The investigation into the Truman’s collision with a merchant vessel said that “had the collision occurred 100 ft forward, the impact would have likely pierced a berthing compartment with 120 sleeping Sailors.”

Capt. Dave Snowden, the Truman’s commander at the time, “reduced the angle of impact, and delayed the time to impact, which likely prevented more significant damage and potential loss of life” in the seconds before the collision, the report said.

The mishaps with the Truman are a “wake-up call” for the Navy about the demands of battle and the dangers of overextending ships and their crew, said Bradley Martin, a senior policy researcher at RAND and a retired Navy captain.

“The clear message from this deployment is that the Navy is not ready to deal with the reality of extended combat,” Martin said, adding that the Truman “was obviously at a point where it was running at a ragged edge.”

The campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen began in October 2023 when the militants began launching drones and missiles at ships in the Red Sea amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. U.S. military operations to counter the Houthis began under then-President Joe Biden, and President Donald Trump continued the campaign.

It culminated with a monthlong bombing campaign earlier this year, during which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive information about a strike over Signal chat. The Pentagon’s inspector general said Thursday that the move put U.S. troops at risk, even though Hegseth had the authority to declassify the material.

Unclear accountability following major mishaps

It is unclear what, if anything, the Navy did to hold most of the sailors and leaders involved to account because those sections in the reports were redacted. The Navy did publicly relieve Snowden of command about a week after the collision with the merchant vessel.

Adm. James Kilby, the Navy’s second-highest ranking officer, assured reporters Thursday that “accountability actions were taken across all the operators involved” in the four mishaps but he did not offer any details.

Martin of RAND said there should be individual accountability but added that “some of this is a case of the Navy writ large asking for too much and finding out what happens when too much is demanded.”

“The level of air threat that was coming from the Houthis, it’s nothing like you’d get from China, but it was enough to be stressing,” Martin said. “And I think what you saw was a lot of brittleness in the readiness and preparation.”

All four investigations revolve around the Truman. The ship was the third aircraft carrier dispatched to the region, arriving in December 2024.

Firing on US fighter jets and a collision at sea

The Truman conducted its first defensive strike against the Houthis on Dec. 22, 2024, and other ships in the carrier’s strike group spent several hours defending against retaliatory cruise missiles and attack drones.

The USS Gettysburg, one ship in the strike group, mistook several F/A-18F fighter jets from the Truman for more Houthi missiles and fired at two of them. The heavily redacted report largely faulted the sailors in the Gettysburg’s combat information center for being poorly trained and overly relying on technology that had faced problems.

The troops from one jet ejected before the missile struck, while the ship stopped the second missile shortly before impact.

In February, sailors on the Truman told investigators that they felt the strain of “a pressurized schedule and a culture of ‘just get it done.’”

As it prepared to head back to the Red Sea following a port visit, it had to sail through the highly trafficked waters just outside the Suez Canal. Running behind schedule, an officer drove the massive aircraft carrier at a speed that investigators later called unsafe. It would have needed almost a mile and a half to come to a stop after halting the engines.

As a merchant ship moved into the carrier’s path, the officer did not take enough action to escape danger, the report found, listing his actions as the top cause for the collision. The commander and the ship’s navigator also were faulted for not fully realizing the risks of the transit.

The loss of two more Navy jets

Once the ship was back in the Red Sea, the crew was conducting combat operations and “flying everyday with little exception” since March 15, Capt. Christopher Hill, the new commander, told investigators.

In April, the ship made a sharp turn to avoid an incoming Houthi missile as sailors in the hangars were moving aircraft around. As the Truman began to tilt with the turn, the jet began to slip.

The sailors moving the jet told investigators that as the plane slipped off the deck and into the ocean, its landing wheels were rolling despite the sailor inside the plane “actively attempting to brake.”

The deck also was far dirtier and more slippery than normal, partly because “high operational tempo of combat flight operations impeded the regular 10-day scrubs” that were needed.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/navy-investigations-mishaps-houthi-attacks-1d6593bb438fa0f1263c0dca43d5c25e

The end of 2025 is near. And the season of unwrapping our online lives — or at least a glimpse of what they looked like over the past year — is well underway.

Music streamers, social media sites and a host of other apps have already started delivering their annual recaps into customers’ inboxes. That gives users a peak at anything from the top songs they had on repeat and the videos they streamed the most, to online language-learning or everyday tips they turned to the internet for in 2025.

Here’s some of the biggest platforms that have already released their 2025 recaps (covering data for at least the majority of the year) — and where to find them. Most instruct users to download the latest version of their apps to get the best experience.

Spotify Wrapped

Spotify released its Wrapped on Dec. 3. The platform will prompt users to view their annual “year in audio” — recapping the top songs, artists, podcasts and more they streamed the most in 2025 (or, more specifically, January through mid November ). You can otherwise click on “Wrapped” on the top banner on the app to view your stats and download your yearly playlist.

This year, the music streamer is also introducing “Wrapped Party” — a feature that allows you to compare listening habits with friends who use Spotify, too. Wrapped Party is only available on Spotify’s mobile app. You can start it within Spotify’s Wrapped hub or searching for “Wrapped Party” within the app.

YouTube Recap

Google’s streaming giant unveiled its new “YouTube Recap” on Dec. 2, starting in North America. Recap gives an overview of YouTube users’ watch history over the last year — including top artists and songs if you listened to music on the platform.

YouTube said Recap would roll out worldwide over the first week of December. According to the platform, it can be found on the YouTube homepage or under the “You” profile tab on the mobile app or desktop. You must be signed into the platform and have the latest update.

Apple Replay

Apple Music released its annual “Replay” on Dec. 2 — which gives its users a look at their top songs, artists, genres and more streamed on the platform over the past year.

To find Replay on the Apple Music app, you need to go to the Home tab, scroll down to “Your Top Music” and then click “Go back in time,” Apple says. On the web, you can also sign into your account at replay.music.apple.com and click “Jump In.”

Amazon Delivered

Amazon’s music and podcasting service also has an annual recap, which is called “Delivered.” 2025 Delivered rolled out on Dec. 2 — available for Amazon Music customers with at least a few hours of listening history in a dozen countries.

According to Amazon, you can see Delivered by tapping the “Find” button in the Amazon Music App and navigating to “Listen Your Way.

Twitch Recap

Twitch also offers an annual recap for viewers and streamers on the platform. According to the livestreaming site, personalized recaps are only available to those who have watched or streamed at least 10 hours of content on Twitch during its yearly window — which ran from Oct. 31, 2024 to the end of October this year.

To find your Twitch recap, which went live in early December, users can visit twitch.tv/annual-recap. You will need to have an account to log in.

Duolingo Year in Review

Language-learning app Duolingo also released its annual “year in review” in early December — giving users a look at how many lessons, streaks, minutes and more they spent on the app this year.

Duolingo may prompt you to look at your 2025 recap once you open the app. But in the bottom corner of the home navigation page, there’s also a small logo you can click on to watch the review.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/spotify-youtube-twitch-amazon-recap-2025-3d057a82a1c75c13b1ddabb6da84f1f3

WASHINGTON DC pipe-bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr. has been unmasked in a resurfaced family photo five years after he allegedly planted explosive devices ahead of the January 6 riot.

The smiling image of Cole, dressed in a blue shirt and tie, was posted by his mother on Instagram for National Son’s Day in September 2024.

It marked the first time the public has seen his face since the bomb plot shocked Washington.

The snap resurfaced just hours after FBI arrested a suspect in its nearly five-year-long investigation into the person who planted pipe bombs in Washington DC before Donald Trump‘s January 6, 2021 rally.

On January 5, 2021, a shadowy figure was recorded planting two explosive devices – the night before rioters stormed the Capitol building as the 2020 presidential election was certified.

Now, the FBI and Department of Justice have announced that suspect Cole Jr. was arrested following an investigation that stumped federal agents for years.

Agents descended on his home in Woodbridge, Virginia, an affluent suburb of Washington DC, hours before confirming he was cuffed.

He’s been charged with the use of an explosive device, and more charges could be dropped as the investigation continues, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a conference.

Federal authorities said the arrest came after a painstaking investigation where detectives traced the purchase of every part of the makeshift bombs, from end caps to wires to batteries.

“Let me be clear: There was no new tip, there was no new witness. Just good diligent police work and prosecutorial work,” said Bondi.

Though the suspect’s motive remains a mystery, he has been linked to statements that show anarchist ideology, sources told MS NOW.

Unnamed law enforcement sources said the bulk of the evidence against the alleged bomber was obtained in 2021 and 2022.

It’s an embarrassing blow to the FBI as agents reportedly could have made an arrest years ago, the insiders claimed to the outlet.

The arrest brings to a close a five-year-long mystery that’s sparked conspiracy theories questioning the motives of law enforcement.

Onlookers speculated that the incident could have been a complete hoax or that the suspect was a foreign agent.

The public was left terrified after surveillance video capturing the masked and hooded bomber was released – but didn’t lead to any arrests.

It sparked nationwide fears that the violent bomber could strike again and actually detonate the device in a second feared attack.

Two bombs were recovered near the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee offices and disabled, narrowly avoiding a disastrous explosion.

Authorities believe it was planted between 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm that evening, but they weren’t found until the following morning, 15 hours later.

Cops were forced to divert from the chaos at the Capitol and disable the devices. Investigators believe the suspect had ample time to escape the scene before the devices were found.

Then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris walked just 20 feet away from the DNC bomb before authorities learned about the incident.

Although the bombs were crudely made, authorities made it clear that if the devices had been ignited, they would have hurt anyone who was near them.

Online rumors swirled about whether the bomber was connected with the riot, which mainly consisted of outraged MAGA supporters questioning the legitimacy of Joe Biden‘s election win.

Officials have offered a reward of up to $500,000 to anyone who could help bring the suspect in.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15589863/washington-dc-pipe-bomber-arrested-fbi-mystery/

A FRIGHTENING alert was accidentally sent across California and Nevada, causing panic as residents braced for a massive earthquake.

The earthquake alert warned Americans of a powerful 5.9-magnitude earthquake, advising them to “Drop, Cover, Hold on!”

The false alarm was sent to millions of people across the California Bay Area and near Carson City, Nevada.

The MyShake app, which alerts citizens of the US Geological Survey-controlled ShakeAlert system, informed residents of the mistake.

“There was no M5.9 earthquake near Carson City, NV,” the company posted on social media.

“This was a false alert by the #ShakeAlert system and this is currently being investigated.”

USGS later deleted the accidental alarm, but not before it reached the residents of San Francisco, who had been preparing for a city-ending earthquake for years.

San Francisco residents have long been warned of a massive earthquake set to destroy the city, according to The Daily Mail.

The chances of the much-anticipated “Big One” hitting the city have increased by 72 percent, USGS’ Sarah Minson previously reported.

Had the falsely reported earthquake actually happened, San Francisco would’ve been 185 miles away from the epicenter.

If the 5.9-magnitude earthquake were to hit, it would’ve been felt over 200 miles away and caused buildings to collapse, walls to crack, and windows to break.

Social media users posted the jarring messages they received.

“Phones blasting alerts across Nevada and California to Drop, Cover, Hold On! Aftershocks coming,” one person posted on social media.

The false alarm was further confirmed by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

The agency posted on X that the alert was sent “to a broad audience in Northern California.”

“Cal OES is coordinating with our Nevada and federal partners to understand exactly what the federally run monitoring system detected and why,” the agency continued.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15592746/earthquake-mistake-california-nevada/

The move allows Texas to use a new electoral map that advantages the Republican Party at next year’s midterm elections. The Republicans currently hold a slim majority in Congress.

The US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Texas can use a new electoral map that would add more Republicans to the House of Representatives.

It allows next year’s midterm elections to be held using the new districts, which were drawn to favor Republicans.

Thursday’s ruling temporarily pausesa previous judgement by a lower court that stuck down the redistricted electoral map on the grounds that it likely discriminated based on race.

Texas made an emergency request to the Supreme Court for quick actions because the qualification process in the new districts was already underway, with primary elections scheduled for March.

“The District Court improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections,” the Supreme Court said in a brief opinion explaining the decision.

Why is Texas redrawing its electoral map?

Republican lawmakers in Texas introduced the new electoral map after President Donald Trump urged his party to redraw districts to benefit him and his party.

Under the existing electoral map in Texas, Republicans hold 25 House seats while Democrats hold 13. The new map would potentially hand Republicans up to 30 seats.

This sparked a political crisis in the state along with accusations of gerrymandering — the redrawing of districts for political gain.

Thursday’s ruling in favor of the new map was backed by the Supreme Court’s six conservative justices, while its three liberal justices issued dissenting opinions.

“The District Court conducted a nine-day hearing… And after considering all the evidence, it held that the answer was clear. Texas largely divided its citizens along racial lines to create its new pro-Republican House map,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her dissent.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/texas-electoral-map-redistricting-gerrymandering-republican-supreme-court-ruling/a-75025453

After six days of inspecting the suspect’s bowel movements, New Zealand police recovered a stolen Faberge pendant that he had swallowed after being caught.

New Zealand police arrested a man suspected of stealing — and swallowing — a James Bond-inspired Faberge pendant worth some $19,000 (€16,300).

After six days of supervising the the 32-year-old suspect’s bowl movements, police said the limited-edition Faberge egg had been recovered late on Thursday.

Police said the piece of jewelry came out of the thief’s body naturally, without any medical intervention.

They also provided a photo of the recovered pendant and the attached price tag, which stayed intact despite going through the thief’s digestion system.

Inspector Grace Anderson said police would continue monitoring the man.

“Given this man is in Police custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him given the circumstances of what has occurred,” she said.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/stolen-faberge-egg-bowel-movement-new-zealand/a-75025623

Taylor Swift cut a hefty check to snag a bride’s wedding date at a posh Rhode Island venue, Page Six is told.

Multiple sources tell us that the billionaire pop superstar wanted to marry her fiancé, Travis Kelce, at Ocean House in Watch Hill on Saturday, June 13, 2026.

However, upon learning that another couple was already set to tie the knot there on that day, Swift dipped into her deep pockets and made an offer the bride couldn’t refuse.

Reps for Swift, Kelce and Ocean House did not respond to Page Six’s repeated requests for comment.

As Page Six previously reported, Ocean Hill has been on the singer-songwriter’s radar for some time.

After Swift and the NFL star — who got engaged in August — started going over their guest list, sources told us they realized they wanted to invite a lot more people than they initially thought.

The US Sun later reported that the ceremony would be held at Swift’s Watch Hill mansion. Our sources said that might not be a realistic venue, so the couple turned their sights to Ocean House.

Notably, the luxury hotel and event space is located a stone’s throw away from the Grammy winner’s estate.

As for why Swift, 35, was allegedly adamant about the June 13, 2026, date to marry Kelce, 36, it seems to be numerically significant.

Swifties already know that their Easter egg-loving idol’s favorite number is 13, but upon further dissection, we noticed that there could actually be more meaning behind the day, which has been highly speculated about online.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/04/entertainment/taylor-swift-cut-hefty-check-to-snag-brides-wedding-date-at-posh-rhode-island-venue/

Kim Kardashian revealed she changed her name shortly before she and her family achieved reality TV fame with “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

“I used to always go by Kimberly, until we signed on to do the reality show. And when I looked at my chyron, Kimberly Kardashian, I said, ‘I think that’s so long for people to say.’ And like, ‘Let’s just shorten it to Kim,’” the “Kardashians” star, 45, told Time in an interview published on Thursday.

“And it’s so weird, because all my friends from high school and growing up, and my dad, everyone calls me Kimberly.”

The Skims founder, who has been known to use her name when branding her various entrepreneurial endeavors, also took credit for ultimately getting her family to agree to the reality TV show.

“I think I was the one that convinced everyone for sure. I really wanted it. I really wanted to do a reality show since the day MTV’s ‘The Real World’ came out and I watched it with my best friend,” Kardashian shared.

“I looked at her and I told her, ‘That’s what I’m going to do.’ And she said, ‘I’ll be your manager.’ I think we were 11. I said, ‘When we’re 18, we have to make a tape and send it into “The Real World.”‘

“Her dad’s in the music-business management world. So she said, ‘Oh, we can get my dad to send it to someone at MTV.’ We made a whole plan,” she continued.

While the job of Kardashian’s manager famously went to her mom, Kris Jenner, the model did eventually start working with “The Real World” producers as “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” was backed by Bunim/Murray, who produced the MTV series.

The “All’s Fair” star went on to admit that she convinced her sisters, Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian and her mom, Kris Jenner, that the show would be an opportunity to promote their now-defunct Dash clothing boutique.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/04/entertainment/kim-kardashian-reveals-she-changed-her-name-right-before-reality-tv-fame/

Dozens of airline pilots tell Reuters they are reluctant to disclose mental health issues — even minor or treatable ones — because of the risk of grounding and a career‑ending review

Annie Vargas could see her son slipping away and pleaded with him to seek help. But her son, Brian Wittke, a 41-year-old Delta Air Lines pilot and father of three, pushed back, terrified that getting treatment for depression would cost him his license and livelihood.
The drop in air travel during the pandemic kept Wittke at home more and affected his mental health, Vargas told Reuters.
On the morning of June 14, 2022, Vargas tried to reach Wittke by text, but his location data was disabled. By the time it reappeared, Wittke had died by suicide in the Utah mountains near his home outside Salt Lake City.
Commercial airline pilots often conceal mental health conditions for fear that disclosing therapy or medication, or even just seeking help, could mean having their license pulled, putting themselves and their passengers at risk, according to Reuters interviews with three dozen pilots, medical experts and industry officials, as well as a review of medical studies.

For this story, Reuters spoke to at least 24 commercial pilots at U.S. and foreign carriers who said that they were reluctant to disclose mental health issues — even minor or treatable ones — fearing immediate grounding and a lengthy, costly medical review that could end their careers.
The pilots Reuters spoke to cited multiple reasons for not coming forward with mental health challenges, including airline policies, regulatory requirements and social stigma.

REAL PEOPLE, REAL PROBLEMS

“Real people have real problems,” Vargas said. “And they shouldn’t be penalized for dealing with it.”
Vargas said she was speaking to Reuters about her son’s experiences because she hoped the family’s tragedy would challenge the culture surrounding mental health in the aviation industry. The news agency corroborated details of her account with Wittke’s wife.

Delta said Wittke was a valued team member and called his death “tragic and heartbreaking”. It also said the pilot community had a stigma against seeking mental health services.
Like many major U.S. carriers, Delta offers confidential peer support programs and counseling services for staff. It recently launched a new employee assistance program for pilots, offering access to therapy and coaching and taking into account medical certification requirements.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to deliver additional solutions,” the airline said.
In most industries, individuals can seek medical or psychological treatment without involving employers or regulators, such as the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Avoiding mental health care opens up the door to pilots who avoid taking care of their health. And that’s when problems can arise in the cockpit.”

Aviation operates under stricter standards: pilots must meet rigorous physical and psychological criteria to maintain their FAA medical certification, in some cases undergoing medical exams every six months. Pilots who report anxiety or depression may be grounded. While mild cases can be cleared quickly, severe conditions require an extensive FAA review that can take up to a year or more.
The FAA said in a statement that it is committed to prioritizing the mental health of pilots and is continually updating its approach based on the best medical science available.

FEAR OF BEING GROUNDED

A decade after a Germanwings pilot with a history of severe depression flew an Airbus A320 jet into a French mountainside, the global aviation industry has yet to formulate a uniform global framework for addressing pilot mental health and stigma remains a major barrier, according to Reuters interviews.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency requires airlines to offer peer-support programs for pilots and has strengthened oversight of medical examiners.

In the United States, the FAA has broadened its list of approved antidepressants and other medications used to treat mental health conditions. It has established a pathway for pilots who disclose an ADHD diagnosis. Meanwhile, airlines and pilot unions have expanded confidential peer support programs.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority allows pilots with depression and anxiety to keep their medical certification on a case-by-case basis — even while receiving treatment — if safety risks are managed. Kate Manderson, CASA’s principal medical officer, said her team typically resolves certification reviews in 20 days.

But the gap between policy and perception remains wide. In a 2023 study of 5,170 U.S. and Canadian pilots, more than half reported avoiding healthcare because of concerns about losing flying status. The feeling is captured by a morbid saying in the pilot community: “If you aren’t lying, you aren’t flying.”
Pilot unions, advocacy groups, and industry organizations are urging the FAA to adopt the recommendations of its Aviation Rulemaking Committee — steps to protect pilots who disclose issues and speed their return to duty. In September, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to require the FAA to implement those changes within two years.

WAITING TO BE CLEARED TO FLY

For U.S. commercial airline pilot Elizabeth Carll, 36, those reforms can’t come soon enough. In 2021, she was grounded during her pilot training after she disclosed she was on a low dose of an anti-anxiety medication. After a mandatory six-month waiting period, she waited six months for an appointment with an FAA-approved mental health specialist. The regulator then spent more than a year reviewing her report — only to deem it outdated and order a new exam.
Carll, who worked as a flight dispatcher while training, did not face financial hardship, but she told Reuters any medication change could trigger the same lengthy, costly process.
“The joke is you just ignore it and pretend it doesn’t happen because people are afraid that their livelihoods are going to be taken away.”
An FAA spokesperson told Reuters the agency is updating its mental health policies and has approved more medications. The spokesperson did not comment on Carll’s case when asked, and did not disclose the typical turnaround time to review medical reports for pilots who have undergone mental health treatment.
“We encourage pilots to seek help early if they have a mental-health condition since most, if treated, do not disqualify a pilot from flying,” the FAA spokesperson said.

Pilot wellbeing returned to the spotlight in June when an Air India Flight 171 crashed after takeoff, killing 260 people. A preliminary investigation report found both fuel cutoff switches had been manually moved, ruling out mechanical failure. The final report is months away.
After the crash, the Indian government said Air India recorded a slight increase in pilots taking sick leave across all fleets. The airline responded by directing pilots to a mental wellness app, Reuters found.
Air India did not provide a comment.
In November, former Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson was sentenced to time served and three years’ probation after pleading guilty to interfering with flight crew and attempting to shut down the engines of a passenger plane in 2023 while riding off duty in the cockpit. Court documents show Emerson told police he was having a nervous breakdown and had taken psychedelic mushrooms, which are sometimes used to treat depression.
He declined to be interviewed for this story.

‘A BETTER PILOT TODAY’

When a pilot is grounded for a health concern, the financial fallout can be significant. After using up sick time, they are often placed on disability, which can significantly reduce their income.
Troy Merritt, a 33-year-old U.S. commercial airline pilot, voluntarily grounded himself in December 2022 and started taking medication after realizing depression and anxiety had compromised his ability to fly safely, he said.

Getting back in the cockpit meant six months on stable medication and a series of psychological and cognitive tests — some of which were not covered by health insurance. He told Reuters the process cost him about $11,000.
Reuters could not independently confirm this figure.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/investigations/if-you-arent-lying-you-arent-flying-airline-pilots-hide-mental-health-struggles-2025-12-03/

Nvidia (NVDA.O), on Wednesday published new data showing that its latest artificial intelligence server can improve the performance of new models – including two popular ones from China – by 10 times.
The data comes as the AI world has shifted its focus from training AI models, where Nvidia dominates the market, to putting them to use for millions of users, where Nvidia faces far more competition from rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), and Cerebras.

Nvidia’s data focused on what are known as mixture-of-expert AI models. The technique is a way of making AI models more efficient by breaking up questions into pieces that are assigned to “experts” within the model. That exploded in popularity this year after China’s DeepSeek shocked the world with a high-performing open source model that took less training on Nvidia chips than rivals in early 2025.
Since then, the mixture-of-experts approach has been adopted by ChatGPT maker OpenAI, France’s Mistral and China’s Moonshoot AI, which in July released a highly-ranked open source model of its own.

Meanwhile, Nvidia has focused on making the case that while such models might require less training on its chips, its offerings can still be used to serve those models to users.
Nvidia on Wednesday said that its latest AI server, which packs 72 of its leading chips into a single computer with speedy links between them, improved the performance of Moonshot’s Kimi K2 Thinking model by 10 times compared to the previous generation of Nvidia servers, a similar performance gain to what Nvidia has seen with DeepSeek’s models.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/nvidia-servers-speed-up-ai-models-chinas-moonshoot-ai-others-tenfold-2025-12-03/

A parliamentary inquiry in Kenya has accused British troops training there of a pattern of sexual misconduct and environmental harm that has led the forces from the former colonial power to be seen as an “occupying presence”.
The findings of the investigation by a parliamentary committee focused on defence and foreign relations highlight rising frustrations in the East African country at the conduct of soldiers from the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), who have faced a raft of highly-publicised accusations in recent years.

A spokesperson for Britain’s defence ministry said in a statement to Reuters that the ministry deeply regrets “the challenges that have arisen in relation to our defence presence in Kenya” and said it was prepared to investigate new allegations in the report once evidence is provided.
Thousands of British troops can pass through Kenya for training missions in any given year.
The most prominent allegation relates to the 2012 murder of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru near the British forces’ training camp in the town of Nanyuki. The suspect, a British soldier named Robert Purkiss, was arrested in Britain last month after years of campaigning by Wanjiru’s family and Kenyan rights groups, who said her killers were being shielded by a defence cooperation agreement between the two countries.

Purkiss, who now faces extradition hearings, has denied any involvement in Wanjiru’s death.
The committee’s report, which was dated November 25 but published on parliament’s website on Tuesday, said it had “uncovered a disturbing trend of sexual misconduct by BATUK personnel, marked by rape, assault, and abandonment of children fathered by soldiers”.
It said public hearings in areas where BATUK trains had brought to light evidence of numerous injuries and deaths to Kenyans employed by British forces to clear unexploded ordnance without protective equipment, as well as environmental damage caused by the illegal dumping of toxic materials.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/kenyan-lawmakers-identify-disturbing-trend-misconduct-by-british-troops-2025-12-03/

A New Zealand man has been charged for theft after he allegedly stole a diamond-studded locket in a rather unusual way – by swallowing it.

The ingested loot – a Fabergé egg locket valued at NZ$33,585 ($19,300; £14,600) – has not yet been recovered, police told local media outlets.

Police were called to Partridge Jewellers in central Auckland last Friday afternoon and the 32-year-old man was arrested in store minutes later. He has undergone a medical assessment and remains in custody, police say.

The allegedly stolen Fabergé egg is set with 60 white diamonds and 15 blue sapphires, according to the jeweller’s website, and opens to reveal an 18-carat gold miniature octopus.

The Octopussy egg, as it is named, was inspired by the 1983 James Bond film of the same name, which centres on an elaborate Fabergé egg heist.

Fabergé is a world-renowned jeweller founded in Russia more than two centuries ago, famous for its eggs made of gems and precious metals.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vm754r80vo

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released never-before-seen images of Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous island.

The photographs and video appear to show several bedrooms in the US Virgin Islands home, as well as a room with masks on a wall and a phone with names written on speed-dial buttons.

In a statement, the committee’s Democratic leader, Robert Garcia, said they collectively form a “disturbing look” into Epstein’s world and are being released to “ensure public transparency”.

On 19 November, President Donald Trump signed a bill that ordered the release of government files on the late convicted sex offender – a significant turning point in a months-long fight over the documents.

Multiple survivors have alleged that they were trafficked to and abused on the island, known as Little St James, which Epstein purchased in 1998.

The new images from 2020 also show what appears to be a dental chair and a room with a black chalkboard on which is scrawled with words including “truth”, “deception” and “power”. Some of the words have been redacted.

In a statement, Democrats on the oversight committee said that the images and videos stem from an 18 November request to the attorney general of the US Virgin Islands for information about investigations into Epstein and his imprisoned co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

“These new images are a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island,” Garcia said.

“We are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes,” he added. “We won’t stop fighting until we deliver full picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes.”

According to Garcia, the committee has also received records from JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank, which they intend to release “in the days ahead”.

Little St James was one of two islands in the Virgin Islands owned by Epstein.

In 2022, the attorney general of the US territory reached a settlement of over $105m (£78.6m) after local authorities alleged that “dozens of young women and children” were trafficked, raped and assaulted on the two islands.

The images shed little new light on the case, besides providing a glimpse of one of Epstein’s crime scenes and opulent lifestyle in the Virgin Islands.

The release, however, comes as the Trump administration remains under pressure to release the broader set of documents kept by the US justice department, with Garcia saying in his statement that “it’s time for President Trump to release all the files, now”.

Later on Wednesday, the committee released a second batch of some 200 images as well as several videos. Most of those showed the same rooms as the first batch, with some new close-ups of the apparent dentist chair and the masks on the walls of that room.

All of the masks are in a similar style and depict male faces.

Other images show personal items around the house, such as a large selection of shampoos and conditioners and various art items including statues and paintings.

There is also a picture of Epstein and Maxwell meeting Pope John Paul II.

The photos seem to have been taken in 2020 according to the metadata – after the death of Jeffrey Epstein in 2019 – so the house appears to have been packed away, with furniture stacked up and artwork removed from walls.

The release also includes a video showing a walk through of Epstein’s property. It shows a palm tree-lined swimming pool with a statue of an archer and a path to the ocean.

The bill Trump signed last month gives the department a 30-day window – until 19 December – to make them available in a “searchable and downloadable format”.

But there are obstacles to the files being shared with the US public on that date.

For one, the bill said that the justice department can hold back any documents that jeopardise “an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary”.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g5rrlve33o

Meta has started booting Australian children under 16 years off its Instagram, Facebook and Threads platforms, a week before an official teen social media ban begins.

The tech giant announced last month that it had begun notifying users aged between 13 to 15 years old that their accounts would start being shut down from 4 December.

An estimated 150,000 Facebook users and 350,000 Instagram accounts are expected to be affected. Threads, similar to X, can only be accessed via an Instagram account.

Australia’s world-first social media ban starts on 10 December, with companies facing fines of up to A$49.5m (US$33m, £25m) if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to stop under-16s from having accounts.

A spokesperson for Meta told the BBC on Thursday that “compliance with the law will be an ongoing and multi-layered process”.

“While Meta is committed to complying with the law, we believe a more effective, standardised, and privacy-preserving approach is needed,” she said.

The government should require app stores to verify the age of users when they download apps and ask for parental approval for under-16s, Meta said, as this would eliminate the need for teens to verify their age across different apps.

Last month, Meta said users it had identified as under 16 would be able to download and save their posts, videos and messages before their accounts are deactivated.

Teens who believe they have been wrongly categorised as under 16 can ask for a review and submit a “video selfie” to verify their age. They can also provide a driver’s licence or a government-issued identification.

Alongside Meta’s three platforms, the other social media sites affected by the ban are YouTube, X, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick and Twitch.

The government says the ban is aimed at protecting children from the harms of social media but critics say the move may isolate certain groups who depend on platforms for connection and push children to less-regulated corners of the internet.

Communications Minister Anika Wells on Wednesday said she expected teething problems in the first few days and weeks of the ban but it was about protecting Gen Alpha – anyone under 15 years – and future generations.

“With one law, we can protect Generation Alpha from being sucked into purgatory by the predatory algorithms described by the man who created the feature as behavioural cocaine,” Wells said.

She described youngsters as being connected to a “dopamine drip” from the moment they got a smartphone and social media accounts.

YouTube, which was originally exempt from the ban but then later included, labelled the law as “rushed” and claimed that banning children from having an account – which comes with parental controls – will make its video-sharing platform “less safe”.

Australia’s social media ban, the first of its kind in the world, is being closely watched by global leaders.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxekqryn1jo

Police arrested former University of Delaware student Luqmaan Khan after finding guns, body armor and a manifesto outlining plans to kill all, the New York Post reported. The FBI later uncovered more unregistered weapons.

A Pakistani-born former University of Delaware student was arrested with an arsenal of weapons, body armor and a handwritten manifesto outlining plans to kill all in a mass shooting on campus, the New York Post reported. Police say the discovery may have prevented a devastating attack.

Luqmaan Khan, 25, was arrested just before midnight on November 24 after New Castle County officers found him sitting in his pickup truck in a closed Wilmington park and became suspicious of his behaviour.

What they found in his vehicle, investigators said, was chilling — a .357 Glock pistol fitted with a conversion kit turning it into a semi-automatic rifle, multiple 27-round magazines, body armor plates and a notebook allegedly spelling out plans for a campus attack.

The notebook contained a map of the University of Delaware police headquarters marked with entry and exit points and repeated phrases such as kill all – martyrdom, according to ABC 6. Prosecutors described the writings as premeditated assault plans and warfare techniques.

According to the New York Post, Khan allegedly told investigators that dying as a martyr was one of the greatest things you can do. One campus police officer was named in the notes, though prosecutors said the motive remains unclear.

Khan, a US citizen who moved from Pakistan as a youth, had no prior criminal record, but neighbours told Spotlight Delaware he had recently become unusually standoffish.

The FBI later searched Khan’s Wilmington home and uncovered even more weapons — an AR-style rifle with a red-dot scope, a second Glock pistol equipped with an illegal machine-gun conversion device known as a switch, 11 extended magazines, hollow-point bullets and a tactical vest. None of the weapons were registered.

In the handwritten notebook, Khan discussed additional weapons and firearms, how they could be used in an attack, and how law enforcement detection could be avoided once an attack was carried out.

The notebook referenced a member of the University of Delaware’s Police Department by name, and included a layout of a building with entry and exit points under which the words “UD Police Station” were printed.

Federal prosecutors charged him with illegal possession of a machine gun, though authorities say further charges are possible as the investigation continues. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

Officials emphasised that the foiling of the alleged attack came down to simple but vigilant police work.

“They just randomly drove up in Canby Park West,” Master Cpl. Richard Chambers said. “Rather than just shooing the person out, they did police work.”

“This case is a quintessential example of federal and state law enforcement collaborating to neutralize a grave threat to Delaware before the worst could come to pass. I want to thank our dedicated law enforcement partners at the FBI and the NCCPD for their exceptional work. As always, we are proud to work with them to keep Delaware safe,” said Acting US Attorney Murray.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/us-news/story/pakistan-born-us-man-arrested-with-guns-martyrdom-mass-shooting-plan-glbs-2830361-2025-12-04

NEVER-before-seen images of Jeffrey Epstein’s home located on his infamous private island have been released by US authorities.

Chilling photos show the paedophile financier‘s exclusive property in the US Virgin Islands – with one of the pictures showing a bizarre dental room with faces across the wall.

Bombshell images of the convicted sex offender‘s elusive Caribbean island were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

Several chilling photos showed different rooms on Epstein’s Little Saint James island – one of which had a dentist’s chair and multiple chilling masks hung up on the walls.

Another showed a chalkboard with strange text written on it – including the words “power” and “deception”.

Others showed large rooms devoid of life, “no trespassing” signs on the island’s beach, and luxury swimming pools next to palm trees.

Creepy footage also showed a tour of the notorious island where the convicted sex trafficker lived.

Washington is still waiting for the Justice Department to hand over all of its files on the notorious case.

It comes after Donald Trump gave the Justice Department 30 days to make all “unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials” public last month.

The US Senate unanimously approved the official release of the Epstein trove just hours after the House of Representatives did on November 18.

Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state felony prostitution charge in 2008 and served 13 months in jail.

In 2019, he was charged with sex trafficking of minors. Epstein pleaded not guilty to those charges.

The sex offender killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges he sexually abused and trafficked underage girls.

Epstein’s convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for him.

Sky Roberts, the brother of one of Epstein’s most prominent victims, Virginia Giuffre, previously called on US lawmakers to “stop talking and act”.

For years, victims of the disgraced financier and their families – as well as conspiracy theorists – have called for the release of the files about the investigations into his crimes.

Tens of thousands of pages of evidence from federal investigations into Epstein and Maxwell – known as the Epstein files – have been released to the public in stages over several years.

These documents, some released in redacted format, include Epstein’s flight logs, his contact book, email exchanges, court documents, and testimonies from victims and witnesses.

Names of many high-profile figures have appeared in them – but that does not mean they were aware of, or involved in Epstein’s crimes.

Earlier this year, a memo from the Justice Department and FBI said there was “no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions” or had a “client list”.

Epstein personally “harmed over one thousand victims,” the FBI and DOJ said.

But they added: “We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties”.

Digital searches of Epstein’s electronic devices and physical searches of his various properties, which included a private Caribbean island, had yielded a “significant amount of material, including more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence,” the memo said.

The disgraced financier’s island was raided in 2019, with shocking images showing the FBI raiding the complex.

Since Trump signed the bill late on November 19, the deadline for the DOJ to release the files will either be December 19 or Christmas Eve.

Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that the DOJ intended to abide by the deadline.

She earlier said that the Trump administration will make all of the eligible files on the convicted sex offender public for “maximum transparency”.

Following Trump’s latest move to release the files, Epstein’s victims have come forward to claim the convicted sex offender had a tiny and “extremely deformed” penis that looked like a lemon.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15585585/jeffrey-epstein-paedo-island-home-pics/

MEGHAN Markle’s father Thomas is fighting for his life after being rushed to hospital and now faces further surgery, a report claims.

Thomas Markle, 81, was taken to hospital on Tuesday after falling ill at his home in the Philippines.

It is understood he underwent surgery on Wednesday and was transferred to the intensive care unit, as reported by the Mail.

Doctors are now reportedly waiting to prepare him for another operation to remove a blood clot.

His son Thomas Jr. said: “I took dad to a hospital close to our home and they did various scans and the doctors said his life was in imminent danger.

“They raced us by ambulance, with the sirens going, to a much bigger hospital in the center of the city. My dad has undergone emergency surgery.

“I would ask everyone around the world to keep him in their thoughts.”

He added: “My only wish is that Meghan shows my father some compassion. He is literally fighting for his life.”

Meanwhile, daughter Samantha, 61, said: “He is a strong man, but he has been through so much. I am praying that he is strong enough to survive this.

“My father has been through two heart attacks, a stroke and an earthquake. I hope he can pull through this.”

Thomas has suffered with ill health, including a stroke, in recent years and had been living in Mexico for the past 10 years before relocating to the Philippines in January.

He has been estranged from Meghan since her wedding to Prince Harry.

Thomas suffered two heart attacks on the eve of the big day in 2018 and was unable to walk his daughter down the aisle.

It came after he had posed for paparazzi pictures ahead of the wedding.

Meghan then cut him off after he put the phone down during a heated row with Harry while recovering in hospital.

The duke told him he was in that position because he had not listened to their advice not to speak to the press – following the paparazzi scandal.

Thomas told The Sun On Sunday at the time: “I felt disrespected by them. I was recovering from a heart attack, lying in a bed, having a phone call, and the things were being said that hurt me.

“I felt like I was being blamed for my mistakes when I was in my hospital bed recovering from a heart attack.”

Concerns were also raised for 81-year-old Thomas just a few months ago when his daughter Samantha claimed he was stuck on the 19th floor of his Philippines flat after a deadly earthquake.

Meghan’s half-sister sparked alarm by posting online that their father was unable to walk and had been left stranded following the 6.9-magnitude quake.

Samantha Markle had written on X: “My father is stuck on the 19th floor of a building in the Philippines after a massive earthquake and he can’t walk and he is trapped.”

However, Thomas bizarrely later declared he was “fine” and urged people not to worry.

The pensioner’s latest health update comes as a new episode of Meghan’s Netflix Christmas special was released on Wednesday.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/royals/15586452/meghan-markle-dad-intensive-care-surgery-thomas-markle/

THE White House hit back at headlines claiming Donald Trump dozed off during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday as questions swirl about the president’s stamina.

The 79-year-old appeared to struggle to keep his eyes open during the two-hour televised conference.

Trump closed his eyes for an extended period of time at nine points throughout the meeting, the Washington Post reported.

At one point, the president appeared to be nudged by Marco Rubio as the secretary of state spoke with the executive team.

The bizarre incident came amid a flurry of searing headlines from left-leaning outlets questioning Trump’s health and ability to serve his full term.

However, in a press conference on Wednesday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt set the record straight, saying Trump was “listening attentively and running the entire” meeting.

“In all of these historic meetings, the president and his incredible team highlight the exhaustive list of accomplishments they have delivered on behalf of the American people to Make America Great Again,” Leavitt said in a statement.

Trump’s apparent sleepiness comes the day after posted over 160 times on Truth Social between 7 pm and 11 pm, the Daily Beast reported.

Early in the meeting, Trump complained about the scrutiny he receives compared to his predecessor, Joe Biden, who he called “Sleepy Joe.”

At 79, Trump is the oldest person to assume the presidency.

Biden was the first octogenarian president and dropped out of the presidential election last year because of concerns about his mental acuity.

In Tuesday’s meeting, Trump blasted a New York Times article analyzing his aging and claiming he had a lighter public schedule.

“I’ll let you know when there’s something wrong. There will be someday,” Trump said.

“That’s going to happen to all of us. But right now I think I’m sharper than I was 25 years ago. But who the hell knows?”

HEALTH CONCERNS

The Times reported that Trump has trimmed his public appearances to between 12 pm and 5 pm, a change from his first term.

However, the White House said the Times only cited publicly available information, and insisted that Trump’s private log is filled with back-to-back meetings and calls.

His administration hit back at claims by providing the New York Post documents that they said prove Trump is working “up to 12 hour days.”

The president has also squashed concern by saying he got “all A’s” on his recent physical exam.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15586531/white-house-responds-trump-falling-asleep-cabinet/

THE doctor who supplied Matthew Perry with dozens of vials of ketamine began crying after he turned to apologize to the actor’s family minutes before he was hauled away to serve 30 months in prison.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia was seen teary-eyed as he told Perry’s mother, Suzanne, and relatives, “I’m just so sorry.”

He stood before the court and told Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett: “I never imagined I’d be standing before you. I spent so many years and came so far to help people, to take them away from pain.”

Placenscia, 43, explained that he will one day have to find a way to tell his own young son that he “couldn’t protect a mother’s son.”

He admitted that there was “no excuse,” adding that he failed Perry and his family.

He agreed to plead guilty in July to four counts of distribution of ketamine as part of a deal with prosecutors, who dropped five other counts.

Plasencia is the first of five defendants who are set to be sentenced in the coming weeks, although he did not deliver the fatal dose.

Minutes before his apology, the court heard from the grieving parents of Perry, 54, who died after being found face-down in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023.

The two-hour sentencing hearing saw the actor’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, decide to speak directly to Placenscia, explaining her son fought so hard to stay alive after suffering for years with addiction and even bounced back after serious medical issues.

She expressed the importance of the Hippocratic Oath doctors take and, through tears, told Placesncia, “This is my boy!”

Looking him directly in the eye and being comforted by her husband, Keith Morrison, she said, “I just wanted you to see the mother. This was a bad thing you did.”

She also scolded him for calling her son a “moron” in damning text messages read out in court, as he was seen looking solemn and sweating, repeatedly mopping his brow and face.

Perry’s sisters and stepmother also spoke in court about how loyal and connected the family is and how their lives will never be the same again.

Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, also wrote a victim impact statement, although he never read it out in court.

He described the emotional toll the actor’s mother has continued to endure since her son’s death more than two years ago.

“Many people, mothers mostly, have told me over the years how things like that breaks you, makes you feel broken,” he wrote.

“And I didn’t quite get what that meant until I watched what this thing did to Matthew’s mother. Still does, two years on. It’s a deep well, can’t see the bottom yet.”

The star’s father, John Perry, was absent due to illness.

The Government recommended 36 months behind bars, while the probation service recommended 12 months, and Plasencia’s team asked for just one day.

His lawyers still tried to argue that he was initially trying to treat Perry, his first high-profile patient, for his depression.

But Judge Garnett told the defense, “I don’t buy that argument.”

She also pointed out how the doctor further encouraged Perry to take ketamine, with a text to his assistant that read, “I know you mentioned taking a break. I have been stocking up on the meanwhile. I am not sure when you guys plan to resume but in case its when im out of town this weekend I have left supplies with a nurse of mine …I can always let her know the plan.”

Judge Garnett disagreed that Plasencia was trying to help Perry and believed he was selling drugs for a profit, as Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello called him a “drug dealer in a white coat.”

“You and others helped Mr. Perry on the road to his death by continuing to feed his addiction,” Judge Garnett added.

Perry’s mother and stepmother also slammed Plasencia and the other defendants as “greedy jackals” who came out of the dark and fed on the vulnerability of their son.

“I believe the man you are going to sentence today is among the most culpable of all. His crime I find truly hard to understand,” the parents’ statement read.

“Sometimes it’s a little easier to understand when a person commits a terrible crime.

“Maybe in the heat of passion, or because that person makes one very bad decision.. or some drug dealer, bad to the bone, who takes the calculated risk of getting caught and spending many years in prison.

“But… a doctor? Who trades on respect, and trust? And not just one bad decision.. No one alive and in touch with the world at all could have been unaware of Matthew’s struggles.

“But this doctor conspired to break his most important vows, repeatedly, sneaked through the night to meet his victim in secret.

“For what, a few thousand dollars? So he could feed on the vulnerability of our son…and crow, as he did so, with that revealing question: ‘I wonder how much this moron will pay. Let’s find out.’”

Plasencia’s disgruntled mother, Luz, was an emotional wreck as she watched her son be escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs after learning his fate.

He will serve 30 months and be on supervised release for a further two years after his release.

The doctor was also ordered to pay a $5,600 fine and a $400 special assessment.

Outside the courthouse, Luz told reporters that she wants Perry’s family to know she’s “so sorry,” but defended her son, saying he has a “good heart.”

“I love him and to all the parents, no matter how old your children are, talk with them,” Luz said when asked if she had a message to her son.

Keith had little to say after the sentencing, but admitted, “It’s a tragic story. Sometimes people do bad things.”

Perry’s stepmom, Debbie, whose victim impact statement was on behalf of herself and the actor’s father, John, condemned Plasencia’s action, saying their son’s recovery counted on the defendant “saying no.”

“Your motives? I can’t imagine,” Debbie and John wrote.

“A doctor whose life is devoted to helping people? Whatever were you thinking? How long did you possibly see supplying Matthew countless doses without his death to eventually follow?

“Did you care? Did you think? How many more people have you harmed that we don’t know about?”

The parents lamented that Plasencia devastated the family and contributed to the loss of their only son.

‘DR. P’

After the hearing, Plasencia’s lawyers released a statement saying that their client, “accepts the Court’s sentence today with humility and deep remorse.”

They added that he had voluntarily given up his medical license, a fact that was repeatedly mentioned in court.

“He was a good doctor loved by those he treated. He is not a villain. He is someone who made serious mistakes in his treatment decisions involving the off-label use of ketamine — a drug commonly used for depression that does not have uniform standards,” they said.

“The mistakes he made over the 13 days during which he treated Mr. Perry will stay with him forever.”

Federal investigators said Plasencia and Mark Chavez – a former physician in San Diego, who is also scheduled to be sentenced on December 17 – coordinated with Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s personal live-in assistant, to distribute the drugs to the actor.

Martin Estrada, the US attorney for the Central District of California, said Perry fell back into addiction during the fall of 2023.

“These defendants took advantage to profit for themselves,” Estrada said at the time.

On September 30, 2023, Plasencia, who was known to Perry as “Dr. P,” and Chavez discussed purchasing ketamine so they could sell it to the actor, according to a federal indictment.

In a text message, prosecutors said Plasencia and Chavez discussed how much they were going to charge Perry, writing, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Let’s find out.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/15584050/matthew-perry-parents-rip-salvador-plasencia-ketamine/

THIS is the shocking moment Vladimir Putin’s “secret daughter” is blasted by a Ukrainian journalist on the streets of Paris – before being told: “Your dad killed my brother.”

The bombshell clip reportedly shows Elizaveta Krivonogikh – long suspected to be the Russian tyrant’s love child – being confronted over her alleged father’s bloody invasion.

In the astonishing footage – posted by Ukrainian outlet TCH – the man behind the camera can be heard slamming the woman in a composed tone.

He blames her “dad” for killing his brother – as a result of the pariah’s war in Ukraine.

He is heard saying: “How do you even live in Europe? In this hateful, cursed Europe, this ‘Gay-rope’.

“Or what is it like with you people. Say something at least. Do you support his policies?”

Refusing to comment on the journalist’s claims, the woman simply tells him he doesn’t have permission to film.

Putin’s rumoured secret daughter Krivonogikh, 22, also known as Luiza Rozova and now Elizaveta Rudnova, lives in self-imposed exile in the French capital.

She is suspected to be the secret love-child of Putin and Svetlana Krivonogikh – a glamorous former cleaner turned multimillionaire.

Krivonogikh works at two anti-war art galleries in Paris according to Russian artist Nastya Rodionova – while also reportedly launching thinly veiled attacks on Putin.

In August, German outlet Bild, which claimed to have seen her private Telegram channel, reported that Luiza wrote about “the man who took millions of lives and destroyed mine”.

Krivonogikh grew up drenched in luxury – private jets, exclusive nightclubs, and designer wardrobes.

She would flaunt her life of privilege on Instagram while Russia grappled with poverty and pandemic chaos.

But in early 2022, just before Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine, she abruptly vanished from Russian social media.

Her alleged mum Svetlana, now in her 40s, went from scrubbing floors to owning a stake in sanctioned Rossiya Bank and a property empire worth over $100 million.

She also owns a raunchy St Petersburg nightclub, Leningrad Centre, known for its erotic shows.

The suspected daughter of the Russian despot re-emerged in Paris in 2022 under a new name – Elizaveta Rudnova – reportedly in a bid to sever ties with her past.

Ukrainian TV later claimed she was living in the French capital with a passport under the name Rudnova, allegedly ditching the patronymic Vladimirovna, which would confirm her father’s name as Vladimir.

Her new surname is a likely nod to the late Oleg Rudnov, one of Putin’s longtime cronies.

When independent outlet Proekt first exposed the story, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he’d “never heard anything” about Krivonogikh — an evasion that only intensified speculation.

Putin, who officially recognises only two daughters from his previous marriage, has never acknowledged Luiza — nor denied her.

Mad Vlad has two publicly known children, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova – both of which were born to the dictator’s ex-wife Lyudmila Aleksandrovna.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15587035/putins-daughter-confronted-angry-ukrainian-killed-my-brother/

Qatar and Saudi Arabia are investing in new terrestrial cable systems to relieve the strain on underwater cables in the Red Sea. This is part of a fundamental modernization strategy.

Ooredoo, a Qatar-based communications company, plans to spend 500 million US dollars (430 million euros) on new terrestrial fiber optic cable systems in the coming years. The cables will stretch from the Arabian Peninsula to Europe. According to a report by the Qatari news agency QNA, they will start in Oman, run from there to Iraq and Turkey and finally to France.

Notwithstanding, according to press reports, Syria and Saudi Arabia are also in talks to build a similar system of data cables that would also run from the Arabian Peninsula — more precisely Saudi Arabia — to Europe.

Ayad Al-Ani, a Professor for Change Management and Consulting in Berlin, told DW that it was noteworthy that both Qatar and Saudi Arabia were attempting to establish a land connection.

“This implies that both Iraq and Syria are safe transit countries that can be invested in,” he said. “It will integrate the two countries more into the international data communication system, from which the local digital economy will benefit. This is likely to promote their economic development.”

Alternative routes to bypass Red Sea challenges

According to QNA, Aziz Al Uthman Fakhroo, CEO of Ooredoo, suggested at a conference in Doha that the system would “strengthen the resilience of global networks, create alternative routes that bypass current challenges in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.”

From the perspective of network operators, both regions are currently sensitive. The Strait of Hormuz separates the Arabian Peninsula from Iran — meaning Iran is separated from countries that until recently were considered its rivals, namely Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In the recent past, there have been formidable clashes with Saudi Arabia in particular. Qatar meanwhile maintains good relations with Iran.

The situation in the Red Sea is more fragile. Every year, 22,000 ships pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It’s also a main route in the digital network: There are currently 15 intercontinental undersea cables running through the area, and according to HGC Global Communications, 80% of data traffic between Asia, Africa and Europe runs through them.

The cables have repeatedly been the target of attacks — or might have been, because there is not always clear evidence of damage having been caused deliberately.

There were several outages in 2008 when, according to a study by the Henry Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, five cables were damaged in different incidents. Three of the cables connected Asia and Europe, and as a result 70% of Egypt’s internet connectivity was temporarily lost, while India experienced a 50% to 60% loss of bandwidth.

Houthi attacks on shipping routes and cable systems

In the recent war between Israel and the militant Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, the latter received support from the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the EU, the US and others.

Houthis attacked several ships in the Red Sea to disrupt international trade, and according to HGC, also damaged four cable systems in the spring of 2024, including one called Asia-Africa-Europe 1, which connects the three continents. A good quarter of data traffic was reportedly affected.

In a statement, HGC described how it was maintaining international communication by rerouting data traffic to Europe via mainland China, the US or undamaged cables in the Red Sea.

The idea is that the new systems will prevent such incidents. According to the QNA report, Aziz Al Uthman Fakhroo of Ooredoo said that “cross-border cooperation has become both an operational and strategic necessity, especially given that the Middle East is a global logistical and digital hub, with 30% of the world’s data and 90% of the data exchanged between Europe and Asia passing through it.”

Qatar expands telecommunications sector

Qatar is systematically expanding its telecommunications industry. Last fall, Qatar National Broadband Network (QNBN) and Gulf Bridge International (GBI) announced their intention to merge their telecommunications divisions. This merger has now been completed. QNBN specializes in fiber optic cables, while GBI focuses on underwater and terrestrial cables.

The Peninsula, an English-language daily in Qatar, reported that the “integration of QNBN and GBI brings together two highly complementary businesses to create a carrier-neutral digital and AI infrastructure leader, further connecting Qatar to the world.”

Ayad Al-Ani pointed out that the projects were not focused only on infrastructure but also on Qatari digital technology, such as data centers.

“The infrastructure alone is already considered a significant source of revenue today. But in conjunction with data and innovation centers, it provides the prerequisites for a successful digital economy,” he told DW.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/gulf-region-paves-the-way-to-become-digital-data-hub/a-75003002

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked endangering troops by using the Signal messaging app to discuss a strike on Houthis in Yemen, sources say a Pentagon watchdog report finds.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put American troops and mission at risk when he used the Signal mesaging app on his personal device to discuss planned strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen, a report by the Pentagon’s watchdog has found.

That’s according to US media, including CNN and ABC, and news agencies. They cite sources familiar with the results of the investigation by the Pentagon’s inspector general, which hasn’t yet been publicly released.

Hegseth didn’t violate rules on classification, the report found according to the sources, because as the head of the Pentagon, he has the authority to declassify information.

But the information shouldn’t have been discussed on the commercial app, the report said. That’s because the information was so sensitive that it could have endangered the lives of American troops and the mission itself if it was intercepted.

Hegseth declined to sit for an interview with the inspector general, sources said, citing the report. Instead, he provided written answers. He also only provided a small number of his Signal messages for review.

The meant the investigation had to rely on screenshots published by The Atlantic magazine, whose editor-in-chief was accidentally added to the Signal chat, according to sources.

The classified review was delivered on Tuesday evening to Congress.

A partially redacted version of the report is expected to be released publicly later this week, possibly on Thursday.

Trump stands by Hegseth

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the review affirms the Trump administration’s statements that “no classified information was leaked, and operational security was not compromised.”

“President Trump stands by Secretary Hegseth,” Leavitt said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Pentagon said the review exonerated Hegseth.

“This matter is resolved, and the case is closed,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to CNN.

Hegseth used Signal to discuss Yemen strikes

Hegseth’s use of the commercial messaging app came to light when the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to a Signal chat by then-national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Signal is encrypted, but it isn’t authorized for carrying classified information and isn’t part of the Defense Department’s secure communications network.

The group chat included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubioand the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as well as others.

The officials discussed March 15 military operations against the Iran- backed Houthis in Yemen.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/hegseth-signal-group-chat-yemen-houthi-endanger-troops-pentagon-watchdog-report/a-75007964

Meghan Markle’s estranged father, Thomas Markle, was admitted into the intensive care unit after he underwent emergency surgery.

The “Suits” alum’s brother, Thomas Markle Jr., confirmed the patriarch was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery after becoming sick at his home in the Philippines on Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported.

Thomas, 81, will later undergo another procedure to remove a blood clot.

“I took dad to a hospital close to our home and they did various scans and the doctors said his life was in imminent danger,” Thomas Jr., 59, told the outlet.

“They raced us by ambulance, with the sirens going, to a much bigger hospital in the centre of the city.”

Thomas’ 61-year-old daughter, Samantha, blamed his illness on the hardships her father has faced over the past few years.

“He is a strong man, but he has been through so much. I am praying that he is strong enough to survive this,” she told the Daily Mail.

“My father has been through two heart attacks, a stroke and an earthquake. I hope he can pull through this.”

Reps for Meghan, 44, weren’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.

Over the years, Thomas has battled a series of health issues and notably missed the actress’ wedding to Prince Harry after undergoing heart surgery in 2018.

He was hospitalized again in 2022 after suffering from a stroke while living in Tijuana, Mexico.

“I feel hugely grateful and know how lucky I am to be alive,” Thomas told the Daily Mail after he was discharged five days later.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/03/celebrity-news/meghan-markles-estranged-dad-thomas-in-icu-following-emergency-surgery/

Bethenny Frankel cried while discussing her lengthy divorce from her second husband, Jason Hoppy, in a new interview.

The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum got shockingly candid about the painful split on Wednesday’s episode of Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, saying “nothing” — not even her rough childhood — could compare to the “torment” she experienced when leaving Hoppy.

“I have seen my mother slit her wrists. I have lived my whole life chasing her into bathrooms, trying to catch her throwing up. I’ve been around guns, the mafia, the race track. I’ve been through everything. I’ve seen her beaten within an inch of her life. I have seen everything. Nothing compares to what my divorce was for 10 years. Nothing,” Frankel, 55, stated.

The Skinnygirl founder noted that her mom’s lifelong struggles with bulimia and alcoholism were “child’s play” compared to the “trauma of someone wanting to torture you and telling you that they’re going to do it.”

Because she was the “more successful” of the two, Frankel felt the “optics” made her look like “the powerhouse tyrant” while Hoppy, 56, was branded “the victim.”

“It was so traumatic. It was 10 years of my life. I lost hair. I thought I would never survive it. I didn’t want to,” she confessed to Cooper as she got choked up. “I had to because of my daughter. I literally thought, ‘I’ll never be happy again.’”

Frankel and the pharmaceutical executive wed in March 2010. They welcomed daughter Bryn, 15, two months later. They announced their separation in December 2012, with Frankel filing for divorce the following month.

The split wasn’t finalized until January 2021.

“I treated it like a marathon, and I went one mile at a time, and I checked every box,” the former Bravolebrity said of the divorce process, alleging that “it was fraud, it was stealing, it was hacking, it was harassment, it was abuse, it was Googling me 60 times a day, it was staying in bed and staring into my face, it was calling me every bad character in the books.”

In January 2017, Hoppy was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment in the first degree, harassment in the second degree and stalking in the fourth degree after allegedly sending Frankel a series of abusive emails and then showing up at Bryn’s school to threaten his then-estranged wife, “I will destroy you.” (Hoppy denied the charges.)

Frankel told Cooper that her divorce was “the worst thing [she] could ever wish upon a person.”

She recalled spending “millions of dollars” in the split and claimed that “every single lawyer said they’ve never seen anything like it, ever. Like, it was insane.”

The businesswoman admitted that the “only thing that got [her] through” that time was the hope that she could one day “help people” experiencing similar distress.

She emphasized the importance of having a prenuptial agreement in place before marrying someone and “going with your gut” because “cracks become craters.”

Despite her feelings of despair and defeat during her separation, Frankel made it a point to “never talk bad” about Hoppy in front of Bryn, even though she believes the teen “energetically felt” the situation.

“Just because you’re not saying it in front of the child, it doesn’t mean they don’t feel,” she argued, adding, “It’s a long road. Your kids will become cognizant, and they will understand. You don’t have to say it to them. You don’t have to prove it to them.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/03/celebrity-news/bethenny-frankel-cries-over-traumatic-jason-hoppy-divorce-thought-i-would-never-survive-it/

Chiefs president reveals his promise to Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift to never ‘monetize’ off their relationship

Kansas City Chiefs President Mark Donovan revealed he promised Travis Kelce not to profit off his romance with Taylor Swift.

“I told Travis, ‘Look, we are going to treat you and your relationship with the same respect that we treat any other player or coach’s relationship,’” the businessman shared on Monday’s episode of “Up & Adams.”

“It’s a relationship. We’re not going to monetize it, we’re not going to go out there and go crazy.”

Donovan explained that Swift is never shown on Arrowhead Stadium’s broadcast boards, unlike other news outlets that flash her on-camera.

“For a couple of years, all those shots you see in the stadium. He scores a touchdown. He makes a catch. It goes to Taylor,” he said.

“Especially the first year. We never showed Taylor on our big boards in our stadium, never. It was respectful. We’re not going to do that.”

Donovan emphasized that he’s not interested in “taking advantage of [Kelce and Swift’s] relationship.”

Mysterious Taylor Swift installation pops up on Sunset Boulevard

Swifties are making their way to a mysterious Taylor Swift-themed installation in Los Angeles.

The display at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive left fans speculating about what the “Life of a Showgirl” songstress could be teasing.

The setup features cutouts of the singer, including one showing Swift from behind in a “Fearless” dress while holding her guitar in front of a gold, glittery backdrop.

Another cutout captures her singing into the microphone during the Eras Tour while performing her hit 2024 track, “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.”

The pop-up, wrapped in a barricaded sidewalk perimeter, also includes promotional banners with the Disney+ logo and the titles of Swift’s upcoming docuseries and concert film.

Her releases — “End of an Era” and the “Final Show” — are both set to premiere on Disney+ on Dec. 12.

Sabrina Carpenter gushes over being the only featured artist on ‘bestie’ Taylor Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl’ album

Sabrina Carpenter is still in disbelief that she was chosen as the only featured artist on Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” album.

“Ten-year-old me, for so many reasons, could not believe it — to hear our voices together,” the singer told Variety Wednesday.

“We definitely realized it was special, but I would have never been like, ‘Hey, bestie, put me on a song,’” the “Espresso” hitmaker quipped.

“She was so gracious to think of me for a song that spoke to our life experiences in such a real, genuine way. It really sums up what so many young women in this industry go through.”

Carpenter is featured on the album’s title track, and the two Grammy winners definitely know a thing or two about the life of a superstar.

Fans watched their friendship bloom as the “Manchild” singer opened up for Swift on her record-breaking Eras Tour. Last month, the besties were also spotted having a glam girls’ night out at one of NYC’s trendiest spots, The Corner Store.

Taylor Swift’s top Spotify listeners received a very special message from the pop star this week.

Those who streamed her music the most this year were treated to a video when opening their 2025 Spotify Wrapped on Wednesday.

“Oh, hey! So if this is popping up on your phone, then chances are you listened to a lot of my music this year on Spotify. It’s Taylor, by the way,” Swift’s message began.

“Thank you for doing that. Thank you for all your support with ‘The Life of a Showgirl.'”

The singer teased there’s “a lot of reminiscing” on the way with her new docuseries, the “End of an Era,” and concert film, the “Final Show,” both premiering on Disney+ on Dec. 12.

Toward the end of her video, the “Fate of Ophelia” songstress wished her fans a “wonderful holiday season” and shared one final message of appreciation.

“I’m so grateful for you. Thank you for everything,” she concluded, blowing a kiss to the camera.

Last year, Swift was crowned Spotify’s “Global Top Artist” for the second year in a row, with 26.6 billion streams worldwide.

However, she was dethroned this year by Bad Bunny.

The Super Bowl 2026 performer reached 19.8 billion global streams and previously held the title for three consecutive years.

Travis Kelce gushes over ‘beautiful’ vacation with Taylor Swift in rare look inside romance

Travis Kelce gushed over his “beautiful” Italy vacation with his fiancée, Taylor Swift.

During the latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast, George Clooney asked the Kansas City Chiefs star about his 2024 trip to Lake Como.

“Me and Tay danced around Lake Como for a little while. I loved it out there,” Travis told the “Ocean’s Elven” actor, who owns a villa in the area.

“They love to point it out whenever you’re on the lake,” the tight end quipped.

Clooney, 64, joked that his home was “part of the tour.”

Travis Kelce insists he and Taylor Swift ‘never’ argue as he gets marriage advice from George Clooney

Travis Kelce’s latest podcast confession is “Sweeter Than Fiction.”

The athlete insisted he and fiancée Taylor Swift “never” argue as he chatted with George Clooney on Wednesday’s “New Heights” episode.

The Kansas City Chiefs player, 36, asked the actor, 64, whether he stood by his recent statement that he and wife Amal Clooney “have not got in a fight in 10 years.”

Clooney turned the question back on Kelce, asking, “I’m not lying. Shall we ask you the same?”

The tight end replied, “It’s only been two and a half years, and you’re right. I’ve never got in an argument. Never once.”

Sombr praises Taylor Swift’s engagement and calls the ‘Life of a Showgirl’ his album of the year

Sombr is in his Swiftie era.

In a recent interview with Vulture, the “Back to Friends” artist gushed over Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement.

“Man, I’m just happy for them,” he said in a recent interview with Vulture.

“I grew up with Taylor Swift, and seeing one of my favorite artists from my childhood getting engaged is really cool to see. I just hope they invite me to the wedding.”

Sombr — born Shane Boose — also listed the “Opalite” songstress’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” as one of his favorites of the year, alongside Olivia Dean’s “Art of Loving,” and Ravyn Lenae’s “Love me Not.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/12/02/entertainment/taylor-swift-live-updates-dec-2-5-25/

An independent review released on Tuesday by vaccine experts of more than 400 studies and reports found that long-standing U.S. policy of giving the hepatitis B vaccine to newborns has cut infections in children by more than 95%.
The policy, adopted in 1991, will be discussed and voted on later this week by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisers hand-picked by U.S. health secretary and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“After extensive review, we did not discover safety or effectiveness data that support delaying the choice parents have to vaccinate their newborns against hepatitis B,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious-disease expert at the University of Minnesota who helped found the Vaccine Integrity Project that released the review.
The Vaccine Integrity Project is an initiative dedicated to safeguarding vaccine use in the United States set up to counter controversial vaccine information and recommendations from the Trump administration that are lacking or contrary to scientific evidence.
The revamped CDC advisory panel, following Kennedy’s firing of all 17 previous expert members, in September decided to postpone a vote to delay the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine.

Since then, U.S. President Donald Trump and other health officials have called for delaying the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine until as late as age 12, saying that the virus is largely sexually transmitted.
Osterholm said the evidence clearly supports keeping the current U.S. policy.
Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. It primarily spreads through blood, semen, or certain other body fluids.
Infants infected with hepatitis B during their first year of life have a 90% chance of developing a chronic infection, increasing the risk of serious liver disease such as cirrhosis or cancer.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/data-supports-us-policy-hepatitis-b-vaccine-newborns-officials-push-delay-2025-12-02/

Global growth is holding up better than expected as an artificial intelligence investment boom helps offset some of the shock from U.S. tariff hikes, the OECD said on Tuesday, nudging up its outlook for some major economies.
The Paris-based organisation warned, however, that global growth was vulnerable to any new outbreak of trade tensions while investor optimism about AI could trigger a stock market correction if expectations are not met.

In its Economic Outlook, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast global growth would slow modestly from 3.2% in 2025 to 2.9% in 2026, leaving its forecasts untouched from its last estimates in September. It predicted a rebound to 3.1% in 2027.
OECD head Mathias Cormann said the trade shocks triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes had so far proved relatively mild, but added their costs were likely to rise.
“The full effects of those higher tariffs since the start of the year will become clearer as firms run down the inventories that they built up,” he told a press conference.

UPGRADED GROWTH FORECASTS FOR 2025, BUT RISKS REMAIN

The U.S. economy is forecast to grow 2% in 2025, revised up from 1.8% in September, before slowing to 1.7% in 2026 – up from 1.5% predicted in September.
AI investment, fiscal support and expected Federal Reserve rate cuts are helping offset the drag from tariffs on imported goods, reduced immigration and federal job cuts, the OECD said.

However, it warned that the Trump administration had put U.S. fiscal policy on an unsustainable trajectory with large budget deficits and rising debt that would require a “significant adjustment” in the coming years.
China’s growth is expected to hold steady at 5% in 2025, up from 4.9% in September, before slowing to 4.4% in 2026 – unchanged from September – as fiscal support fades and new U.S. tariffs on goods imported from China bite.
The euro zone’s 2025 growth forecast was revised up to 1.3% from 1.2%, supported by resilient labour markets and increased public spending in Germany. Growth is expected to moderate to 1.2% in 2026 – it was seen at 1% previously – as budget tightening in France and Italy weighs on the outlook.

Japan’s economy is projected to grow 1.3% in 2025, up from 1.1%, and buoyed by strong corporate earnings and investment, before slowing to 0.9% in 2026.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/tariffs-ai-boom-could-test-global-growths-resilience-oecd-says-2025-12-02/

Officials in Minneapolis on Tuesday said they were not aware of imminent federal immigration raids targeting the area’s Somali community, which has come under blistering attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump in recent days.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, responding to a report in the New York Times that upward of 100 federal immigration agents were poised to descend on his city and neighboring St. Paul to target undocumented Somali residents, said regardless of whether raids were coming, the Somali community would be supported in every way possible by local authorities.

Frey, a Democrat, said local police would not work with federal agents on any immigration matters, and he strongly criticized Trump’s recent attacks on the Somali community, including on Tuesday when the president called them “garbage” and said “we don’t want them in our country.”
The president has increased his attacks on Somalis in the U.S. since last week’s shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, a shooting that killed on of the troops and for which an Afghan national has been charged.
“To villainize an entire group is ridiculous under any circumstances,” Frey said.
Anti-immigration rhetoric was a major part of Trump’s campaign and since taking office in January he has overseen an aggressive campaign by masked federal agents across the country that has instilled fear in immigrant communities and prompted protests and backlashes in the cities targeted.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, did not confirm raids were imminent in Minneapolis, but said agents were enforcing immigration laws across the country every day.
About 80,000 Somalis live in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities metro region. Frey said the community had been an economic and cultural boon to the area and had been living in the U.S. for several decades. The vast majority of Somalis in the U.S., Frey said, are American citizens, and he said he’s convinced any immigration action would ensnare people in the country legally.

LATEST ATTACKS

Trump last month said he was immediately terminating temporary deportation protections for Somalis living in Minnesota, saying “Somali gangs” were terrorizing the state, without offering evidence or details. Local officials said Trump’s portrayal is untrue. In all, 705 Somalis are in the country with TPS status, according to government records.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump ratcheted up his inflammatory rhetoric about Somalis, saying they had contributed nothing to the U.S.
“I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” Trump said. “Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the president was “absolutely right to highlight the problems caused by the radical Somali migrants that the Democrats let invade our country and steal from American taxpayers.”
Trump has long used incendiary rhetoric, as well as racist and sexist language, saying on several occasions that immigrants in the U.S. illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/minnesota-officials-defend-somali-community-against-trumps-attacks-2025-12-02/

Russia and the U.S. did not reach a compromise on a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine after a five-hour Kremlin meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s top envoys, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
Trump has repeatedly complained that ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two has been one of the elusive foreign policy aims of his presidency. The U.S. president has at times scolded both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Talks in Moscow between Putin and Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner went past midnight. Afterward, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said “Compromises have not yet been found.
“There is still a lot of work to be done,” Ushakov told reporters at a briefing in the Kremlin.
Putin reacted negatively to some U.S. proposals, Ushakov said. Witkoff went to the U.S. embassy in Moscow after the talks to brief the White House, Ushakov said.
Ushakov added that a meeting between Putin and Trump was not currently planned, though he said the talks were constructive and that there were huge opportunities for U.S.-Russian economic cooperation.

NO FURTHER AWAY FROM PEACE

Ushakov said Putin had sent a series of important signals and his greetings to Trump, but that the sides had agreed not to disclose details to the media.
He added that they had discussed the “territorial problem”, Kremlin shorthand for Russian claims to the whole of Donbas, though Ukraine controls at least 5,000 square km (1,900 square miles) of the area which Russia claims as its own. Almost all countries recognise Donbas as part of Ukraine.
“Some American draft proposals look more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed,” Ushakov said. “Some of the formulations that have been proposed to us are not suitable for us, that is – the work will continue.”

Witkoff, a billionaire U.S. real estate developer who has known Trump since the 1980s, and Kushner, the husband of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, began talks in the Kremlin after a stroll across Red Square past the mausoleum of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin to the towers of the Kremlin.

They talked with Putin, Ushakov and Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, via interpreters.
“Our people are over in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled. Not an easy situation, let me tell you. What a mess,” Trump said on Tuesday in Washington, adding that there were casualties of 25,000 to 30,000 per month in the war.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.

EUROPEAN POWERS WORRIED BY U.S. EFFORTS

A leaked set of 28 U.S. draft peace proposals, emerged in November, alarming Ukrainian and European officials who said it bowed to Moscow’s main demands.
European powers then came up with a counter-proposal, and at talks in Geneva, the U.S. and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war.
Zelenskiy, speaking in Dublin, said everything would depend on the talks in Moscow but that he was afraid the U.S. could lose interest in the peace process.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/putin-witkoff-discuss-peace-options-ukraine-past-moscows-midnight-2025-12-02/

Salvador Nasralla, of the centrist Liberal Party, on Tuesday took a razor-thin lead in Honduras’ presidential election over Nasry Asfura, the conservative candidate backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, in a vote count plagued by delays and allegations of fraud.
The latest results released by the electoral authority around 6 p.m. (0100 GMT Wednesday) showed Nasralla on 40.13% and Asfura of the National Party on 39.71%, with around 68% of votes counted. The front runners were separated by just 9,129 votes. Asfura had previously been leading by around 500 votes when earlier results were released on Monday.

Rixi Moncada, of the ruling leftist LIBRE Party, was well behind in third place with 19.09%.
Earlier on Tuesday, Honduras’ electoral authority pleaded for calm as it scrambled to overcome a system failure that left about 20% of votes in the presidential election uncounted, as Trump alleged possible fraud and swore “there will be hell to pay” if results are altered.
On Monday the electoral body said Asfura and Nasralla were in a “technical tie” with each holding just under 40% of the vote and that votes would have to be counted by hand.
The initial rapid count system was beset by issues, the CNE electoral authority said in a statement on Tuesday. That had also resulted in problems with the web portal where results were meant to be updated in real time. The website was down much of Monday, causing tensions to rise in the tightly contested race, plagued by accusations of possible fraud before votes were even cast on Sunday.

As the count continues, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party was released from a U.S. prison on Monday, where he was serving a 45-year prison sentence for drug trafficking and firearms charges, a Federal Bureau of Prisons registry showed.
His release came after Trump urged Honduran voters to cast their ballots for the National Party candidate, Asfura, and said he would pardon Hernandez. A White House official confirmed on Tuesday that Trump had pardoned Hernandez.
Trump weighed in on Monday in a social media post in which he alleged, without evidence, that Honduras was “trying to change the results of their Presidential Election.”
“If they do there will be hell to pay! The people of Honduras voted in overwhelming numbers on November 30th,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

There was high voter turnout in Sunday’s election, which was peaceful across the country, according to the Organization of American States, which observed the vote. It said in a statement on Monday that it “was able to verify that the voting proceeded normally, except for isolated incidents in some municipalities of the country.”
But there are concerns that if the vote count drags on, the highly charged election environment could lead to protests and possible violence.
The electoral authority said it would now release information about the count directly to media and political parties to ensure the public was able to follow the results.
Former President Manuel Zelaya, who is also the husband of current President Xiomara Castro, lambasted Trump’s interference in the election, saying on X that it was an attempt to stop Moncada’s bid, and vowing the Honduran people would stand up for democracy. “We who fight for liberty are on our feet,” he wrote. “We are patriots and nobody yields.”

On Monday evening, Moncada said the elections were “still not lost” and alleged that the other parties had manipulated the process. She also denounced U.S. interference in the election.
Both Asfura and Nasralla have said they may resume diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which were severed in 2023. Such a move would mark the biggest diplomatic setback for China in the region for decades.
In Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung told reporters that the island would actively engage with whoever was elected.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/honduras-election-remains-virtually-tied-former-president-is-released-us-prison-2025-12-02/

US President Donald Trump has been ramping up pressure on Venezuela’s leader, President Nicolás Maduro.

The Trump administration has doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture, and its warships are within striking distance of Venezuela. Dozens of people have been killed in attacks on boats alleged to have been transporting drugs from the South American country.

Trump reportedly also gave Maduro an ultimatum to leave Venezuela, in a phone call the two men had on 21 November.

The UK government has criticised delays in aid being allowed into Gaza after a consignment of more than 1,100 tents it sent to the strip took more than a year to arrive.

The foreign secretary has also raised concerns that other UK-funded aid had been unable to reach residents, despite the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

Yvette Cooper said the situation in Gaza remains “dire” as the United Nations warned that 1.5 million people are in need of urgent shelter amid worsening rains and plummeting temperatures ahead of winter.

The Israeli government said it was upholding aid delivery agreements and had “facilitated the transfer of close to 250,000 tents and tarpaulins” to Gaza in recent months.

The UK-funded tents – each capable of housing a family of five – reached Gaza on Monday, with more expected to arrive this week.

Government sources said the tents will provide shelter to as many as 12,000 people over the winter months.

Cooper said the delay in getting aid into the strip could not be allowed to continue and that all crossings into the territory should be opened to allow unhindered humanitarian access.

She said: “The situation in Gaza remains dire, with worsening weather conditions compounding the critical issues caused by damaged infrastructure and over two years of conflict.

“Parents have been trying to shelter their children under broken roofs and open skies.

“These tents will provide a lifeline to thousands of people needing shelter, protecting them from the cold winds and relentless rain turning rubble into mud.”

About 1.9 million people in Gaza, nearly 90% of the population, have been displaced since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in October 2023, according to the UN.

Cooper said the arrival of the tents “represents months of ongoing work by the international community to push for greater aid access” and she had been frustrated to see “yet another consignment of aid stuck at the border” earlier this year.

“This cannot be allowed to continue,” she said.

“The arrival of these tents shows the scale of potential impact when our aid gets in, and we will continue to do all we can to urge unhindered humanitarian access, the opening of all the crossings, the implementation of the peace plan, and a path to peace.”

Unicef Special Representative to the State of Palestine Jonathan Veitch said more aid would still be needed.

“The situation in Gaza is devastating as cold, and heavy rains continue to affect families living in extremely difficult conditions,” he said.

“Even with the ceasefire, daily life remains incredibly challenging for children in the Gaza Strip.

“UK aid–supported tents have now entered Gaza and will provide urgently needed shelter to help families face the harsh winter. Much more is needed.”

In a statement, Cogat, the Israeli defence body which controls Gaza’s crossings, said: “Contrary to the claims, we emphasize that Israel is committed to and fully upholds its obligation to transfer humanitarian aid trucks in accordance with the agreement.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqlk663555no

Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs have hit out at a new Netflix documentary produced by rapper 50 Cent, which they say is “a shameful hit piece” that “relied on stolen footage”.

The four-part documentary, titled Sean Combs: The Reckoning, was released on Tuesday and is billed as a “staggering examination” of the hip-hop mogul, who was convicted on prostitution-related charges earlier this year.

It includes what Netflix described as “explosive” footage of Combs filmed in the days before his arrest, including a phone conversation with his lawyers.

The director said she obtained the footage legally, but Combs’ spokesman said it was “fundamentally unfair, and illegal” to use his private footage.

A video claiming that the Swaminarayan Mandir in Karachi hosted the “first-ever screening of India’s first Oscar-eligible animated film, Mahavatar Narasimha” is going viral on social media, sparking widespread curiosity and conversation online.

The clip has been reshared across multiple platforms by various users. However, it was originally posted on Instagram by a creator identified as Ramjeet Raj. Text on the video reads: “First time ever in Pakistan. Maha Avatar Narsimha at Swaminarayan Mandir Karachi.” The caption adds, “First time ever in Pakistan — witnessing the divine might of Maha Avtar Narsinha at Swaminarayan Mandir Karachi. A blessing to be a part of this moment.”

The footage shows the animated film playing on a large screen inside the temple, with a sizeable audience watching attentively and with enthusiasm. The clip has quickly gone viral, amassing over 6 lakh likes, more than 1,000 comments, and over 6 million views.

The video was also reshared on Times Now’s Instagram account with the caption: “Pakistan’s Karachi witnessed a historic moment as Swaminarayan Mandir hosted the first-ever screening of the Mahavatar Narasimha animated film, creating a rare cultural celebration for the community.”

See more

Source : https://www.instagram.com/p/DRv9s3Zjwm1/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=1739eabd-9918-4cc6-9649-68c0dd259dff 

The RELOS agreement sets the procedure for sending military formations, warships and military aircraft of Russia to India and vice versa, and the organisation of their mutual logistical support.

Russia’s lower house of parliament, State Duma, on Tuesday ratified a key military pact with India ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to New Delhi on December 4-5.

The Reciprocal Exchange of Logistic Support (RELOS) signed on February 18, between the two governments was sent to Duma last week for ratification by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

“Our relations with India are strategic and comprehensive, and we value them. We understand that today’s ratification of the agreement is another step toward reciprocity and, of course, the development of our relations,” Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of State Duma, said at the plenary session of the house.

The RELOS agreement sets the procedure for sending military formations, warships and military aircraft of Russia to India and vice versa, and the organisation of their mutual logistical support.

The agreement will regulate not only the dispatch of troops and equipment but also their logistics.

The established procedure will be used during joint exercises, training, humanitarian aid, disaster relief efforts after natural and man-made disasters, and in other cases as agreed.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/russia-okays-key-defence-pact-with-india-ahead-of-vladimir-putin-visit-9740532?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has given a significant update on the 2028 election after teasing a third term for months.

He opened up about the next presidential election cycle during a cabinet meeting in the White House on Tuesday.

Speaking with reporters about the Democrats, Trump said, “They have really bad policy.”

The president purposefully refused to elaborate on his dig, explaining, “I don’t want them to change it necessarily cause I want to run against it.”

He went on to clarify, “It’s not gonna be me,” putting to rest his jokes about trying for an unconstitutional third term.

However, the president did tease that his future endorsement could be sitting in that same room.

“It’s gonna be somebody […] probably sitting at this table,” he explained in reference to his presidential cabinet.

“Could be a couple of people sitting at this table.”

Trump has previously said he’s joked about gunning for a third term to provoke the “fake news media.”

However, he’s continued to flip-flop his story, at one point suggesting that Vice President JD Vance could win the election and then pass the baton.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15580715/donald-trump-updates-presidential-bid-teases-third-term/