Category: World

At least 56 people have been killed and 21 are missing in Sri Lanka after floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains wreaked havoc this week, in one of its worst weather related disasters the country has seen in recent years.

Twenty-one people were killed in the central tea-growing district of Badulla when a landslide crashed onto their homes overnight, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said in a statement.

Videos uploaded to social media show houses being washed away as flood waters cascade through towns, while most train services have been cancelled across the country.

Sri Lanka is now bracing itself for more severe weather on Friday as Cyclone Ditwah moves along its eastern coast.

Ditwah began as a deep depression off its eastern coast but later intensified into a cyclone. It is expected to make landfall in India.

In Sri Lanka, river levels are continuing to rise and the DMC has warned residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground. A red level flood warning has been issued for the low-lying areas of the Kelani River valley within the next 48 hours, the Irrigation Department said. Areas at risk include the capital, Colombo.

More than 200 mm of rain is expected in some central and northern parts of the island on Friday, Sri Lanka’s met office said.

Key roads connecting provinces have been closed and the Railway Department has announced that all trains, except for a few essential services, have been cancelled from 06:00 on Friday.

The DMC said that almost 44,000 people have been affected by the extreme weather. Around 20,500 army troops have been deployed to provide relief and rescue operations across the country.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq602686dq8o

VENEZUELAN troops are firing outdated RPGs and Soviet-era rifles in a desperate attempt to prepare for Donald Trump’s looming assault.

Dictator Nicolas Maduro has issued a rallying war cry in the face of the impending invasion – while War Secretary Pete Hegseth has visited America’s biggest aircraft carrier in the Caribbean.

Embarrassing footage showed small factions of Venezuelan soldiers firing ancient anti-aircraft cannons and antiquated guns.

Maduro’s regime is set to crumble under the sheer force of Trump’s modern and fully stocked army – should he choose to invade the South American nation, experts say.

The Venezuelan despot has also claimed there is “no threat” that could catch his country off-guard.

He said: “There is no threat or aggression that will take us by surprise or frighten our people, who have prepared themselves to defend their land, their sea, and their air.”

Amid spiralling relations with the US and Trump’s huge military build-up, Maduro said: “Foreign imperialist forces have been continuously threatening to disrupt the peace of the Caribbean Sea and Venezuela, under false pretenses that no one believes.”

He added: “It has been 17 weeks of psychological warfare.”

Pulling statistics out of thin air, the pariah said: “82 per cent of Venezuelans say they are prepared to defend their homeland with weapons.”

The deluded despot also hailed his regime’s economy before praising Venezuela’s “palpable democracy”.

It comes after Hegseth visited sailors on the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier – the biggest in the world.

He told those on board: “The United States will be forever grateful to the warriors who keep her safe.”

Currently deployed to the Latin American region, the vessel is part of a ballooning US military presence on Maduro’s doorstep under Operation Southern Spear.

The US have carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coast of Latin America since September, killing at least 83 people.

Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the Trump’s build-up is designed to drive him out of power.

On Wednesday, bizarre footage showed Nicolas Maduro swinging a large sword in the air whilst vowing to defy the US in his latest desperate stunt.

The 63-year-old tyrant was seen in camouflage fatigues and whipping out the blade before crowds in Caracas.

The mind-boggling parade came after Trump formally branded Maduro’s inner circle “narco-terrorists”.

The US last week designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation, accusing Maduro of heading a state-embedded criminal empire that has corrupted the military, intelligence agencies, the courts and parliament.

Experts say the Cartel de los Soles is not a traditional cartel but a vast patronage web inside the Venezuelan state.

The designation took effect Monday, marking the first time Washington has treated Maduro’s regime not merely as authoritarian – but as a hemispheric security threat.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the cartel had fuelled “terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere” and trafficked cocaine into the US and Europe.

He added: “Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela’s legitimate government.”

Maduro is clinging to a disputed third term after being declared winner of last year’s election despite evidence the opposition defeated him by a two-to-one margin.

Hegseth and Trump have previously warned that nothing, including strikes inside Venezuela, is off the table.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15561081/venezuelan-troops-fire-warning-trump-maduro-hegseth-carrier/

ONE of the National Guard members who was shot by a crazed gunman near the White House has died from her injuries, President Donald Trump has announced.

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, passed away after she was shot twice while out on patrol near the Farragut West Metro Station in Northwest Washington DC on the eve of Thanksgiving.

Trump sadly announced that she had passed away at the beginning of an event on Thursday speaking to troops to celebrate Thanksgiving.

He said, “I must unfortunately tell you… that Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia… she’s just passed away.”

Trump called her a “magnificent person” who was “highly respected” and “outstanding in every way.”

“It’s horrible,” he said, adding that the other National Guardsman who was shot Andrew Wolfe, 24, was “fighting for his life.”

Beckstrom sustained a “mortal wound” after suffering two gunshot wounds, one in the chest and another to the head.

Gary Beckstrom, the father of the heroic National Guard member, told The New York Times it was unlikely his daughter was going to pull through.

“I’m holding her hand right now,” Gary told the outlet.

“She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”

US Attorney for DC Judge Jeanine Pirro said: “Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom of the National Guard – a hero who volunteered to serve DC on Thanksgiving for people she never met and gave the ultimate sacrifice.

“May she rest in peace. It is now time to avenge her death and secure justice.”

The deranged suspect has since been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghanistan native, who drove across the country from Washington state to the nation’s capital to conduct the targeted attack, federal investigators said.

Lakanwal’s reign of terror ended minutes after he critically wounded Beckstrom and Wolfe.

Federal investigators have since executed two search warrants at Lakanwal’s home in Washington state and another in San Diego.

FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters on Thursday that officials seized several electronic devices from Lakanwal’s property in Washington state, including laptops and computers.

Patel also said the residents who were in the Washington state home at the time were interviewed by the FBI.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said that Lakanwal, 29, had come to the United States in September 2021 – after the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan – through a Biden-era immigration program for Afghans who had worked with the US government.

Ratcliffe said that his involvement was “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation.”

The CIA director slammed the former administration’s “disastrous” actions during the withdrawal, which allowed unvetted foreigners to enter the US on temporary visas.

“The Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the US government, including the CIA,” Ratcliffe added.

“The individual – and so many others – should have never been allowed to come here.”

Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington DC, said Lakanwal targeted the National Guard soldiers.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15561087/national-guard-member-dead-washington-dc-shooting/

The Israeli army and police were reviewing an incident in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinian Authority calls a “war crime.”

Israeli security forces killed two Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, reportedly after they had surrendered.

The Palestinian Authority said the two men aged 26 and 37 were killed in “the brutal field execution carried out by the Israeli occupation army” and condemned the incident as a “war crime.”

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he “fully supports” the Israeli troops who shot two “wanted terrorists.”

Video apparently shows Palestinian men being shot

Footage on social media and broadcast by television channels, including Israeli ones, purportedly shows the unarmed men exiting a building in Jenin, lifting their shirts and lying down in apparent surrender, before Israeli forces reportedly directed them back inside and opened fire at close range.

The Israeli military and police said the incident is under investigation, but gave no reason for the shooting.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/israeli-forces-kill-2-palestinians-surrender-disputed/a-74932585

The Labour government celebrated a second consecutive year of declining long-term migration to the UK, as it faces mounting pressure on the issue from the populist, right-wing Reform UK party.

Long-term net migration into the United Kingdom for the 12 months up to June 2025 stood at 204,000, figures released on Thursday by the national statistics agency showed, the lowest level for the period in four years.

That equates to a 69% reduction compared to the same 12-month period a year ago, 649,000. However, that figure includes the second half of 2023 — an all-time record calendar year for net migration into the UK — when roughly 860,000 more people immigrated to the UK on a long-term basis than emigrated from it.

Labour seeks to cut numbers amid pressure from Reform

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) data comes as Labour struggles to contain the rising poll numbers of right-wing populist party Reform UK, led by longstanding migration critic Nigel Farage.

With Labour’s approval ratings tanking after its first year in power, and the former ruling Conservative party still in the doldrums of the latter days of their rein, Reform has been leading most polls in recent weeks.

The new appointee as Home Secretary, or interior minister, Shabana Mahmood, continued her efforts to strike a tough tone on both legal and unauthorized migration since taking up the role in a Cabinet reshuffle in September.

“We are going further because the pace and scale of migration has placed immense pressure on local communities,” Mahmood said following the release of the ONS data.

Thursday’s ONS numbers pointed to 898,000 people entering the UK on a long-term basis to work or study, and 693,000 leaving up to June 2025.

Several changes to migration requirements and standards, stemming both from Labour and from the previous Conservative government, coming into effect have contributed to the decline.

Reform UK focused more on irregular migration

Immigration has been a major issue in British politics for more than a decade, at least since the campaign for the referendum on leaving the European Union in 2016.

The issue came into sharp relief in September when tens of thousands of people marched in London at an event organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

Robinson and Reform UK focus on both legal and unauthorized migration, but pay particular attention to the far smaller but rising numbers of people crossing the English Channel in small boats without permission to enter the country.

The numbers make up a tiny fraction of new arrivals, in the region of 5%. But their uncontrolled entry and the government’s obligation to house them as they are processed — often in hotels because the UK has a strained housing market and has not built reception centers for the purpose — makes the issue an evocative one.

Almost 40,000 people arrived on small boats between January 1 and November 25, 2025, a 17% increase on the same period in 2024, according to Home Office data. But at the same time, more than 36,000 were returned and deported between October and September 2025, an 11% year-on-year increase.

Earlier this year, a deal was struck with neighboring France that was hailed by Labour as a breakthrough in Prime Minister Starmer’s election promise to “smash the gangs” enabling illegal migration.

How non-EU migration spiked in post-Brexit, post-COVID era

In the years after Brexit, several factors came together to cause a rapid increase in migration to the UK, despite the fact that proponents of leaving the European Union had argued that doing so would reduce the numbers.

The previous Conservative government said it wanted to use the opportunity of leaving the EU to make it easier for skilled workers from non-EU countries to migrate. These countries often have historical and colonial-era ties to Britain.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/british-government-welcomes-sharp-dip-in-net-migration/a-74931639

 

How lethal autonomous weapon systems are defined could determine whether existing weapons will be regulated or prohibited, says Liu Mei Ching from the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Think super-intelligent killer robots and our minds flash to popular films and television series like The Terminator and Black Mirror.

While the idea of these sci-fi versions running rampant remains far-fetched, lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) have nonetheless raised concerns – from the risk of losing human control during conflict to the challenges in ensuring accountability and compliance with international law.

Due to myriad humanitarian, security and legal concerns, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the international community to adopt a legally binding instrument for these weapon systems by 2026. This discussion started in 2013 and is currently led by a UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) that recently convened in September.

Existing weapon systems may already fit the working definition of LAWS. As of May, the GGE defines them as “an integrated combination of one or more weapons and technological components, that can select and engage a target, without intervention by a human user in the execution of these tasks”.

Air defence systems at military bases that are designed to autonomously strike incoming missiles, rockets or mortars could qualify. The most prominent example is the Iron Dome in Israel. Other planned systems that might mirror its technology include the United States’ Golden Dome, or Taiwan’s T-Dome which was announced in October.

While there are no such air defence systems in Southeast Asia, how LAWS are defined could determine whether weapons already in Southeast Asian states’ arsenals will be included.

SOUTHEAST ASIA’S VOICE IN WEAPONS DISCUSSION

The potential regulation or prohibition of existing weapon systems underscores the importance of Southeast Asian states joining and shaping the LAWS debate.

Close-in weapon systems (CIWS) used on ships, such as the Palma CIWS on Vietnamese frigates, could also qualify. LAWS’ definition could also include active protection systems designed to protect military tanks against incoming missiles.

Loitering munitions (also commonly called kamikaze drones), which Indonesia and Malaysia have taken an interest in, could also be included.

Sitting out of the conversation means letting others define the rules, including countries that are major weapons manufacturers.

UNCLEAR POSITIONS AND CONCERNS

But the positions and specific concerns across Southeast Asian countries are still unclear.

Four – Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Singapore – have ratified or acceded to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), making them a High Contracting Party. This grants them the full right to participation, including the right to vote in the GGE’s decision-making, as compared to observers who do not have. Vietnam is a signatory but has not yet ratified the convention.

Among them, the Philippines and Singapore are the most active participants.

The Philippines has been engaged in the LAWS debate since the GGE’s inception. Its commitment is highlighted by its nomination as a Friend of the Chair, a role that involves facilitating consultations and helping the GGE chairperson build consensus.

The Philippines supports a legally binding instrument on LAWS. However, it did not support a joint statement delivered by Brazil in September which called for the negotiation of such an instrument. This could be due to a number of reasons, such as the language of the statement or process constraints, as representatives might have insufficient time to consult their capitals.

Singapore acceded to the CCW in 2023, and its interventions during the GGE meetings have received praise from other states, such as Austria, for being pragmatic, bringing real-life examples, and setting an example for others to follow.

Singapore supported, not the joint statement delivered by Brazil, but another statement with Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and others, on considering the next steps but which stopped short of calling for negotiations.

Without delving into the technical details, if states ultimately decide to pursue a legally binding instrument, it could be established as a new protocol under the CCW. If states decide against a legally binding instrument, non-legally binding measures, such as a political declaration, may help to shape norms of behaviour and lay the foundation for a future legally binding instrument.

HOW TO ENGAGE IN THE LAWS DEBATE

It is essential that more Southeast Asian states engage in the LAWS debate.

Southeast Asian states could ratify or accede to the CCW to become a High Contracting Party, though the process is lengthy and typically requires a state to enact legislation. Alternatively, they could consider joining as observer states.

Observer Thailand did not actively intervene during the September meeting, but it joined other states in calling for the negotiation of an instrument for LAWS. This support came amid its recent border conflict with Cambodia – a conflict in which armed drones were used to inflict damage.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/killer-robots-lethal-autonomous-weapons-drones-ban-regulate-5493716

Five native Thai cat breeds have been crowned national pet symbols, a move celebrated by breeders but met with both optimism and caution by rescuers confronting a growing stray-cat problem.

In centuries-old Thai manuscripts, the cat appears as a revered species, a bearer of prosperity, protection and royal favour.

In books made from samut khoi – traditional Thai paper folding books made from the bark of a mulberry tree – scribes depicted silver-coated and white, jewel-eyed felines as guardians of temples and described their unique traits in verse.

These animals have deep roots and national heritage, dating back beyond these 14th-century scripts called the Tamra Maew.

From ancient symbols to modern-day icons, the kingdom’s iconic species are being elevated once again: Officially recognised alongside some other historic heavyweights.

Five cat breeds native to Thailand were approved as national pet symbols by the government on Nov 18, joining the Thai elephant, fighting fish and Naga among other nationally recognised emblems.

The pure Thai breeds – Suphalak, Korat, Siamese, Konja and Khao Manee – possess distinctive physical and behavioral traits that clearly differentiate them from other breeds, according to Thailand’s National Identity Committee, which had proposed their designations as national pets.

“Their uniqueness has gained international recognition, with some foreign breeders attempting to register purebred Thai cat lines and establish global breed standards,” the Thai government’s public relations department said in a report on Nov 20.

Preecha Vadhana, a cat breeder who operates Bangrak Cat Farm in Bangkok, said that each of the five breeds has very distinct features, making them easily distinguishable from one another.

“But they also share similarities, particularly their structure and short coat.”

The Suphalak has a distinct copper coat and is considered a symbol of prestige and fortune. The Korat is a bluish-grey cat with large, vivid green eyes, while the Khao Manee – a rare, white species – often has eyes with two strikingly different colours such as gold and blue.

The Konja is known as a lucky black cat, unlike its foreign counterparts which are often infamous for the opposite.

Finally, the “king of cats”, the Siamese or Wichienmas, is marked by its distinct dark spots and treasured for its intelligence. It is typically the most expensive of the breeds and can cost 15,000-20,000 baht (US$465-US$620) from a local breeder, while others cost 7,000-15,000 baht.

“I think it’s a great step, and it will encourage more interest in Thai breeds,” said Titipat Laohaprasertsiri, the president of the International Maew Boran Association (TIMBA), an organisation that seeks to promote Thai iconic species. Maew Boran means ancient cats in Thai.

“Thai cats are energetic, fun, curious and incredibly affectionate. Thai cats seem to love humans more than they love other cats. They’re very people-oriented. They really add warmth and joy to your daily life,” he said.

There are no publicly available figures on how many such cats there are in Thailand.

The decision to elevate these species is not just symbolic: It is meant to help conserve rare native breeds, standardise them and protect Thailand’s ownership of them. The species will also be used more in creative-economy and tourism branding, according to the government.

“I see it as a huge potential positive. Unfortunately, ‘breeds’ tend to hold more value and receive better welfare than animals without that status,” said Henna Pekko, the managing director of Rescue P.A.W.S. Thailand, a not-for-profit animal welfare organisation in Thailand.

“If cats are considered national treasures, it’s a good day for cat lovers,” added Karan Bhatia, the owner of Catsanova Cat Shelter & Playroom in Bangkok, a business that focuses on ethical cat adoption.

But like many involved in the wider cat industry, both have some caveats, noting that the longtime prestige of certain species contrasts with the reality faced by many cats in Thailand today.

LIFE ON THE STREET

Stray cats and dogs number in the hundreds of thousands nationwide, possibly more. There were an estimated 820,00 animals on the street, based on past estimates by the Department of Livestock Development in 2018.

Big cities like Bangkok carry a heavy burden but it is a major, country-wide problem.

State-supported sterilisation, rehoming or vaccination programmes are rare. But from Jan 10 next year, cat owners in the Bangkok metropolitan area will be required to register and microchip their animal.

There will also be limits imposed on the number of cats one can own based on the size of their home.

Pet abandonment remains a major issue, a situation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID was an extreme situation, but nonetheless, it contributed to a huge influx of new animals out on the street,” said Sam McElroy, the operations director at Soi Dog Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to improving the welfare of stray dogs and cats across Asia.

“A lot of those lived in someone’s house for however-many years, and then they found themselves out on the street. And they kind of melt into the background in a country like Thailand, because there are so many strays,” he added.

There is a huge number of stray and free-roaming cats, many with no access to veterinary care, Pekko said. As a result, these cats often have multiple litters and suffer from parasites, injuries and illness.

“Access to affordable or subsidised sterilisation is limited, which makes the problem worse over time,” she said.

The new government recognition of Thai heritage cats does not indicate any measures to address the stray cat problem in the country, beyond “public awareness” of the five pure breeds and their importance. But animal advocates hope there will be flow-on effects.

“I think it will help if the government or the people behind it can use this as a platform to start educating people on how to treat community cats and stray cats,” Bhatia said.

Others are more direct in saying the government needs to take more concrete actions, instead of symbolic gestures directed at uncommon species of Thai cats.

Mavin Russameethongthakul is a Bangkok resident who shelters 25 rescued cats in his home.

He said that instead of campaigning specifically for pure Thai breeds, it would be better to encourage people to help stray cats instead.

“These specific Thai breeds are actually quite rare, and I don’t really see the benefit,” he said.

Pekko said the government’s move could help raise awareness and encourage more compassion for cats among the general public.

“Hopefully this recognition will have a positive effect for Thai cats in general – not just the specific breeds,” she said.

But she expressed fears that increased attention on these breeds may ignite more targeted breeding, that if not regulated properly, could lead to further welfare issues. Thailand has minimal regulation of commercial cat breeding.

“So while the decision is promising, the real impact remains to be seen,” Pekko added.

INSIDE THE WORLD OF BREEDING

In a small alleyway in the Bangk Rak district of Bangkok – wedged between the city’s riverside and the hustle of Silom – behind a set of metal gates, dozens of cages rise in narrow rows.

Close to a hundred cats fill the space with constant meowing.

Bangrak Cat Farm is a breeding ground for all of Thailand’s five sought-after native species, a rare type of operation in the country.

Preecha, the 76-year-old breeder, walks and inspects the cats with a sharp eye, stopping occasionally to brush some of his favourites or check the conditions of others.

He has pride in his cats and about the new government recognition, something he said he has pushed for many years, through many different governments.

“Thai cats have always been part of our national identity; the government just hadn’t paid attention. But now, they’ve embraced Thai cats as part of the country’s soft power and that’s something to be proud of,” he said.

The recognition will help build trust within the industry, ensure quality, species longevity and extend a sense of pride to cat owners, he said.

It may also encourage others to join the Thai cat breeding industry, if business is healthy and the breeds become more popular, he added.

Most cats here are bound for Thai homes rather than being exported overseas, although there is demand from the United States and Europe. Overall, there is a growing interest domestically in owning one of the ancient Thai breeds, said Titipat of TIMBA.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-cat-breeding-national-pet-symbols-cafe-5493171

TAIWAN has fired a stark warning to Beijing, vowing to ready itself for all-out war within two years as China ramps up threats to seize the island.

President Lai Ching-te announced today that he will be accelerating defence spending by £30.6billion to have a “high level” of joint combat readiness against China by 2027.

Lai accused Xi Jinping of “speeding up military preparations to take Taiwan by force” as tensions reach boiling point in a war of words that could spiral into WW3.

Taiwan has escalated its military spending over the past decade, but US President Donald Trump‘s administration have urged the island to do more to protect itself.

At the press conference announcing the bombshell spend increase, Lai said: “The ultimate goal is to establish defence capabilities that can permanently safeguard democratic Taiwan,

“Beijing authorities have recently intensified efforts aimed at turning democratic Taiwan into China’s Taiwan, posing a serious threat to our national security and to Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.”

Communist China has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing has threated to annex it by force, carrying out terrifying dress rehearsal invasions in the South China Sea.

Xi even told Trump in a phone call that Taiwan’s return to China “an integral part of the post-war international order.”

China has offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” solution, but this model has been rejected by any mainstream political party in the country.

Lai’s announcement comes amidst a vicious back-and-forth between Beijing and Tokyo, with conservative Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting Japan could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan.

The United States’ top envoy in Taiwan has backed the island’s huge defence splurge and urged the island’s rival political parties to “find common ground” to beef up its defences.

Lai said the extra cash will go on fresh US arms deals and boosting the island’s ability to fight a more flexible, asymmetrical war.

He insisted the military push has nothing to do with ongoing tariff talks with Washington and said the real aim is to “demonstrate Taiwan’s determination to defend” itself.

In an article in the Washington Post, Lai said: “We aim to bolster deterrence by inserting greater costs and uncertainties into Beijing’s decision-making on the use of force.”

The comments come after the US signed off on 330 million dollars worth of parts and components in the first Taiwan arms sale since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Lai, who heads the Democratic Progressive Party, has already set out plans to lift defence spending above three percent of GDP next year and five percent by 2030.

The government has put forward a £22.7billion budget for next year, equal to 3.32 percent of GDP.

The extra eight year package unveiled on Wednesday goes beyond the 32 billion dollars previously revealed to AFP.

Lai said the money will help develop the so called “T-Dome”, an air defence shield, while boosting Taiwan’s own defence industry.

Long range precision missiles, counter-drone systems and anti ballistic weapons are all on the shopping list, according to the defence ministry.

Su Tzu-yun, a military analyst in Taipei, told AFP that Lai’s plan is what Taiwan needs, saying: “Freedom is not a free lunch.”

The government faces an uphill battle in parliament, where the China friendly Kuomintang holds the purse strings with help from the Taiwan People’s Party.

New Kuomintang boss Cheng Li-wun has attacked Lai’s plans before and claims Taiwan “doesn’t have that much money.”

Kuomintang lawmaker Ma Wen chun added that “strengthening national defence is not about simply buying more weapons” and that recruiting and retaining troops is “far more urgent and important issue.

“In the future we may face a situation where there are no personnel left to operate these weapons.”

But those personnel issues may be solved after Taiwan began distributing millions of civil defence handbooks to households last week.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15552691/taiwan-prepare-for-war-with-china-ww3/

 

Plus, inside Jenny’s sweet Thanksgiving plans with her husband Donnie Wahlberg

Jenny McCarthy opened up about a serious health issue thats plagued her for the past year and forced her to undergo nine surgeries.

The Masked Singer judge revealed that she suffered an infection after a ceramic dental implant.

In an interview with People, the comedian and model said, “I’ve had nine surgeries this year on my mouth, my teeth were falling out.”

“They finally had to dig into my jawbone and chipped away, and found I had a deep bone infection.

“I’ve been on antibiotics for a year, and have had to eat soft foods only.”

Jenny, 53, said she is very thankful this Thanksgiving to be able to finally eat solid foods.

The actress and her husband, Donnie Wahlberg, 56, released a holiday card in which she looked fit and trim.

She told the outlet that her svelte figure was due, in large part, to her inability to eat regular foods.

“As of now, I’m able to chew again, but every time we thought it had cleared up, it came back again.”

Even worse, not only would Jenny have pain and swelling in her jaw, she was having terrifying issues with her eyes.

“At the same time, I was getting these growths popping up on my eyeballs.”

She added, “People should actually feel a little sorry for me!”

Jenny and Donnie, who have been married for 11 years, both have busy schedules.

Donnie has been filming in Canada filming Boston Blue and she has been in LA for her Masked Singer duties.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/15555027/jenny-mccarthy-nine-surgeries-teeth-fall-out-mouth-infections/

One month after Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister, young women share mixed views: from hope and empowerment to skepticism about real change.

Some young women feel pleased, empowered, and hopeful that Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan’s first female prime minister.

But others remain skeptical about whether Takaichi’s inauguration truly marks a milestone for women’s advancement in Japanese politics — and about her policy ambitions to support future generations of women.

Ren Ichihara, a 24-year-old sales worker in Tokyo and a member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), says she feels inspired by Takaichi.

“I believe she was elected as prime minister for her ability, having paved her path through relentless effort from the time when women’s advancement in society was still far from established,” she said.

“While I see the growing presence of women as decision-makers in Japanese politics, Takaichi has become an encouraging role model for me as someone aspiring to be a politician,” she told DW.

Many other young women without political ambitions also view Japan’s first female PM in a positive way.

“First of all, I’m pleased that Japan finally has a female prime minister,” said Ayano Suzuki, a 27-year-old working in Shizuoka prefecture.

She added that Takaichi’s election has captured the attention of people who are not usually interested in politics, which “has a positive impact.”

Fumi Nakamura, a 27-year-old woman who works for a Japanese English-language publisher, said, “I already have a potentially favorable impression of Takaichi. I think the younger generation feels close to her psychologically.”

Gender narrative overshadows policy

Meanwhile, a 26-year-old Japanese female graduate student in China, who wishes to stay anonymous, said she was disappointed when Takaichi was elected Japan’s first female PM.

“Feminists, including myself, do not support a politician simply because she is a woman,” she told DW. “She may be a product of decades of Japan’s male-dominated political world.”

Suzuki also finds it problematic that most of the discussion about Japan’s new administration centers on gender aspects, with little attention paid to the substance of its policies.

For example, Takaichi admitted to sleeping “about two hours now, four hours at the longest,” noting that “I feel it’s bad for my skin.” Suzuki said that such narratives “feel detached from the essence of politics and overly tied to her being a woman.”

Protege of Shinzo Abe

Takaichi’s first policy speech signaled an intention to carry on with the strategies of Japan’s assassinated ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who won six consecutive elections thanks to his nationalist agenda and growth-oriented economic policies.

Takaichi used phrases that Abe used, such as “a strong economy” and “Japanese diplomacy blooming at the center of the world.”

Sawako Shirahase, research professor at the University of Tokyo, points out that Takaichi “has used to the maximum or copied all the infrastructure of the former administration of Shinzo Abe to get where she is today.”

On November 7, Takaichi said that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its legal right to collective self-defense. Her comments provoked a strong backlash and countermeasures from China.

Young voters strongly back Takaichi

Despite this, her approval ratings are among the highest in Japanese history.

According to a poll by The Mainichi newspaper conducted on November 22 and 23, the approval rate for the Takaichi administration was 65% — while the disapproval rate was 23%.

The poll shows support rates of 74% among those aged 18–29 and 76% among those in their 30s, indicating the Takaichi administration’s exceptionally high popularity among younger generations.

In contrast, the previous administration of Shigeru Ishiba held an 11% support rate among those aged 18–29 and 15% among those in their 30s.

Shirahase, the research professor, argues that women in politics need to move strategically.

“In Japanese politics, where the traditional conservative base is very strong, women as minorities in politics must work hard without upsetting the men above them in order to be promoted,” Shirahase said. “Takaichi is someone who has internalized conservatism.”

Keiko Kaizuma, vice president for diversity at Iwate University in Morioka, describes Takaichi as “a hybrid of conservatism and feminism.”

“The conservative side has been bringing women into politics to update itself, which has produced the female prime minister ahead,” she said.

Women in politics: how far has Japan come?

Women accounted for 29.1% of the 522 candidates who ran in July’s election for the upper house, the smaller and less powerful of Japan’s two-chamber parliament. This represents the second-highest rate ever, albeit lower than the target of 35% set by the Japanese government in 2020.

“This is significant in the sense that the liberal side was not able to embody women’s passion in the form of a female prime minister,” said Kaizuma, who noted that “feminism and liberalism have not been successful in mobilizing young women.”

She also points out that compared to Europe and America, Japan lacks an atmosphere that encourages young women to engage in politics or community work.

The symbol of breaking through the glass ceiling is powerful because it gives young women the courage to believe they can overcome such barriers too, Kaizuma added.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/young-women-split-on-sanae-takaichi-japans-first-female-pm/a-74906690

Members of the European Parliament demand that the EU end talks with the UAE over a trade deal. The UAE is suspected of sending arms to a Sudanese paramilitary accused of war crimes, which the Emirati government denies.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) meeting in Strasbourg, France, this week are considering whether to demand a complete halt to discussions on an EU free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following allegations the country is sending European-made weapons to militia forces in Sudan.

This follows a UN expert panel investigating the discovery of European-manufactured weapons in a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) supply convoy, as well as a report by the human rights watchdog Amnesty International that the RSF paramilitary is receiving European arms through resales via the UAE.

“We will call on the European Commission to stop the trade negotiations with the UAE for as long as we see that weapons are going through the UAE to the RSF,” Marit Maij, a Dutch MEP from the socialist group, told DW.

The RSF is accused of perpetrating extensive atrocities in Sudan, like using rape and starvation as a weapon of war, especially during the recent siege on the western city of el-Fasher. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has recently taken up investigations to determine whether these acts constitute war crimes.

The Emirati government has repeatedly denied claims it is forwarding European weapons to Sudan — which would amount to a serious breach of the UN arms embargo on Sudan — but did not respond to DW’s request for comment for this article.

EU scramling to expand free trade agreements

As trade with the US becomes increasingly complicated in the wake of Trump’s tariff agenda, the EU has been scrambling to expand its bilateral trade network with Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with third countries around the world.

EU officials had initially hoped that trade negotiations with the UAE could be wrapped up by the end of 2025. The agreement would increase market access and reduce tariffs between the EU and the UAE.

MEPs from pro-trade parties warn against halting the talks altogether, but say the negotiations should be used as a lever to stop the UAE from re-exporting weapons.

“The leverage that we do have is in the relationship that we have with the UAE,” Barry Andrews, an Irish MEP in the economically liberal Renew Europe group, told DW. “We use trade to supply goods and services across borders, but also we use it as leverage for particular European priorities,” he added.

Voices from the other end of the aisle disagree.

“Cut off the external enablers of this conflict through targeted sanctions, arms embargos and sustained diplomatic pressure,” said Merja Kyllönen, a Finnish MEP from the Left Group in the European Parliament. “If we fail to confront those who are financing and arming this war, we are only treating the symptoms and not the causes.”

Sudanese government confirms finding weapons ‘linked to EU members’

Previously, in April, the UN had launched an investigation into the origins of weapons in the Sudan conflict, after sources reported serial numbers of arms and ammunitions, seen in RSF photos and videos published online, being traceable to European weapons manufacturers.

The Sudanese government, itself accused of atrocities against civilians, says it can confirm the reports of foreign weapons being used by the RSF. “What we have actually confiscated on the battlegrounds, the assault rifles or the ammunitions, some of them are linked to some EU member countries, ” Abdelbagi Kabeir, Sudan’s ambassador to Brussels and permanent representative to the EU, told press in late October.

The civil war in Sudan has been ongoing since 2023, waged predominantly between two rival factions — on one side, the internationally recognized, government-controlled Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and on the other, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Their struggle for the upper hand has left an estimated 13 million displaced, according to the UN. In May, the US special envoy for Sudan suggested the death toll since 2023 could be as high as 150,000.

The investigation by Amnesty International also documented weapons and ammunition from China, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Yemen being imported into Sudan.

EU lawmakers concerned about potential increase in Sudanese migration

European lawmakers are also worried the Sudanese civil war will prompt refugees to make their way to Europe seeking safety, with reports that some are already heading towards Libya, where many human traffickers await.

“They are in neighboring countries, in Uganda, South Sudan, and Chad,” said MEP Barry Andrews. “If they feel that there’s no possibility of a reconciliation or resolution of the conflict in Sudan, then they will move, and they will take all the risks that are involved in crossing the Mediterranean and getting involved with traffickers.”

“When we fail to invest in stability in fragile contexts like Sudan,” people there will want to escape and try to come to Europe, Andrews added.

Amnesty, however, warns against creating a renewed “migration crisis” rhetoric in Europe.

“Instead of stoking fears about migration, EU leaders should be using all their diplomatic powers to press all the warring parties to end the devastating violations against civilians in Sudan,” said Eve Geddie, the advocacy director for Amnesty’s EU office.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/eu-uae-trade-deal-alleged-weapons-sales-rapid-support-forces-sudan-civil-war/a-74906170

After meeting Ukrainian officials in Kyiv, the US secretary of the Army is now negotiating with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi. Daniel Driscoll is fast becoming a key figure in US foreign policy.

Looking through the gallery of US secretaries of the Army from past decades, there are few names that would be familiar to a non-American audience. This is not surprising: the job description primarily involves equipment acquisition and financial issues relating to the United States Army. This could change with the current incumbent, Dan Driscoll. He was 38 years old when he took office, making him the youngest person to hold the position. But there’s more: As of a few days ago, he seems to be the one to have been tasked with the most delicate mission.

Although the lawyer and former military officer, who served as a soldier in Iraq in 2009, has no diplomatic experience, Driscoll has been given a central role as a key negotiator in US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

From Kellogg to Witkoff to Driscoll

Conducting ceasefire talks with Russia and Ukraine should technically have been the job of retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, whom Trump appointed as US special envoy for Ukraine after being elected for a second term. But despite being considered an important advocate for Kyiv in Washington, the experienced ex-military man has been gradually stripped of his powers and has failed to play a decisive role. He is due to leave his position in early 2026.

It was Trump’s special envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff who initially took over the talks with Russia. The former real estate manager and Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East had already played a key role in negotiations to bring an end to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and is considered one of the US president’s closest confidants. Now, however, Driscoll is coming to the fore.

Driscoll delivers ‘peace plan’ to Zelenskyy

Driscoll first gained international attention on November 20 when he made an unannounced trip to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Initially, it was supposed to be a routine visit to discuss defense issues such as drones. But then the minister received orders to deliver a 28-point White House “peace plan” to end the conflict to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

From Ukraine, he traveled on to Switzerland, where he held confidential negotiations with representatives of Ukraine and European NATO allies in Geneva, alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Witkoff. Since Monday, Driscoll has been in the capital of the United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi where he reportedly held secret talks with a Russian delegation. According to media reports, he also met the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov.

Close friendship with JD Vance

Much like Witkoff, Driscoll has little diplomatic experience. But the father of two, who has previously worked as a lawyer and an investment banker, was born into a military family in North Carolina. His grandfather fought in World War II, while his father fought in Vietnam, and he himself served as a platoon leader in a mountain division in Iraq.

Since he had no high-level experience in the military or in politics before 2025, his meteoric rise is attributed to his longstanding friendship with US Vice President JD Vance, with whom he attended Yale Law School.

In late February, it was not US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth but Vance who swore Driscoll in as secretary of the Army, an appointment that also met with broad approval from Democrats in the US Senate. In his short speech, Driscoll particularly emphasized his close friendship with the vice president and his wife.

Not much trust in Hegseth

According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Driscoll “is said to have impressed White House insiders as one of the administration’s most skillful performers.” This is in contrast to Hegseth, who has been embroiled in various controversies and considered unsuitable for sensitive missions.

A report in the media outlet Politico said that “a person familiar with administration dynamics” had told them that there was not “a lot of trust in Hegseth to deliver these messages to key leaders.”

By contrast, there was more trust in Driscoll, who has established close working relationships with top government officials, including with regard to the controversial National Guard deployments across the US.

Driscoll was assigned additional responsibilities within weeks of taking office. Since April 2025, he has been the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), on whose expertise he can rely for his negotiations on the war in Ukraine. He has publicly praised Ukraine’s innovative spirit in developing improvised drones and autonomous weapon systems that he said the US emulates. He said that the US Army planned to buy at least one million drones within two or three years.

Since it is questionable whether the US itself could provide such supplies so fast, Ukraine has signaled that it could help. Driscoll appears to be a suitable negotiator for an exchange of technology that could benefit both nations.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/us-donald-trump-administration-who-is-dan-driscoll-russia-ukraine-peace-talks/a-74910686

A local businessman has claimed that he provided the funds to PM Anwar Ibrahim’s political aide Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin – who resigned on Tuesday – and the money was spent on home furniture, premium cigars and tailored suits, among other things.

Malaysia’s anti-graft agency will investigate a businessman’s allegations that he had given bribes to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s senior political secretary – who resigned on Tuesday (Nov 25) – with the premier also pledging that there would be “no interference” in such a probe.

Local media reported on Tuesday that Albert Tei, the businessman at the centre of a corruption scandal on mining projects in Sabah, had alleged that he had channelled funds totaling RM629,000 (US$152,215) to Anwar’s aide Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

The money was said to have been spent on home renovations, cigars and tailored suits.

Tai’s allegations surfaced on Tuesday evening, hours after Shamsul announced his resignation.

Tei had alleged that he spent the RM629,000 after being purportedly assured that he could recoup the money “channelled to politicians in Sabah”, news outlet Malaysiakini reported.

The report did not elaborate how the money would allegedly be channelled to politicians in Sabah nor what Tei was seeking exactly.

On Wednesday evening, Shamsul said in a statement posted on social media that he has made a police report against Tei at 5.05pm while on the election campaign trail in Sabah.

He said that Tei has made “baseless accusations and defamatory allegations” claiming that there were instructions from Anwar to record videos involving several Sabah politicians.

He described the claims as a “malicious conspiracy” to tarnish Anwar’s image.

“They also represent a deliberate attempt to undermine the government in an undemocratic manner, particularly during the Sabah election campaign period,” said Shamsul, whose statement did not address the allegations surrounding the RM629,000.

He added that he would fully cooperate with any enforcement agency, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, MACC’s chief commissioner Azam Baki said the agency will summon both Tei and Shamsul for questioning.

“In addition, MACC will call all other relevant parties for the purpose of gathering the necessary evidence,” he said, adding that the public should not speculate while the probe is ongoing.

Hours earlier, Anwar had pledged that MACC is free to probe allegations of wrongdoing faced by Shamsul, a former member of parliament for Hang Tuah Jaya.

“I have received the resignation of the senior political secretary, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, and I thank him for his service,” Anwar said in a statement.

“Regarding the allegations that have arisen, I emphasise that MACC is free to conduct an immediate investigation without any external interference.”

The premier added that the Malaysian government maintains “its principles of transparency and integrity” and will facilitate the investigations “in accordance with the rule of law”.

Prior to Tei’s allegations, Shamsul had been caught up in a controversy for penning a letter of support for six contractors bidding for a hospital project tender — reportedly a hospital renovation at Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital in Muar.

He had reportedly used an official letterhead and addressed the letter to an aide to the health minister.

Critics argued that the letter crossed a red line as it was seen as politically influencing public procurement for a hospital — a sensitive public service — and many demanded he be immediately dismissed rather than merely reprimanded.

The opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition had called for Shamsul to be investigated by the MACC over the letter as well as allegations made by Tei.

Anwar had previously said that he had reprimanded Shamsul as government regulations did not permit the issuance of such a letter, but added that there was no need to sack him.

Shamsul resigned from his post as senior political secretary on Tuesday amid intensifying calls for him – who is also the Melaka chapter chief in Anwar’s ruling Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) – to step down.

In a statement posted on X, Shamsul categorised allegations against him as “attempts to attack” him with “matters that could tarnish the image of the Madani government”.

“Therefore I have decided to defend myself against these attacks,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysiakini’s report on Tuesday evening cited Tei as claiming that he had paid for Shamsul’s renovation and furniture for two of his properties – including a home theatre system, a washing machine and a massage chair.

Tei reportedly added that he had spent thousands on premium cigars and tailored suits for Shamsul.

The report also contained screenshots of WhatsApp messages purportedly between Tei and Shamsul as well as receipts.

Malaysiakini added that Tei “has an axe to grind” against Sabah’s incumbent ruling coalition Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) – which is part of Anwar’s unity government – over the cancellation of his mineral exploration licences.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/anwar-political-aide-shamsul-iskandar-macc-probe-sabah-businessman-5490856

Joe and Hunter Biden were spotted strolling through downtown Nantucket with the former president’s gaggle of grandchildren in tow during a ritzy shopping trip ahead of their family’s Thanksgiving celebrations.

Joe, Hunter, and former first daughter Ashley Biden were photographed browsing the storefronts of the tony Massachusetts island alongside Hunter’s four children on Wednesday afternoon.

The pics were the first time Joe and Hunter had been photographed together since the former left the White House last January.

The Biden family paused near a fiddler who was playing a tune on the side of the street, and Joe dropped a $20 bill in their open gig bag.

The family’s patriarch, wearing a baseball cap, flashed a thumbs-up to nearby photographers.

Hunter, too, smirked at shutterbugs while flanking his ailing father, who just completed radiation for his aggressive prostate cancer in late October.

From there, the family dined for lunch at Lemon Press, a quaint cafe boasting pricey mid-day snacks, before going their separate ways in the motorcade.

As Joe left the historic downtown, Hunter slung an arm around his wife Melissa Biden’s shoulders and led her down Main Street, all while flanked by their stiff security team.

Earlier Wednesday morning, Melissa joined Ashley and matriarch Jill Biden for yet another Forme Barre class at Studio Nantucket. The Biden women also swung by Lemon Press afterwards for refreshments.

When Melissa split from the mother-daughter duo to track down her husband, Jill and Ashley dropped by a nearby flower shop and left with a bouquet of blue hydrangeas.

The ladies also swung by Studio Nantucket for a 60-minute barre class early Tuesday morning with the former First Lady’s step-granddaughter Finnegan Biden.

The Biden family have been making frequent visits into the island’s bustling downtown while they’re crashing at billionaire David Rubenstein’s sprawling $34 million Nantucket compound, where they’ve spent the last four Thanksgivings.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/11/26/us-news/hunter-joe-biden-pictured-together-for-first-time-since-leaving-white-house/

The accused gunman, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is a 29-year-old Afghan national who, according to preliminary federal records, entered the United States in September 2021. Lakanwal allegedly rounded a street corner, raised a handgun and opened fire at close range without warning. The attack has been widely described by officials as ambush-style.

Two National Guard members were critically injured after a targeted shooting near the White House in Washington DC on Wednesday. Authorities have identified the accused gunman as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who, according to preliminary federal records, entered the United States in September 2021.

Details On The Shooting

The shooting took place around 17th Street and I Street NW, just two blocks from the White House, while the Guardsmen were carrying out what officials described as a routine high-visibility patrol. According to reports quoting law-enforcement sources, Lakanwal allegedly rounded a street corner, raised a handgun and opened fire at close range without warning. The attack has been widely described by officials as ambush-style.

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🚨🇺🇸 SUSPECT IN DC NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTING IDENTIFIED: RAHMANULLAH LAKANWAL, AFGHAN IMMIGRANT WHO ARRIVED AUGUST 2021

The 29-year-old suspect in today’s targeted attack on two National Guardsmen has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, four senior law enforcement sources… https://t.co/Ae7otypRms pic.twitter.com/cs7Qg7AZDE

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 27, 2025

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🚨🇺🇸 MAYOR ERIC ADAMS: SENSELESS VIOLENCE AGAINST OUR MILITARY IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE

Mayor Adams said he was heartbroken after learning two National Guardsmen were killed in Washington, D.C., just a day before Thanksgiving.

He condemned the attack as senseless and called… https://t.co/gRb9zEf3ah pic.twitter.com/A0nQ5lB5xx

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 27, 2025

Both Guardsmen suffered critical injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals, where they continue to receive intensive care. Their identities have not yet been released publicly. Authorities said that at least one of the soldiers managed to return fire, striking the suspect before collapsing. This allowed responding officers to swiftly arrest Lakanwal, who was taken into custody and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators say he has so far refused to cooperate.

The FBI, Metropolitan Police Department, US Secret Service and several federal agencies are jointly investigating the shooting. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the bureau is examining whether the attack constitutes an act of terrorism in addition to assault on federal officers. “FBI is engaged and assisting with the investigation in Washington, D.C. after National Guard members were shot this afternoon. Please pray for them and we will update with more information as we are able,” he said, describing the shooting as a grave attack on security personnel operating in the nation’s capital.

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FBI is engaged and assisting with the investigation in Washington, D.C. after National Guard members were shot this afternoon. Please pray for them and we will update with more information as we are able.

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) November 26, 2025

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser also called it a “targeted shooting”, condemning the assault and urging residents to remain vigilant as investigators continue piecing together the motive and timeline. The proximity to the White House prompted an immediate temporary lockdown of the building and multiple surrounding federal offices as officers secured the scene and swept the area for additional threats.

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Today’s attack on two members of the West Virginia National Guard was horrific and unconscionable.

We can confirm that a suspect is in custody for this targeted shooting and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Our prayers are with the victims and their loved ones.

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) November 26, 2025

President Donald Trump, who was in Florida at the time, was briefed shortly after the incident and ordered the deployment of 500 additional National Guard troops to bolster security across Washington DC. The city already has nearly 2,200 Guard members stationed under an emergency declaration issued in August to combat rising crime.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/shooting-near-white-house-who-is-rahmanullah-lakanwal-afghan-national-accused-of-firing-that-injured-2-national-guards-in-washington-dc

 

Two West Virginia National Guard members who were deployed to the nation’s capital were shot on Wednesday afternoon just blocks from the White House.

US President Donald Trump blamed the previous Joe Biden administration for the shooting attack on two West Virginia National Guard members deployed in Washington by a suspect identified to be a man from Afghanistan, which the Republican leader described as a “hellhole on Earth”.

Two West Virginia National Guard members who were deployed to the nation’s capital were shot Wednesday afternoon just blocks from the White House, an act that the Washington mayor described as a targeted attack and US President termed as an “act of terror”. Track latest updates on Washington shooting here

FBI director Kash Patel and Washington mayor Muriel Bowser said they were hospitalised in critical condition.

Speaking at a White House presser over the incident, Donald Trump said based on available information, the suspect is likely a foreigner who entered the country from Afghanistan, “hellhole on Earth”.

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BREAKING: President Trump says the animal who shot our National Guard was flown in from Hellhole Afghanistan by Biden. “Nobody knew who was coming in, knew anything about it! And his status was extended by legislation signed by Biden” pic.twitter.com/weCjP026F9

— World Source News (@Worldsource24) November 27, 2025

“I can report tonight that based on the best available information, the DHS is confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner, who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on Earth. He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021, one of those infamous flights that everybody was talking about,” Trump said.

Nobody knew who was coming in, he said, adding his status was extended under legislation signed by Biden.

The 29-year-old suspect, an Afghan national, entered the US in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration programme that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the US troops pulled out from the country, officials cited in an Associated Press (AP) report said.

Trump decried Wednesday’s shooting as an “act of terror”.

“This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” Trump said, as he vowed to have his administration “reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan” during his predecessor Joe Biden’s presidency.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/biden-infamous-flights-flew-in-washington-shooting-suspect-from-afghanistan-hellhole-on-earth-trump-101764210913458.html

The Israeli military has been carrying out near-daily airstrikes in southern Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of trying to rearm and rebuild their capabilities in violation of the agreement.

When Aviva Weitzman walks through her home in Israel’s northernmost city, she still pauses at the scars on the walls – reminders of the missiles that forced her family to flee last year.

They returned to Kiryat Shmona earlier this year, hoping the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that was struck a year ago on Nov 27, 2024 would hold.

The truce was meant to end more than 13 months of cross-border violence and an Israeli ground invasion that killed more than 4,000 Lebanese and 127 Israelis.

But with Israeli airstrikes continuing and both sides accusing each other of violating the agreement, fears are building of a return to full-scale war.

“Now, the feeling is that there is no security, that there could be another round of war, that Hezbollah is indeed trying to get closer to the fence, trying … maybe to do something,” Weitzman said.

“It’s part of why the area hasn’t fully recovered.”

About 70,000 people were evacuated from communities across northern Israel when Hezbollah began firing missiles, rockets and drones in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, a day after the Oct 7, 2023 attacks.

More than three-quarters of the population of Kiryat Shmona – which was home to about 24,000 Israelis in 2023 – fled the city. Many have since returned.

NEAR-DAILY AIRSTRIKES IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
The ceasefire has made things safer on the Israeli side of the border, and Hezbollah has not fired into Israel since the truce began.

However, things are different on the Lebanese side.

The Israeli military has been carrying out near-daily airstrikes in southern Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of trying to rearm and rebuild their capabilities in violation of the agreement.

Some of those airstrikes have reached Lebanon’s capital Beirut.

On Sunday (Nov 23), a rare strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed a top Hezbollah leader and several other members.

It came just four days before the one-year anniversary of the ceasefire agreement, and a week before Pope Leo XIV arrives in Lebanon on his first overseas trip.

The Israeli military says it has killed over 300 Hezbollah members since the ceasefire came into effect, while the United Nations said more than 100 Lebanese civilians have also been killed.

The intensifying attacks are raising fears that the situation could deteriorate further.

“Sometimes, they are targeted strikes aimed at Hezbollah leaders or operatives. But we have also had a series of incidents in which Lebanese civilians were targeted by the Israelis, and this is creating a climate of panic in Lebanon,” said Karim Emile Bitar, a Middle East Studies lecturer at Sciences Po Paris university.

“Many Lebanese are worried that we could soon witness a new full-fledged war between Israel and Hezbollah,” he added.

ACCUSATIONS OF DRAGGING FEET
According to the ceasefire agreement, which was brokered by the United States and France, the Lebanese military is meant to disarm Hezbollah.

The government has called for patience, saying it is working to confiscate Hezbollah’s weapons in southern Lebanon by the end of the year.

But last month, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz accused Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun of “dragging his feet” on the matter.

Sarit Zehavi, a retired lieutenant-colonel in the Israeli military, said she believes the Lebanese military is not doing everything it can to disarm Hezbollah.

“It is clear that it’s far from enough, that there are a lot of violations – of warehouses, of weapons, storage of weapons that are inside civilian infrastructure in South Lebanon,” added Zehavi, who founded think tank Alma Research and Education Center, which focuses on security on Israel’s northern border.

“To truly disarm Hezbollah, the Lebanese army (must really) want that. (It) really needs the capabilities (and) the willingness to clash with Hezbollah, because Hezbollah will not do that in a non-violent way.”

 

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/israel-hezbollah-ceasefire-one-year-lebanon-fears-return-war-5492871

This year’s UN climate conference in Brazil has been among the most contentious and highlights the fragility of international climate diplomacy, say observers.

Despite heightened calls for climate urgency, the COP30 climate summit concluded in Brazil last weekend without addressing the one issue many experts have called non-negotiable: A pathway to phase out fossil fuels.

The omission sparked disappointment across many countries and environmental groups, who warned that the world is not winning the fight against climate change.

A DECADE ON – LITTLE PROGRESS
Ten years after the Paris Agreement, parties were cautiously hopeful this edition of the United Nations’ climate conference would usher in renewed commitment. The 2015 Paris Agreement sought to limit future global temperature increases at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Instead, COP30 was among the most divisive summits so far and highlighted the fragility of international climate diplomacy, said observers.

More than 80 countries pleaded for a fossil fuel phase-out roadmap – but were drowned out by opposition from powerful petrostates and several major economies.

The failure disappointed many, including Injy Johnstone, a research fellow in net zero aligned offsetting at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.

“Any delay to the transition away from fossil fuels not only adds fuel to the fire. (It also shows the) limitations of the consensus process,” she told CNA’s Asia First programme.

A transition roadmap, she added, could have turned political rhetoric into “something tangible that countries can work with and actually implement”.

JUST A ON-PAPER DEAL?
On a more positive note, Brazil’s COP30 presidency managed to push through a compromise deal that urged rich nations to triple climate finance for developing countries by 2035 to help them adapt to rising seas, stronger storms and extreme heat.

But analysts remain sceptical over whether it will work out.

Chin dismissed the pledge as a “public relations exercise” aimed at justifying the cost of hosting COP30.

“Nobody actually believes that it will come to fruition. Just like all the previous COP, most of the climate change key agreements have not been met,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the rich countries have now come to the conclusion that there is very little middle ground. It is the poor countries that will ultimately pay the price.”

THE USA EFFECT, EVEN IN ABSENCE
Another disappointment at this year’s conference was the absence of the United States, which did not send an official delegation.

US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly questioned climate science, has rolled back renewable energy support and pushed for expanded domestic fossil fuel production since returning to the White House in January.

Analysts say Washington’s stance carries implications far beyond American borders, influencing COP30’s dynamics despite its absence.

“It’s not about America’s emissions itself. It’s the message it sends to other countries,” said Aaron Choo, a senior assistant director of sustainability and special projects at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

“Without a pro-environment US in the room, suddenly Russia (and) other fossil fuel producing countries are more bold in blocking certain language, declarations and frameworks.”

Still, Johnstone noted it was encouraging that dozens of US state and local leaders – including the governors of California, New Mexico and Wisconsin – attended the talks, signalling that subnational climate action in America remains alive.

CHINA’S QUIET RISE
In contrast, China has been quietly advancing its climate agenda, said observers.

In September, Beijing made a landmark climate pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 per cent below peak levels by 2035. China is also the world’s biggest supplier of clean energy technology.

Choo said global audiences tend to – but should not – underestimate Beijing’s climate ambitions.

“China’s been quiet, but it’s getting deal-making done. China is concerned about (climate) partially because of their own domestic environment – they want to clean up industries, decarbonise and electrify for their own sake,” he added.

“And what China is doing then has knock-on effects for other countries.”

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO PHASE OUT FOSSIL FUELS?
Analysts say the structural challenges behind fossil fuel dependence remain immense.

“Things aren’t black and white in the journey to green,” said Johnstone.

“Right now, a lot of states are bankrolled on fossil fuels, so it’s unsurprising that any roadmap to their cessation can be seen as a challenge.”

Chin agreed, noting that countries are reluctant to commit to expedited fossil fuel phase-outs as clean energy transitions remain costly, and especially as the world’s biggest emitters like the US and China have resisted doing so themselves.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/cop30-climate-conference-summit-fossil-fuels-analysts-disappointment-5493181

United States President Donald Trump advised Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi not to provoke China over Taiwan’s sovereignty, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday (Nov 27), after a diplomatic spat between Tokyo and Beijing.

The row between Asia’s two biggest economies was triggered by a suggestion from new premier Takaichi that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on the island, which China claims as part of its territory.

In a phone call with Trump on Monday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping pressed the ever-sensitive issue, saying its return was an “integral part of the post-war international order”, according to China’s foreign ministry.

Shortly after, “Trump set up a call with Takaichi and advised her not to provoke Beijing on the question of the island’s sovereignty”, the WSJ said, citing Japanese officials and an American briefed on the call.

“The advice from Trump was subtle, and he didn’t pressure Takaichi to walk back her comments,” the WSJ reported.

A spokeswoman for Takaichi’s office declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

In her reporting of the call, the Japanese premier said she and Trump discussed his conversation with Xi, as well as relations between the two allies.

“President Trump said we are very close friends, and he offered that I should feel free to call him anytime,” she said.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/japan-china-us-trump-sanae-takaichi-taiwan-5493166

A court in Thailand said Wednesday that it has issued an arrest warrant for a co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization in connection with a fraud case.

Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip was charged with fraud then released on bail in 2023. She failed to appear as required in a Bangkok court on Tuesday. Since she did not notify the court about her absence, she was deemed to be a flight risk, according to a statement from the Bangkok South District Court.

The court rescheduled the hearing for Dec. 26.

According to the court’s statement, Jakkaphong and her company, JKN Global Group Public Co. Ltd., were sued for allegedly defrauding Raweewat Maschamadol in selling him the company’s corporate bonds in 2023. Raweewat says the investment caused him to lose 30 million baht ($930,362).

Financially troubled JKN defaulted on payments to investors beginning in 2023 and began debt rehabilitation procedures with the Central Bankruptcy Court in 2024. The company says it has debts totaling about 3 billion baht ($93 million).

JKN acquired the rights to the Miss Universe pageant from IMG Worldwide LLC in 2022. In 2023, it sold 50% of its Miss Universe shares to Legacy Holding Group USA, which is owned by a Mexican businessman, Raúl Rocha Cantú.

In an unrelated case in Mexico, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that Rocha Cantú has been under investigation since November 2024 for alleged organized crime activity, including drug and arms trafficking, as well as fuel theft.

The Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that Raúl “R” was the target of the investigation. A federal agent who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation confirmed that was Rocha Cantú.

The Miss Universe Organization did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Mexico approved 13 arrest orders against targets in the case. The federal agent would not confirm or deny whether an order was issued for Rocha Cantú.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/thailand-universe-mexico-warrant-fraud-723294bca3f682e8846c45544ee61cb0

President Donald Trump said Tuesday his plan to end the war in Ukraine has been “fine-tuned” and he’s sending envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with Ukrainian officials.

Trump suggested he could eventually meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but not until further progress has been made in negotiations. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening aboard Air Force One, Trump said resolving the war was difficult, and described what had been a 28-point plan as a work in progress. “That was not a plan — it was a concept,” Trump said.

Trump’s plan for ending the nearly four-year war emerged last week. It heavily favored Russia, prompting Zelenskyy to quickly engage with American negotiators. European leaders, fearing for their own future facing Russian aggression but apparently sidelined by Trump in drawing up the proposal, scrambled to steer the negotiations toward accommodating their concerns.

Trump said he believed Witkoff would be meeting with Putin next week in Moscow, with his son-in-law Jared Kushner potentially joining the meeting. “People are starting to realize it’s a good deal for both parties,” Trump said.

The president played down the element of his plan that would require Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, suggesting that Russian forces were already likely to seize the land they’re seeking.

“The way it’s going, if you look, it’s just moving in one direction,” Trump said. “So eventually that’s land that over the next couple of months might be gotten by Russia anyway.”

At the center of Trump’s plan is the call on Ukraine to concede the entirety of its eastern Donbas region, even though a vast swath of that land remains in Ukrainian control. Analysts at the independent Institute for the Study of War have estimated it would take several years for the Russian military to completely seize the territory, based on its current rate of advances.

Trump downplays transcript of Witkoff talks with Russian counterpart

Trump made his comments after Driscoll held talks late Monday and throughout Tuesday with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to discuss the emerging proposal.

“The talks are going well and we remain optimistic,” Lt. Col. Jeff Tolbert, spokesman for the Army secretary, said in a statement. Witkoff, a real estate developer turned diplomat, has been Trump’s chief interlocutor with Putin, while Driscoll, who is close to Vance, has stepped up his involvement in the administration’s peace push in recent days.

As the talks were taking place, Russia launched a wave of overnight attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, with at least seven people killed in strikes that hit city buildings and energy infrastructure. A Ukrainian attack on southern Russia killed three people and damaged homes, authorities said.

Trump spoke to reporters after Bloomberg News published a transcript of an Oct. 14 call between Witkoff and Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov where Witkoff coached his counterpart on how Putin should handle a call with Trump.

Trump downplayed Witkoff’s reported approach as “a very standard form of negotiation.”

But U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who has been critical of Trump’s approach to Ukraine, said the transcript showed Witkoff favors the Russians. “He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired,” Bacon said on social media.

Bloomberg said it reviewed a recording of the call, but did not say how it obtained access to the recording. The Associated Press has not independently verified the transcript.

Latest phase of the talks

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that peace efforts are gathering momentum and “are clearly at a crucial juncture.”

He spoke after senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva on Sunday and a virtual “coalition of the willing” meeting of Ukraine’s European allies took place on Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio took part in both gatherings.

“Negotiations are getting a new impetus. And we should seize this momentum,” he said during the video conference meeting of countries, led by France and the U.K., that could help police any ceasefire with Russia.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said of the talks: “I do think we are moving in a positive direction and indications today that in large part the majority of the text, (Zelenskyy) is indicating, can be accepted.”

Oleksandr Bevz, one of the Ukrainian delegates at the Geneva talks, however, cautioned that it was “very premature to say that something is agreed upon.”

In an interview with The Associated Press in Kyiv late Tuesday, he declined to discuss the specifics of any amendments to Trump’s plan, but said the U.S. was aware that the strength of security guarantees for Ukraine would “define the sustainability of the deal” and was “the part making this deal real and enforceable.”

Bevz earlier told the AP that the number of points in the proposed settlement was reduced, but he denied reports that the 28-point U.S. peace plan now consisted of 19 points.

”(The document) is going to continue to change. We can confirm that it was reduced to take out points not relating to Ukraine, to exclude duplicates and for editing purposes,” Bevz said, adding that some points relating solely to relations between Russia and the U.S. were excluded.

Long road to peace

Zelenskyy said late Monday that “the list of necessary steps to end the war can become workable.” He said he planned to discuss “sensitive” outstanding issues with Trump.

Rustem Umerov, a senior adviser to Zelenskyy, posted on X on Tuesday that Zelenskyy hoped to finalize a deal with Trump “at the earliest suitable date in November.”

Russian officials have been reserved in their comments on the peace plan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that Moscow is in touch with U.S. officials about peace efforts.

“We expect them to provide us with a version they consider an interim one in terms of completing the phase of coordinating this text with the Europeans and the Ukrainians,” Lavrov said.

European leaders have cautioned that the road to peace will be long.

‘Glass rained down’

Russia fired 22 missiles of various types and more than 460 drones at Ukraine overnight, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. The strikes knocked out water, electricity and heat in parts of Kyiv. Images showed a large fire spreading in a nine-story residential building in Kyiv’s eastern Dniprovskyi district.

Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said 20 people were wounded in Kyiv. The Russian Defense Ministry said it targeted military-industrial facilities and energy assets. The strikes were a response to Ukrainian attacks on civilian objects in Russia, the ministry said.

Liubov Petrivna, a 90-year-old resident of a damaged building in the Dniprovskyi district, told the AP that “absolutely everything” in her apartment was shattered by the strike and “glass rained down” on her.

Petrivna said that she didn’t believe in the peace plan now under discussion.

“No one will ever do anything about it,” she said. Russian President Vladimir Putin “won’t stop until he finishes us off.”

Source : https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-peace-plan-trump-80f3f5d57c32cc7b91778fdb6b086af9

Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Tuesday accused Pakistan of launching deadly overnight strikes in three eastern provinces, but Pakistan’s military dismissed the claim and said no such strikes were carried out.

The Pakistani denial came hours after Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesperson for the Afghan government, said on X that Pakistan “bombed” the home of a civilian in Khost province, killing nine children and a woman. He also claimed additional strikes were carried out in the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Paktika, injuring four people.

Mujahid described the attacks as “atrocities” and said the strikes were “a violation of Afghan territory.” Afghanistan “considers the use of its airspace and territory and defense of its people to be its legitimate right, and at the appropriate time, it will give the necessary response,” he said.

Tensions escalate

Afghanistan’s report of new strikes came more than a month after cross-border clashes erupted when the Afghan government claimed Pakistani drone strikes hit Kabul.

Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry denied the Afghan government’s claim Tuesday, saying Pakistan does not target and kill civilians. He added that strikes carried out in October targeted the hideouts of Pakistani Taliban who were behind the surge of violence in the country.

“We announce and acknowledge whenever we carry out such strikes,” he said during a news briefing in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

The ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey between the two sides in October still held Tuesday despite the reported strikes. There was no immediate comment from Qatar and Turkey.

Iran has recently offered to play a role in defusing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tuesday on X that he met with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad, a day after arriving on a previously scheduled visit. Dar’s office was also expected to release a statement about the meeting.

In Khost, residents combed through the rubble of the destroyed home, retrieving belongings.

“You see the cruelty with your own eyes, that young children, a woman and nine children, were martyred,” said Muhammad Iqbal, who said the dead were his cousin’s family.

Local tribal leader Mer Adam Khan said the attack was carried out by a drone that was flying over the area at around midnight. “It is not known where it came from and by whom,” he said, adding that the home that was destroyed was that of a local man, whom he identified as Shariat Khan.

“He has not interfered with any government. He lives a poor life here,” the tribal leader said.

Recent attacks target Pakistan

The latest escalation follows a deadly attack a day earlier in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, where two suicide bombers and a gunman stormed the headquarters of the Federal Constabulary. Three officers were killed and 11 others were wounded in the Monday morning attack.

No group claimed responsibility for the Peshawar attack, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

The army spokesperson, Chaudhry, said the three militants who carried out the attack were Afghan nationals who sneaked into the country from the Tirah border region in the northwest.

TTP is a separate group but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban and many of its leaders are believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. Kabul in 2022 brokered a brief ceasefire between the TTP and Pakistan. The militant group then ended the truce after accusing Pakistan of violating it.

Pakistan has intensified intelligence-based operations against militants in recent weeks. Since January, Pakistan has killed 1,873 militants in thousands of operations, Chaudhry said.

On Tuesday, the military said security forces killed 22 militants during a raid on what it described as a hideout of “Indian-backed” fighters in Bannu, a district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.

In a statement, the army referred to the killed insurgents as Khawarij, a term the government and the military use for militants they allege are supported by Afghanistan and India. Kabul and New Delhi deny providing any support to such groups.

The statement said Pakistan “will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”

Pakistan has repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to prevent TTP militants from using Afghan territory to launch attacks. Kabul denies the accusation, but relations further deteriorated after Afghanistan blamed Pakistan for the Oct. 9 drone strikes on its capital and threatened retaliation.

The clashes that followed killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and militants before the sides agreed to the Oct. 19 ceasefire.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-pakistan-airstrikes-children-killed-2d5239006f41b3ee94c361715d792c03

Italy’s parliament on Tuesday approved a law that introduces femicide into the country’s criminal law and punishes it with life in prison.

The vote coincided with the international day for the elimination of violence against women, a day designated by the U.N. General Assembly.

The law won bipartisan support from the center-right majority and the center-left opposition in the final vote in the Lower Chamber, passing with 237 votes in favor.

The law, backed by the conservative government of Premier Giorgia Meloni, comes in response to a series of killings and other violence targeting women in Italy. It includes stronger measures against gender-based crimes including stalking and revenge porn.

High-profile cases, such as the 2023 murder of university student Giulia Cecchettin, have been key in widespread public outcry and debate about the causes of violence against women in Italy’s patriarchal culture.

“We have doubled funding for anti-violence centers and shelters, promoted an emergency hotline and implemented innovative education and awareness-raising activities,” Meloni said Tuesday. “These are concrete steps forward, but we won’t stop here. We must continue to do much more, every day.”

While the center-left opposition supported the law in parliament, it stressed that the government approach only tackles the criminal aspect of the problem while leaving economic and cultural divides unaddressed.

Italy’s statistics agency Istat recorded 106 femicides in 2024, 62 of them committed by partners or former partners.

The debate over introducing sexual and emotional education in schools as a way to prevent gender-based violence has become heated in Italy. A law proposed by the government would ban sexual and emotional education for elementary students and require explicit parental consent for any lessons in high school.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/italy-femicide-law-crime-gender-violence-women-99e4be4aaba9f6b940d834ed6c7cb4d0

 

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ruffled some feathers when he pleaded with US air travelers to smarten up their wardrobes when flying the friendly skies, but he also found some kindred spirits among passengers at New York-area airports.

“I think it’s great advice, because when you feel good about how you look, you’re treated better and you treat people better,” traveler Tamaya Garcia, 48, said, agreeing with Duffy who begged travelers on Monday from Newark Liberty International Airport, “Let’s try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come here.”

Garcia got the memo — she was decked out in a stylish wool tan coat, white body suit, tan cashmere pants and Nike sneakers while jetting into of JFK Airport in Queens.

For many passengers, throwing on the comfiest clothes in their wardrobe is a must for modern-day plane travel. But others still long for the bygone days of jet-setting around dressed to the nines like Don Draper.

“I always have my makeup on, always have a cute outfit on. I always make sure my hair is clean and done,” said Garcia, a San Francisco resident who traveled to New York to spend Thanksgiving with her 20-year-old college student son.

She even said she refused to let her 16-year-old daughter get on a plane back home to California looking sloppy.

“She wanted to go to the airport without her hair washed, no make-up, literal pajama pants, and a hooded pullover. And I said, ‘No, absolutely not!’”

Duffy also found a sartorial ally in Melanie Cox, 21, a senior at the University of Toledo who flew into Newark Liberty International Airport from Michigan to celebrate the holidays with her Big Apple friends.

“People should dress up for the airport, it’s fun. I like waking up early, getting myself ready. It’s a long day and I like to feel put together — and you really never know who you’re going to meet,” she said, sporting a matching set from White Fox.

Kim and Tommy Scarpati from Monmouth County, New Jersey, had their two young daughters, Nia and Evie, in tow for their voyage, mom and kids wearing matching hot-pink attire with their initials ironed onto their sweatshirts.

Kim also agreed with Duffy’s sentiment on slovenly flyers, saying, “You’re not moving into the airport,” and even going so far as to say she would be wearing a dress if not for the “tactical clothing” needed for traveling with youngsters.

“I’m a girly girl,” she told The Post, adding she likes to feel “feminine and pretty” on her flights.

The matching neon clothing has the additional benefit of making her kids easy to spot in a crowd, allowing for “safety and ease” on travel days.

Another traveler, who gave her name only as Elizabeth, had on white pants and a tan sweater as she was about take off to Florida with her family for Thanksgiving.

“I always dress like this. My father used to only fly with a jacket,” she said.

She agreed when asked whether her father’s high-flying fashion choices rubbed off on her, but added, “I like not to leave the house looking like I’m in my pajamas.”

Even during a long and uncomfortable flight, she said, “I still make an effort to look good and be coordinated.”

Jillian Carter, 32, from Brooklyn, was dressed in all black on her way from JFK to Atlanta to see family for Thanksgiving, clad in dress pants, a blouse and leather jacket — and even silver-colored sneakers.

“My mom told me it’s important to look your best when you’re out and about, especially at the airport,” she said.

“You never know who you’re gonna see, who you’re gonna meet — comfy is my go-to, it doesn’t hurt to put a little effort into it.”

Other passengers, however, strongly disagreed with Duffy’s call to make air travel spiffy again.

Mashenka “Dip” Clapp, 28, said the secretary needs to “touch grass” and that he’s “lost the plot” with his suggestion.

“He needs to mind his own business and let people be comfortable and find their own right way to do things that work for them and their lifestyle,” she said, adding that, “If people have long international flights where they’re going to be sleeping the whole time, wouldn’t it be logical to be wearing PJs?”

Clapp was especially grateful for her comfortable choice of wardrobe after missing her Tuesday morning flight on her way back from New York to Savannah, Georgia, saying she’s planning to “bum it out” at Newark Airport for the rest of the day and night.

“Plus, who cares? Who are you trying to impress? The guards? The other travelers? The person who gives your boarding pass? They don’t care.”

Prince Green, on his way to the Dominican Republic where he runs a coffee shop, was wearing a black t-shirt, a maroon-colored hoodie, gray sweatpants and black socks and slippers. He said he had no hang-ups whatsoever about his clothing choices.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/11/25/us-news/fliers-praise-sean-duffys-tip-to-dress-better-at-airports/

A mother in New Zealand who killed her two children and hid their bodies in suitcases has been sentenced to life in prison.

Hakyung Lee, who was found guilty in September of the shocking murders of eight-year-old Yuna Jo and six-year-old Minu Jo, has to spend at least 17 years behind bars before she is eligible for parole.

Lee, 45, argued she was insane at the time of the killings in 2018, which happened soon after her husband died. High Court judge Geoffrey Venning said Lee’s mental health played a part in the case, but that her actions were calculated.

The children’s remains were discovered only in 2022 by a couple who won an auction for the contents of an abandoned storage unit in Auckland.

During a trial lasting more than two weeks, Hakyung Lee’s defence lawyers told the court that her mental health deteriorated after Jo’s death, and that she came to believe it was best if the rest of the family died together.

Lee tried to kill herself and her children by giving them a dose of the antidepressant nortriptyline mixed in juice, but got the dose wrong and woke up to find her children were dead, her lawyers said.

Prosecutors argued that Lee’s was “a selfish act to free herself from the burden of parenting alone”.

After the killings, Lee changed her name and left New Zealand. She was arrested in South Korea – where she was born – in September 2022, and extradited back to New Zealand later that year.

The court heard on Wednesday how the killings pained Lee’s and her husband Ian Jo’s families.

In an emotional statement read out by prosecutors, Lee’s mother Choon Ja Lee said she regrets not taking her daughter to a counsellor, noting that Lee had “no will to live” after Jo died of cancer in November 2017.

“If she wanted to die, why didn’t she die alone? Why did she take the innocent children with her?” Choon Ja Lee wrote, according to New Zealand media reports.

Jo’s brother Jimmy said he “never imagined such a profound tragedy would ever befall our family”.

His own mother – Yuna’s and Minu’s other grandmother – still does not know they are dead, he said.

“It was my late brother’s will that I protect them,” said Jimmy Jo. “This is an ongoing sentence from which I can never be paroled.”

Lee was likely suffering from an “atypical depression” and prolonged grief reaction at the time of the murders, according to a psychiatric assessment conducted before the sentencing, local broadcaster RNZ reported.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp84xed0g18o

South Korea’s HD Hyundai and Lotte Chemical have submitted a plan to the industry ministry on restructuring their petrochemical businesses, the companies said in separate regulatory filings on Wednesday.

Under the plan, Lotte will spin off its business in Daesan city, South Korea, and merge it with HD Hyundai Chemical, in an effort to ease overcapacity at naphtha-cracking centres in the industry, the companies said.

The plan is part of an industry-wide effort to ease a supply glut in South Korea’s petrochemical sector. In August, President Lee Jae Myung’s administration pushed firms to cut as much as 25 per cent of the country’s annual capacity, saying the sector was in “crisis” and needed to boost efficiency and raise margins.

Ten petrochemical firms agreed on the goal at the time and were asked to come up with their own plans.

The government aims to cut naphtha-cracking capacity by up to 3.7 million metric tons per year to resolve oversupply and improve profit margins by merging production or shutting smaller companies and has required firms to submit plans by year-end.

Lotte said the merger is to increase efficiency and the stability of operations at their naphtha-cracking centres, without elaborating. The companies said they will also adjust business portfolios to focus on core businesses.

The industry ministry said in a separate statement on Wednesday that the companies will “adjust some facilities” at naphtha-cracking centres and those for other products to help ease the supply glut in the industry.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/south-koreas-hd-hyundai-lotte-chemical-submit-plan-restructure-petrochemical-businesses-5490761

The FBI has requested interviews with six Democratic members of the United States Congress who, in a video message, told members of the military they can legally refuse to carry out unlawful orders, a Justice Department official told Reuters on Tuesday (Nov 25).

The Pentagon on Monday threatened to recall Senator Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran and one of the six lawmakers, to active duty potentially to face military charges over what Secretary of War Pete Hegseth described on social media as “seditious” acts.

President Donald Trump, who critics have said has sought to harness the power of the government to try to stifle dissent, accused the six Democrats of sedition and said in a social media post that the crime is punishable by death.

The Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the FBI interviews with the lawmakers were to determine “if there’s any wrongdoing, and then go from there”.

The FBI is headed by Trump appointee Kash Patel.

In a memo made public on Tuesday, Hegseth referred Kelly to the secretary of the Navy for “potentially unlawful comments” made in the video last week. Hegseth, in the memo, said he wanted a brief on the outcome of the review by Dec 10.

“NOT THE AMERICA I KNOW”

In statements on Tuesday, the Democrats described the FBI move as an effort by the Trump administration to intimidate them into silence.

“The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place,” US Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA officer and one of the six Democrats, said on X.

“This is not the America I know, and I’m not going to let this next step from the FBI stop me from speaking up for my country and our Constitution.”

The lawmakers have said their video statements accurately reflected US law. American troops swear an oath to the US Constitution, not the president, and under military rules must follow “any lawful general order or regulation”.

The other Democrats who appeared in the video released last week include US Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, all military veterans.

The four House Democrats in a joint statement accused Trump of using the FBI as a tool to intimidate members of Congress and vowed that they would not be silenced. Kelly did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

CONCERNS ABOUT VENEZUELA BOAT STRIKES

The video did not refer to any specific illegal order, but many Democrats have expressed concerns – echoed privately by some US military commanders – that the Trump administration is violating the law by ordering strikes on vessels purportedly carrying suspected drug traffickers in Latin American waters. The Pentagon has called the strikes justified because drug smugglers are considered terrorists.

Democrats have also questioned the legality of Trump’s use of military forces in American cities.

The probe was reported earlier by Fox News. Trump’s administration has shattered democratic norms by using law enforcement to pursue his perceived enemies.

The Justice Department in recent months brought criminal charges against three prominent critics of the president, though a judge on Monday dismissed two of those cases.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-fbi-probe-democrat-lawmakers-military-sedition-trump-5490736

Taiwan’s Foxconn said on Wednesday that it had secured regulatory approval to invest an additional $569 million in the U.S. state of Wisconsin to meet rising demand for AI servers.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) approved the plan to expand operations at Foxconn’s facility in Racine County, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer said in a statement.

The expansion will focus on the AI server business, which Foxconn said would help strengthen domestic U.S. supply chains.

“As the demand for more data infrastructure continues to rise, Foxconn will keep responding to our customers’ needs with flexibility and at scale in the United States,” said Foxconn’s chief product officer, Jerry Hsiao.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/foxconn-wins-approval-new-569-million-investment-in-wisconsin-5490586

Australian telco Optus said on Wednesday (Nov 26) morning it had suffered an emergency call outage near Melbourne, impacting around 14,000 users, two months after a broader disruption that probably caused four deaths when customers failed to get timely aid.

The outage is believed to have been caused by vandals trying to steal copper.

Optus, owned by Singtel, said an “aerial fibre break” could be the cause of the outage, which was being investigated.

“Customers will only be able to call emergency services if they are within coverage of another mobile network or are able to call via WiFi,” the company said on its website.

Optus spokesperson Jane McNamara told ABC Radio Melbourne that the telco believes that no calls to emergency services were disrupted.

“We do have photo evidence, very clear, that there has been a cut made,” she said, adding: “We know copper has been removed from the pit and we have contacted Victoria Police.”

EMERGENCY CALLS DISRUPTED

The September incident, which resulted in fatalities, occurred after emergency call services were disrupted due to a technical failure during a network upgrade, Optus’ CEO Stephen Rue had said.

A deviation from standard procedures during a network firewall upgrade triggered the 13-hour outage in Australia, Optus said after the incident. The Australian government said it would investigate the “unacceptable” failure, and the company said it would cooperate with any effort to look into the incident.

This comes less than a year after Optus was fined A$12 million (US$7.7 million) by regulators for failing to provide emergency call services to thousands during a nationwide outage in 2023.

Optus also suffered a cyberattack in 2022 that affected the data of up to 10 million Australians.

Former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigned in the wake of the earlier incidents, and Rue took over in November 2024.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/singtel-australia-optus-emergency-call-outage-5490461

A SHOCKING investigation has led police to a gruesome discovery.

A case that has rocked two states after police found two newborn babies dead, one in Louisiana, the other in Kentucky.

On November 21, police were called to a hospital in Livingston Parish after a 14-year-old girl sought treatment following a secret home birth.

Investigators rushed to her residence in Denham Springs, Louisiana, where they made the shocking find.

The teen’s newborn had been stuffed inside a tote bag, with extensive neck injuries, authorities said, according to local ABC affiliate WAFB.

Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard described the case as “difficult for all first responders involved,” urging the public to keep both the family and officers in their thoughts as the investigation unfolds.

“Please keep them — and, the family — in your thoughts as this very sensitive investigation continues,” Ard said, according to local news outlet WKRC.

“Due to the nature of this case, no further details can be released at this time.”

The teen, whose identity has not been released, was initially charged with failure to seek assistance and obstruction of justice. But after an autopsy confirmed homicide, charges were upgraded to first-degree murder.

She is currently being held at the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center.

Just months earlier, on August 27, police in Lexington, Kentucky, responded to a similarly disturbing call.

Inside an off-campus apartment, officers discovered the lifeless body of cheerleader Laken Snelling’s newborn baby, wrapped in a trash bag and hidden in a bedroom closet.

Court documents reveal Snelling, 21, gave birth around 4:00 a.m. but told her roommates she was simply feeling sick.

Investigators later uncovered deleted phone searches related to pregnancy and photos taken during labor.

When questioned, Snelling gave conflicting accounts, first claiming the baby wasn’t breathing, then later admitting the infant had shown fetal movement and even made a faint whimper after birth.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15549619/teen-killed-newborn-baby-louisiana-laken-snelling/

 

FESTIVE market shoppers in a major city have slammed “extortionate” prices for everything from hot chocolate to pork belly.

But stall holders have hit back, saying it’s a knock-on effect from the tens of thousands of dollars they’re charged by “public space real estate vultures.”

One shopper who criticized both the quality of food and prices after visiting Union Square Holiday Market in New York City said it “did not live up to the hype.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I understand the plight of business owners and the overhead costs that it takes to be able to enter these markets,” he added on TikTok last week.

“But what I will say is if the food is going to be astronomical in price, the food also needs to be astronomically good.”

The unhappy man shared his experience after he and a pal tucked into empanadas and yuca fries – costing a total $16.88.

He slammed the low meat filling-to-pastry ratio, and said the fries were “mushy in the middle.”

At one stall they bought two hot chocolates with marshmallows – one of which was also served with whipped cream – for a total $24.48.

“The hot chocolate was just above room temperature.

“So I had to ask the man to remake it. I would give this hot chocolate a 7.5 out of 10,” the man said in his review.

Others have also shared their thoughts on meal prices at the market, with $13 for a stroopwaffel described as “a crime.”

And $18 for a crêpe was mocked as “crazy.”

“It’s literally cheaper to fly to Europe than to shop a local NYC market,” wrote one person on social media.

HIGH ENTRY COSTS

But stall holders have responded to the complaints, saying it is not their fault that visitors are being charged so much.

“We’ve been hearing you think prices are a little bit steep at Union Square Holiday Market,” said one stall holder at Coco Bred.

“Here’s why: the cost of entry for vendors is $20,000 minimum,” she added.

“For me, it costs about $22,000 just to be in this space for six weeks.

“On top of that cost, the space comes bare bones, we have to hire a contractor, and buy all of the materials to build out our little mini restaurant in two days.

“And then on top of that, most vendors – small businesses – are renting a commissary kitchen where you pay rent there to use the kitchen, pay rent for storage space, dry storage, freezer space, and refrigerator space.”

EXTORTION

The businesswoman said, however, that shoppers would enjoy the variety of delicious meals on offer.

“What makes it worth it is you’ll find unique vendors making one-of-kind delicious handcrafted house-made food that you can’t find anywhere else. Come and see us and try your new favorite dish,” she said.

The restaurateur sparked a mixed response, with one person exclaiming “that’s extortion” in regards to what stall holders are being charged up front.

Others said they appreciated her “transparency” but suggested she and other business folk “band together and refuse to rent a space to force the lowering of prices.”

“So let me get this straight, because you chose to pay $20,000 for that location, now the customers have to cover the difference? That doesn’t really feel fair,” commented one.

TRANSPARENCY

“Omg Union Square is ripping off vendors! Honestly thank you for the transparency, most people don’t know this. This system needs to be more affordable!” said a supporter.

“As a small market vendor, I wish all the vendors all the luck but this is not sustainable for the vendors or the consumer,” wrote another.

She also scoffed at those who “control all these holiday markets, operating as public-space real estate vultures, extracting value from land they don’t own.

“And they squeeze small businesses by charging steep rents and revenue shares for access to public foot traffic that should be open to all.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/15548714/union-square-holiday-market-overpriced-controversy-vendors-push-back/

The Pentagon on Monday threatened to recall U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, to active duty status in order to prosecute him after what it described as seditious behavior by the former astronaut and decorated veteran.
Kelly, who denies any wrongdoing and who said in a statement he would not be intimidated, joined five other Democrats in Congress with backgrounds in the U.S. military and intelligence community to urge U.S. troops to refuse any illegal orders.

Kelly’s November 18 video message came amid heightened concerns among Democrats, echoed privately by some U.S. military officials, that the Trump administration is violating the law by ordering the U.S. military to kill suspected drug traffickers in strikes on their vessels in Latin American waters.
The Pentagon says those strikes are justified because the drug smugglers are considered terrorists.
The Pentagon statement said it was reviewing “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly. While it did not say what charges Kelly could face if it took such an extraordinary step, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted remarks on X accusing Kelly and the other lawmakers of sedition.

“The video made by the ‘Seditious Six’ was despicable, reckless, and false,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X.
“Encouraging our warriors to ignore the orders of their Commanders undermines every aspect of ‘good order and discipline.'”
President Donald Trump has also accused Kelly and the other Democrats of sedition, saying in a social media post that the crime was punishable by death.
Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, sedition and mutiny are among the most serious offenses and can be punishable by death.

VOWS NOT TO BE SILENCED

Kelly, in a statement, said he learned of the threat from Hegseth’s social media post. He detailed his public service prior to joining the Senate representing Arizona, including 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm and four space shuttle flights at NASA.
“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” Kelly said.

“I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”
The threat to prosecute Kelly follows a purge at the Pentagon of senior members of the U.S. military, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the head of the Navy and the director of the National Security Agency.

The decision to recall and potentially prosecute Kelly could also be seen as a message to those recently dismissed officials, who have stayed silent following their removals.

DOES KELLY HAVE A STRONG LEGAL CASE?

Rachel VanLandingham, a former Air Force lawyer now at Southwestern Law School, said she had never seen sitting lawmakers called back to the military involuntarily, and that Kelly would have a strong legal case to get a preliminary injunction since there was no evidence of probable cause.
“He has strong legal standing to say ‘Absolutely not. I’m not going to do this’,” VanLandingham said.
Hegseth’s remarks also could undermine any Pentagon effort to prosecute Kelly since they amounted to a clear case of undue command influence and could be used as evidence that Kelly would not be able to get a fair trial, she said.
The prosecution of Kelly would raise questions about free speech rights and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution.
But Brenner Fissell, a professor at Villanova University School of Law, said Kelly could be facing some legal risk.
Kelly lacks the protections of Speech and Debate Clause immunity, Fissell said, which protect lawmakers for statements they make on the House or Senate floor.
“If they’re serious and they’re planning on charging him with mutiny, sedition, it seems like they would definitely try to book him in a pre-trial detention if they believe it’s that serious of an offense,” Fissell, a former defense counsel at Guantanamo Bay Military Commissions, added.
It is also the latest example of Trump’s administration seeking punishment of those Trump sees as political opponents.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has occasionally called for imprisoning adversaries and his Justice Department has targeted critics such as former federal officials John Bolton and James Comey.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-threatens-prosecute-senator-mark-kelly-by-recalling-him-navy-service-2025-11-24/

The United States on Monday formally designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, layering additional terrorism-related sanctions on the group it has said includes President Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking officials.
Venezuela’s government rejected what it called a “ridiculous” U.S. plan to designate the “non-existent” group.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this month the U.S. would designate Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) for the network’s alleged role in importing illegal drugs into the U.S.

Maduro faces escalating pressure from President Donald Trump’s U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, raising concerns that the U.S. may seek to use the designation to justify military action. Sanctions experts, however, have said the statute for the designation does not authorize such a move.
The U.S. for months has waged a campaign of deadly strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Pacific coast of Latin America. Reuters reported on Saturday that the U.S. is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the designation would bring “a whole bunch of new options to the United States,” in excerpts released on Thursday from an interview with One America News.

U.S. officials have accused Cartel de los Soles of working with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which Washington also ties to Maduro and previously designated an FTO, to send illegal narcotics to the U.S.

MADURO ALLEGES U.S. SEEKING REGIME CHANGE

Maduro and his government have always denied any involvement in crime and have accused the U.S. of seeking regime change out of a desire to control Venezuela’s natural resources, especially its vast oil reserves.
“They want Venezuela’s oil and gas reserves. For nothing, without paying. They want Venezuela’s gold. They want Venezuela’s diamonds, iron, bauxite. They want Venezuela’s natural resources,” Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez said in comments on state television.
Trump has said repeatedly he is not pursuing regime change.
“Venezuela categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous fabrication by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of State, Marco Rubio, which designates the non-existent Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization,” said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil on his Telegram account.

The measure, Gil added, revives “an infamous and vile lie to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela, under the classic U.S. regime-change format. This new maneuver will meet the same fate as previous and recurring aggressions against our country: failure.”
On Monday, Venezuela’s defaulted dollar bonds, which are trading around 30 cents on the dollar, rose as much as 1 cent each. The step-up in pressure from Washington has driven investor interest in the bonds, and Venezuela is the top performer among emerging market issuers this year with a 96% return at the index level according to JPMorgan data (.JPMEGDVENR).

The Treasury Department in July designated Cartel de los Soles, a reference to the sun insignia worn by Venezuelan generals, as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” which froze its U.S. assets and generally barred Americans from dealing with it.
InSight Crime, a foundation that analyzes organized crime, said in August that it was an “oversimplification” to say Maduro heads the cartel, saying that it “is more accurately described as a system of corruption wherein military and political officials profit by working with drug traffickers.”
Analysts also raised questions.
“As head of state overseeing the armed forces in a civil-military regime, is he in on it or at least aware of official military complicity with cocaine traffickers? Very likely,” said Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “But does that mean he is directing its movements and coordinating the drug flows? We have never had the information publicly to say.”

LEGALITY OF MILITARY ACTION QUESTIONED

Experts have questioned the legality of the U.S. campaign in the southern Caribbean and Pacific, in which the U.S. military has killed dozens of people by blowing boats out of the water, citing suspicion that the vessels were carrying drugs.
A Reuters poll this month said only 29% of Americans support using the military to kill suspected drug traffickers without a judge or court being involved.
A former senior Treasury Department official said while the designation could send a significant message to stay away from the cartel, it has never been suggested that the policy purpose of an FTO designation could be overlaid with the use of military tools.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-rejects-ridiculous-us-plan-designate-cartel-de-los-soles-terrorist-2025-11-24/

The Trump administration will shed about 317,000 employees this year, its human resources chief said, a higher figure than previously estimated.
Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, also said in a statement that the U.S. government hired 68,000 workers in 2025.

Both figures are larger than the estimates Kupor gave earlier this year in interviews with Reuters, at 300,000 for employees leaving and 50,000 for new hires.

The downsizing is part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to shrink the federal civilian workforce, which he says is bloated and inefficient. 2.4 million employees worked for the U.S. government before Trump took office for the second time.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-government-shed-317000-workers-this-year-trumps-hr-chief-says-2025-11-24/

From 10 December, social media companies will have to take “reasonable steps” to ensure that under-16s in Australia cannot set up accounts on their platforms and that existing accounts are deactivated or removed.

The government says the ban – a world-first policy popular with many parents – is aimed at reducing the “pressures and risks” children can be exposed to on social media, which come from “design features that encourage them to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing”.

A study commissioned by the government earlier this year said 96% of children aged 10-15 used social media and that seven out of 10 of them had been exposed to harmful content and behaviour. This behaviour ranged from misogynistic material to fight videos and content promoting eating disorders and suicide.

One in seven also reported experiencing grooming-type behaviour from adults or older children, and more than half said they had been the victims of cyberbullying.

Under the harsh lights of an operating theatre in the Indian capital, Delhi, a woman lies motionless as surgeons prepare to remove her gallbladder.

She is under general anaesthesia: unconscious, insensate and rendered completely still by a blend of drugs that induce deep sleep, block memory, blunt pain and temporarily paralyse her muscles.

Yet, amid the hum of monitors and the steady rhythm of the surgical team, a gentle stream of flute music plays through the headphones placed over her ears.

Even as the drugs silence much of her brain, its auditory pathway remains partly active. When she wakes up, she will regain consciousness more quickly and clearly because she required lower doses of anaesthetic drugs such as propofol and opioid painkillers than patients who heard no music.

That, at least, is what a new peer-reviewed study from Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College and Lok Nayak Hospital suggests. The research, published in the journal Music and Medicine, offers some of the strongest evidence yet that music played during general anaesthesia can modestly but meaningfully reduce drug requirements and improve recovery.

The study focuses on patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the standard keyhole operation to remove the gallbladder. The procedure is short – usually under an hour – and demands a particularly swift, “clear-headed” recovery.

To understand why the researchers turned to music, it helps to decode the modern practice of anaesthesia.

“Our aim is early discharge after surgery,” says Dr Farah Husain, senior specialist in anaesthesia and certified music therapist for the study. “Patients need to wake up clear-headed, alert and oriented, and ideally pain-free. With better pain management, the stress response is curtailed.”

Achieving that requires a carefully balanced mix of five or six drugs that together keep the patient asleep, block pain, prevent memory of the surgery and relax the muscles.

In procedures like laparoscopic gallbladder removal, anaesthesiologists now often supplement this drug regimen with regional “blocks” – ultrasound-guided injections that numb nerves in the abdominal wall.

“General anaesthesia plus blocks is the norm,” says Dr Tanvi Goel, primary investigator and a former senior resident of Maulana Azad Medical College. “We’ve been doing this for decades.”

But the body does not take to surgery easily. Even under anaesthesia, it reacts: heart rate rises, hormones surge, blood pressure spikes. Reducing and managing this cascade is one of the central goals of modern surgical care. Dr Husain explains that the stress response can slow recovery and worsen inflammation, highlighting why careful management is so important.

The stress starts even before the first cut, with intubation – the insertion of a breathing tube into the windpipe.

To do this, the anaesthesiologist uses a laryngoscope to lift the tongue and soft tissues at the base of the throat, obtain a clear view of the vocal cords, and guide the tube into the trachea. It’s a routine step in general anaesthesia that keeps the airway open and allows precise control of the patient’s breathing while they are unconscious.

“The laryngoscopy and intubation are considered the most stressful response during general anaesthesia,” says Dr Sonia Wadhawan, director-professor of anaesthesia and intensive care at Maulana Azad Medical College and supervisor of the study.

“Although the patient is unconscious and will remember nothing, their body still reacts to the stress with changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones.”

To be sure, the drugs have evolved. The old ether masks have vanished. In their place are intravenous agents – most notably propofol, the hypnotic made infamous by Michael Jackson’s death but prized in operating theatres for its rapid onset and clean recovery. “Propofol acts within about 12 seconds,” notes Dr Goel. “We prefer it for short surgeries like laparoscopic cholecystectomy because it avoids the ‘hangover’ caused by inhalational gases.”

The team of researchers wanted to know whether music could reduce how much propofol and fentanyl (an opioid painkiller) patients required. Less drugs means faster awakening, steadier vital signs and reduced side effects.

So they designed a study. A pilot involving eight patients led to a full 11-month trial of 56 adults, aged roughly 20 to 45, randomly assigned to two groups. All received the same five-drug regimen: a drug that prevents nausea and vomiting, a sedative, fentanyl, propofol and a muscle relaxant. Both groups wore noise-cancelling headphones – but only one heard music.

“We asked patients to select from two calming instrumental pieces – soft flute or piano,” says Dr Husain. “The unconscious mind still has areas that remain active. Even if the music isn’t explicitly recalled, implicit awareness can lead to beneficial effects.”

The results were striking.

Patients exposed to music required lower doses of propofol and fentanyl. They experienced smoother recoveries, lower cortisol or stress-hormone levels and a much better control of blood pressure during the surgery. “Since the ability to hear remains intact under anaesthesia,” the researchers write, “music can still shape the brain’s internal state.”

Clearly, music seemed to quieten the internal storm. “The auditory pathway remains active even when you’re unconscious,” says Dr Wadhawan. “You may not remember the music, but the brain registers it.”

The idea that the mind behind the anaesthetic veil is not entirely silent has long intrigued scientists. Rare cases of “intraoperative awareness” show patients recalling fragments of operating-room conversation.

If the brain is capable of picking up and remembering stressful experiences during surgery – even when a patient is unconscious – then it might also be able to register positive or comforting experiences, like music, even without conscious memory.

“We’re only beginning to explore how the unconscious mind responds to non-pharmacological interventions like music,” says Dr Husain. “It’s a way of humanising the operating room.”

Music therapy is not new to medicine; it has long been used in psychiatry, stroke rehabilitation and palliative care. But its entry into the intensely technical, machine-governed world of anaesthesia marks a quiet shift.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c231dv9zpz3o

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed proposed changes to the controversial 28-point peace plan for ending the war with Russia.

It appears Ukraine’s European allies produced an amended version of the plan after rejecting parts which favoured Russia’s war aims.

“Now the list of necessary steps to end the war can become doable…” Zelensky said on Telegram. “Many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework.”

Later, in the early hours of Tuesday, Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said a wave of Russian missile and drone attacks hit an apartment building in the capital and disrupted electricity and water supplies.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy also confirmed a “massive, combined enemy attack” on the country’s energy infrastructure facilities.

“Energy officials will begin assessing the consequences and restoration work as soon as the security situation permits,” it said in a statement.

US and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the plan, drafted by American and Russian officials in October, which had caused consternation in Kyiv and among its European allies.

Russian representatives did not take part in the meeting in Switzerland.

A Kremlin official rejected the amendments on Monday as “completely unconstructive”.

In another development, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that the Trump administration was not favouring Russia in its efforts to end the war.

“The idea that the United States of America is not engaging with both sides equally in this war to bring it to an end is a complete and total fallacy,” she told reporters.

President Donald Trump was “hopeful and optimistic” that a plan could be worked out for ending the war, Leavitt added.

Following the end of the talks in Geneva, Trump suggested on social media that “something good just may be happening” but added: “Don’t believe it until you see it.”

In Geneva, the talks began with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio having to deny the 28-point plan advocated by Trump had been written by the Kremlin, as several of its elements seemed heavily geared towards Moscow’s longstanding demands.

Zelensky said on Monday evening that the revised plan was “truly the right approach”.

“The sensitive issues, the most delicate points, I will discuss with President Trump,” he added, without saying when.

According to an official in Zelensky’s office, the 28-point plan leaked on Friday no longer existed.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergiy Kyslytsa, who attended the weekend talks in Geneva, said the latest plan consisted of just 19 points, with some of the most politically sensitive elements, including territorial concessions, now due to be decided by the leaders themselves.

A virtual “coalition of the willing” meeting of Ukraine’s European allies will take place on Tuesday to discuss developments, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced.

There was, he said, still work to do for a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine.

In Moscow, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters: “The European plan, at first glance… is completely unconstructive and does not work for us.”

Zelensky said earlier on Monday that the “main problem” remained Putin’s demand for legal recognition of territory Russia had taken.

Comments by Trump which suggested Ukraine had until 27 November to accept the deal or risk losing US support created a sense of urgency across Europe on Friday, and talks between Ukraine and US officials were hastily convened.

The counter-proposals – reportedly drafted by the UK, France and Germany – excluded any recognition of Russian-held regions, raised Ukraine’s permitted army size, and left the door open to Ukraine joining Nato.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd6qd10l94o

Back in the 1990s, computer geeks half-jokingly referred to the Internet as “The Net of a Million Lies.”

The anonymity it offered meant users could pretend to be anyone, and could say anything.

“On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog,” as the famous New Yorker cartoon put it.

Online anonymity today isn’t what it once was. But this weekend we learned how extensive — and how damaging — the Net of a Million Lies remains.

While users of X (formerly Twitter) are allowed to use anonymous handles and write their own personal descriptions, the company’s servers are privy to key details about every account holder.

Ordinarily the service doesn’t police what you say about yourself.

Leaders of major powers these days don’t like to sign on to anything that constrains them, says David Fickling for Bloomberg Opinion.

Another climate conference, another failed climate conference.

That’s the sense you might get from the anguished statements emerging at the close of the COP30 meeting in the Brazilian city of Belem last weekend (Nov 22 to 23). Hopes that the final communique would incorporate a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels were dashed. A planned US$125 billion fund for forest protection ended up with just US$6 billion or so committed.

That assessment confuses where we’re going wrong on climate, however – and what we’re getting right.

Take the weird refusal to mention fossil fuels in the agreement. That’s not quite the disaster it appears to be. Given the ability of oil exporters to veto every word of the text, it’s quite remarkable that such references ever made it through the drafting process. The fact that petroleum producers are now balking more aggressively at naming the problem we all face is a sign not of the failure of the energy transition, but of its success.

The International Energy Agency’s central expectation for fossil fuel consumption in 2050 has been cut by 12 per cent since the F-words were first officially mentioned at COP26 in Glasgow four years ago. Consumption of coal in the two biggest users, China and India, has fallen this year. These are far more substantive outcomes than the terminology of a United Nations document.

That’s not to tell a triumphal story about the progress of climate policy in 2025 – only to say that the real problems are far away from the conference halls in Belem.

WHAT WE’RE REALLY DOING WRONG

If you want to understand what we’re really doing wrong, look instead at an obscure page on a UN website where governments lodge their emissions reduction plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs. (Better still, go to Climate Action Tracker, a project that tries to translate these jargonistic documents into something approximating plain English.)

These NDCs are arguably the most important element of the Paris Agreement – the 2015 deal in which every country, for the first time, agreed to limit their greenhouse pollution. They’re meant to set clear, verifiable targets that can be measured against the best available science, and get progressively more ambitious over time. As we’ve written, there’s good evidence that governments which actually commit to such goals achieve them.

The latest plans, laying out where emissions will be in 2035, were intended to be a centrepiece of COP30. They fall far short of what is needed. Of the 10 biggest polluters accounting for three-quarters of carbon emissions, just two – the European Union and Japan – have submitted documents with any hope of being enacted.

The Biden administration put in a US plan six weeks after President Donald Trump was elected, rendering the entire effort futile on delivery. India, Iran, Saudi Arabia and South Korea still haven’t come up with their proposals. China, Russia and Indonesia have presented roadmaps so timid that they’d be able to increase their emissions substantially from current levels and still claim they hit the mark.

This lacklustre effort is very in keeping with the tenor of politics in 2025. Whether they’re promising sanctions in retaliation for TV advertisements, threatening to behead a foreign leader, invading their neighbours, or bombing apartment blocks into rubble, the authoritarians in charge of the major powers don’t like to sign on to anything these days that constrains them.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

It’s citizens who will ultimately decide the path of the future, though – and there, the picture is far brighter.

At times, they’re taking the energy transition into their own hands – whether it’s Pakistani households quitting a fossil-fired grid to use cheaper solar instead, or Turkish drivers switching to electric vehicles faster than Americans or Australians.

At other times, they’re the ones responsible for implementing policies, delivering far more positive outcomes than their leaders would have you believe.

For all you might have read about phalanxes of gas turbines and coal plants being lined up to power America’s data-centre explosion, some 10 months into the Trump administration, just 11 per cent of the generating capacity under construction is based on fossil fuels.

At still other times, they’re finding themselves in the path of the devastating effects of climate change itself.

Most of the technology we’ll need to solve this problem is already in our hands, and cheaper than the alternative, if only we’d remove the morass of barriers and regulation we’ve erected to slow its advance. Our problem is that the world’s leaders are some of the last to see that.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/cop30-deal-fossil-fuel-ndc-country-emissions-climate-change-5486991

A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation.

Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted a video on its Facebook page, showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered.

Pairat Soodthoop, the temple’s general and financial affairs manager, told The Associated Press on Monday (Nov 24) that the 65-year-old woman’s brother drove her from the province of Phitsanulok to be cremated.

He said they heard a faint knock coming from the coffin.

“I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled,” he said. “I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time.”

According to Pairat, the brother said his sister had been bedridden for about two years, when her health deteriorated and she became unresponsive, appearing to stop breathing two days ago.

He then placed her in a coffin and made the 500km journey to a hospital in Bangkok, to which the woman had previously expressed a wish to donate her organs.

The hospital refused to accept the brother’s offer as he didn’t have an official death certificate, Pairat said. His temple offers a free cremation service, which is why the brother approached them on Sunday, but was also refused due to the missing document.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thai-woman-found-alive-coffin-temple-cremation-5487296

DETAILS about the death of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas, whose remains were found in the trunk of a car once rented by singer D4vd, have been abruptly taken off the medical examiner’s website.

Cops demanded that the once publicly available information be ripped from the internet just days after a bombshell report claimed the 20-year-old artist was being investigated as a suspect.

In a statement shared on Monday, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office announced that the court imposed a security hold.

“No records or details associated with the case, including the cause and manner of death and Medical Examiner report, can be released or posted on the website until further notice,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo in a statement.

The court order was finalized on Friday at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department, which has been fighting to keep information out of the public eye for months.

Ukpo appeared to blast the decision in his statement, saying that he’s been working on “eradicating the practice of placing security holds” at law enforcement’s request since he started leading the department.

“The practice of security holds is virtually unheard of in other counties and has not been proven to improve outcomes in the legal system,” he wrote.

“We are dedicated to serving our community with full transparency; however, the law precludes us from doing so while the court order remains in this case.”

The LAPD first tried to seal details about the case in September, but their informal request was shot down “due to insufficient jurisdiction to warrant the hold,” the medical examiner said.

It’s been over two months since Celeste’s partially dismembered corpse was found shoved in the trunk of an abandoned Tesla that had been towed and left in a Los Angeles yard.

Mystery shrouds the case as more disturbing links between Celeste and d4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, are coming to light, yet no suspect has been officially named.

Last week, multiple local news outlets reported claims from law enforcement sources that Burke was being considered a suspect.

According to KNBC, the singer, who hasn’t been seen since abruptly cancelling his tour, is not being cooperative with investigators.

Family members have claimed that Burke and Celeste started dating after she disappeared in April 2024, and neighbors living by a unit in Hollywood Hills that Burke was renting said they saw the two hanging out.

Her body was found on September 8, when workers at Hollywood Tow reported a foul odor erupting from the Tesla SUV.

It’s unclear when exactly she died, but her remains were reportedly in a horrific state, with some parts partially frozen and apparently thawing in the car, TMZ reported.

Her body had been decapitated, and her limbs had been removed and chopped into pieces, sources close to the investigation told the outlet.

According to TMZ’s report, it could be impossible to determine the official manner of death because of the state of her remains.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15543141/celeste-rivas-death-update-d4vd-records/

A NEW city has just muscled its way to the top of the global population charts with 42 million inhabitants.

The leader of the pack outpaced other global metropolises like one-time leader Tokyo and even Cairo, Sao Paulo, and Dhaka.

But the city is sinking and is even set to be replaced as its country’s capital with its government building a new hub in the jungle.

Jakarta, Indonesia, has taken the crown as the world’s most populous city, boasting nearly 42 million inhabitants.

Its core province, DKI Jakarta, holds more than 11 million people within a compact area.

When the surrounding metropolitan area – known as Jabodetabek – is taken into account, the population rises above 40 million.

However, such a large population brings significant challenges.

Infrastructure, such as roads and transport links, are constantly under pressure.

Environmental issues, such as flooding, have also been exacerbated by the growing population.

Some scientists even believe that entire parts of the city could be under water by 2050.

“The potential for Jakarta to be submerged isn’t a laughing matter,” says Heri Andreas, who has studied the issue at the Bandung Institute of Technology.

“If we look at our models, by 2050 about 95% of North Jakarta will be submerged.”

North Jakarta has sunk 2.5 metres over the past decade.

In some areas, it’s continuing to sink by up to 25 centimetres a year, which is more that double the global average for coastal megacities.

Jakarta as a whole is sinking by an average of 1 – 15 centimetres year and almost half the city now sits below sea level.

However, this is hardly surprising given Jakarta’s location.

The city is built on swampy ground, with the Java Sea directly to the north.

Thirteen rivers also run through its centre, making the whole area especially susceptible to flooding.

Yet none of this has deterred property developers.

More and more luxury apartments are being built in North Jakarta despite the growing risk.

Eddy Ganefo, the head of the advisory council for Indonesia’s Association of Housing Development, says he urged the government to halt further development.

But, he says, “so long as we can sell apartments, development will continue”.

Jakarta is not alone in its struggle against rising sea levels.

Coastal cities all around the world are being affected by an issue primarily caused by climate change.

Yet the rate at which Jakarta is sinking is largely down to the excessive extraction of of groundwater for everyday use.

When groundwater is pumped out, the land above it sinks and this leads to land subsistence.

The situation is not helped by a worrying lack of regulation which allows almost anyone to carry out their own groundwater extractions.

To combat the rising water, the Indonesian government has sought a radical solution.

They plan to build a giant sea wall to shield the city from tidal surges and rising sea levels.

With an eye-watering price tag of $40 billion, the project is expected to protect Jakarta’s vulnerable coastal areas.

Construction is slated to finish by 2030, and by 2050 the wall is intended to be fully closed off, forming a vast reservoir.

This reservoir would store rainwater and, ideally, supply enough clean drinking water so the city can finally reduce its dependence on groundwater extraction.

But the plan has sparked major controversy.

Experts warn the sea wall could disrupt marine ecosystems, alter sea currents, and accelerate erosion on nearby islands.

It could also trap polluted river water inside the bay, potentially turning it into a stagnant lagoon.

Another solution the Indonesian government is pursuing is moving the capital city to Nusantara.

Construction began in 2022 in the middle of the jungle, with the project expected to cost around $35 billion.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15542473/city-overthrows-tokyo-worlds-largest-metropolis/

Three attackers attempted to enter the headquarters of a civilian paramilitary force, with one having blown himself up at the gate and two others having been gunned down by officers.

Suicide bombers struck the headquarters of Pakistan’s civilian paramilitary force, formerly called the Frontier Constabulary, in Peshawar, killing at least three officers and wounding at least two others, police said.

The complex is located on Saddar Road, which is one of the bustling city’s busiest routes.

Peshawar is the capital of the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region, which borders Afghanistan.

What do we know about the deadly attack in Peshawar?

The attack occurred at 8:10 a.m. local time (0310 UTC).

One of the bombers carried out an attack at the entrance to the complex, Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed Ahmad was cited by Dawn newspaper as saying.

The other two attackers attempted to enter the headquarters and were gunned down in its parking area, he said.

According to Ahmad, three officers were killed in the attack and two other officers were injured.

Three other people were injured in the incident besides the two officers, according to Reuters news agency.

Dozens of security personnel were on open ground inside complex

Ahmad said about 150 security personnel were on open ground inside the headquarters for morning parade drills when the attack took place.

“The terrorists involved in today’s attack were on foot and failed to reach the parade area and a timely response by our forces prevented a much larger tragedy.”

Police had completed the clearance operation and authorities had collected samples of the body parts of the attackers for DNA tests, Ahmad added.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-peshawar-security-paramilitary-hq-attack/a-74856300

From racism and black resistance in Jamaica, to Vietnam, the Arab Spring and refugee crises, Jimmy Cliff used the sound of reggae to address social injustice around the world for half a century.

Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican singer famous for hits including “I Can See Clearly Now” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” has passed away aged 81, his widow Latifa confirmed on Monday.

“It’s with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia,” Latifa wrote on Instagram.

“I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and co-workers who have shared his journey with him,” continued the post, which was also signed by two of his children, Lilty and Aken.

“To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career. He really appreciated each and every fan for their love.”

See more

Jimmy Cliff: from St. James to global fame

Born in the Somerton District of St James, Jamaica, in 1944, Cliff began writing music as his country was gaining its independence from the United Kingdom and as the early sounds of reggae – known at the time as ska – were emerging.

He listened to musicians such as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Fats Domino and Jimi Hendrix and would go on to collaborate with artists including The Clash, Kool and the Gang, Sting and Annie Lennox.

Over the coming decades, he helped popularize reggae music around the world, and for a brief time was considered a rival to Bob Marley as the genre’s most prominent artist.

Superstar song-writer Bob Dylan reportedly described Cliff’s 1969 hit “Vietnam” as the “best protest song” he had ever heard.

Three years later, Cliff reached a new level of fame when he starred in the 1972 crime film “The Harder They Come” as a young Jamaican reggae singer who dreams of stardom but struggles to get his music heard.

“Back in those days there were few of us African descendants who came through the cracks to get any kind of recognition,” he told The Guardian newspaper in 2022.

“It was easier in music than movies. But when you start to see your face and name on the side of the buses in London that was like: wow, what’s going on? Reggae music was still considered a novelty.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/jamaica-reggae-superstar-jimmy-cliff-dies-aged-81/a-74869592

 

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it was “shocking” for Japan’s leader to openly send a wrong signal concerning Taiwan, according to an official statement on Sunday, the latest remarks in a row that has shaken relations for more than two weeks.
Wang, the most senior Chinese official to have commented publicly on the issue, said Japan was crossing a red line that must not be touched, according to the statement posted on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website.

He accused Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of attempting to intervene militarily over Taiwan. Wang was referring to comments on November 7 in which she told a questioner in parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
The ensuing row, the biggest China-Japan crisis in years, has spread to trade and cultural relations. On Friday China raised the issue with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, vowing to defend itself.
Beijing views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.

In response to the letter to the U.N., Japan’s foreign ministry on Saturday dismissed China’s claims as “entirely unacceptable” and said Japan’s commitment to peace was unchanged.

Speaking to reporters in South Africa after attending the G20 leaders’ summit, Takaichi on Sunday made no mention of Wang’s remarks or the letter, saying only that Japan remained open to dialogue with China.
“We are not closing the door. But it’s important for Japan to state clearly what needs to be said,” she said. She added that she had not spoken with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who was also in Johannesburg for the meeting.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the letter to the U.N.
“The letter not only contains rude and unreasonable content but also maliciously distorts historical facts,” the ministry said in a statement. “Furthermore, it violates Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force in international relations.”

Wang said that in responding to Japan’s move, “China must resolutely hit back – not only to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also to defend the hard-won postwar achievements secured with blood and sacrifice.”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-japan-sent-shocking-wrong-signal-taiwan-2025-11-23/

U.S. President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate, ending an initiative launched with fanfare as a symbol of Trump’s pledge to slash the government’s size but which critics say delivered few measurable savings.
“That doesn’t exist,” Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about DOGE’s status.

It is no longer a “centralized entity,” Kupor added, in the first public comments from the Trump administration on the end of DOGE.
The agency, set up in January, made dramatic forays across Washington in the early months of Trump’s second term to rapidly shrink federal agencies, cut their budgets or redirect their work to Trump priorities. The OPM, the federal government’s human resources office, has since taken over many of DOGE’s functions, according to Kupor and documents reviewed by Reuters.
At least two prominent DOGE employees are now involved with the National Design Studio, a new body created through an executive order signed by Trump in August. That body is headed by Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, and Trump’s order directed him to beautify government websites.

Gebbia was part of billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE team while DOGE employee Edward Coristine, nicknamed “Big Balls,” encouraged followers on his X account to apply to join.
The fading away of DOGE is in sharp contrast to the government-wide effort over months to draw attention to it, with Trump, his advisers and cabinet secretaries posting about it on social media. Musk, who led DOGE initially, regularly touted its work on his X platform and at one point brandished a chainsaw to advertise his efforts to cut government jobs.
“This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,” Musk said, holding the tool above his head at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, in February.
DOGE claimed to have slashed tens of billions of dollars in expenditures, but it was impossible for outside financial experts to verify that because the unit did not provide detailed public accounting of its work.

“President Trump was given a clear mandate to reduce waste, fraud and abuse across the federal government, and he continues to actively deliver on that commitment,” said White House spokeswoman Liz Huston in an email to Reuters.

TRUMP OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN SIGNALING DOGE’S DEMISE

Trump administration officials have not openly said that DOGE no longer exists, even after Musk’s public feud with Trump in May. Musk has since left Washington.
Trump and his team have nevertheless signaled its demise in public since this summer, even though the U.S. president signed an executive order earlier in his term decreeing that DOGE would last through July 2026.

In statements to reporters, Trump often talks about DOGE, in the past tense. Acting DOGE Administrator Amy Gleason, whose background is in healthcare tech, formally became an adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy in March, according to a court filing, in addition to her role with DOGE. Her public statements have largely focused on her HHS role.
Republican-led states, including Idaho, and Florida, meanwhile are creating local entities similar to DOGE.
A government-wide hiring freeze – another hallmark of DOGE – is also over, Kupor said.
Trump on his first day in office barred federal agencies from bringing on new employees, with exceptions for positions his team deemed necessary to enforce immigration laws and protect public safety. He later said DOGE representatives must approve any other exceptions, adding that agencies should hire “no more than one employee for every four” that depart.
“There is no target around reductions” anymore, Kupor said.

FORMER DOGE EMPLOYEES MOVE ON TO NEW ROLES

DOGE staff have also taken on other roles in the administration. Most prominent is Gebbia, whom Trump tasked with improving the “visual presentation” of government websites.
So far, his design studio has launched websites to recruit law enforcement officers to patrol Washington, D.C., and advertise the president’s drug pricing program. Gebbia declined an interview with Reuters via a spokesperson.
Zachary Terrell, part of the DOGE team given access to government health systems in the early days of Trump’s second term, is now chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services. Rachel Riley, who had the same access according to court filings, is now chief of the Office of Naval Research, according to the office’s website.
Jeremy Lewin, who helped Musk and the Trump administration dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, now oversees foreign assistance at the State Department, according to the agency’s website.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/doge-doesnt-exist-with-eight-months-left-its-charter-2025-11-23/

 

In the final fractious hours of the U.N. climate summit in Brazil, when a deal to advance the world’s fight against global warming was slipping out of reach, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago reminded them about the cost of failure.
This was the first international climate conference since the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump in January abandoned international cooperation on global warming, making it crucial for countries to land an accord that demonstrates unity.

“Those who doubt that cooperation is the best way forward for climate are going to be absolutely delighted to see that we cannot reach an agreement between us,” he told the delegates. “So, we must reach an agreement.”
In the end, representatives from nearly 200 nations landed a deal. But its contents, and the messy process that led to its adoption, say as much about the world’s divisions as its resolve to combat climate change together, according to observers, delegates and climate advocates.
The final deal approved language that would triple the money for poorer countries to adapt to the worsening impacts of warming, but also shied away from mentioning the fossil fuels that cause it. Observers described it as everything from a win to a very bad joke.

The two-week path to the final deal involved all the human drama associated with extreme fatigue, frustration and obstinance: Indigenous protesters charged the conference gates; Saudi Arabia threatened the deal’s collapse if its oil industry was targeted; Panama called the talks a clown show; and the closing ceremony was suspended for an hour as host Brazil tried to sort out objections.
When it was all finally gaveled through on Saturday afternoon, Correa do Lago cried.

THIS IS A WIN; THIS IS A JOKE

The absence of the United States loomed over the talks. The world’s largest historic emitter and top economy declined to send a formal delegation as Trump declared global warming a hoax and efforts to combat it a competitive liability.
EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra acknowledged the challenge of forging consensus without Washington at the table to help drive it. Under past administrations, the United States has partnered with the EU to drive ambition for a clean energy transition that could help the world slow warming.

“A player of that magnitude… of course it is a major blow if such a partner is not showing up and not taking part,” he told reporters at the end of the summit.
This year, the EU had pushed hard for language clarifying the world’s transition away from fossil fuels but ended up giving in to demands to keep it out, led by Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had just been warmly received at the White House.

A representative for Riyadh told delegates in the final hours of negotiations that any language in the accord that targets its oil industry risks collapsing global consensus, according to three sources familiar with the closed-door talks.
Saudi Arabia declined requests for comment.
That outcome, along with limited efforts to protect forests, made scores of countries unhappy.
“A Forest COP with no commitment on forests is a very bad joke. A climate decision that cannot even say fossil fuels is not neutrality, it is complicity. And what is happening here transcends incompetence,” said Panama’s COP negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey.

Those frustrations spilled out in the final plenary session, where Latin American nations led a series of objections that forced the suspension of the closing ceremony, already a day past its scheduled end, by more than an hour.

CLIMATE COOPERATION TO BE TESTED

The deal delivered a key demand of developing nations by calling for a tripling of climate adaptation funds meant to help countries cope with the mounting impacts of a warming planet, such as rising seas, heat waves, and fierce storms.
That was welcome news for some.
“We managed to get a deal done. And so, I think from AOSIS’s perspective, this is a win,” Ilana Seid, chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, told Reuters.
“And it’s a win for multilateralism and it’s a chance that we can uphold the goals of the Paris Agreement, which are incredibly important to us,” she said, referring to the 2015 international deal to keep warming within 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore framed the outcome as “the floor — the bare minimum of what the world must do — not the ceiling that limits what is possible.”
He noted that while oil producer states had blocked language on phasing out fossil fuels, Brazil’s COP30 presidency will lead an effort to develop such a roadmap, backed by more than 80 countries.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/cop30-deal-exposes-fragile-climate-unity-us-steps-back-2025-11-23/

Usha Vance‘s spokesperson made a rare statement denying speculation that the second first lady is divorcing her husband, Vice President JD Vance.

Split rumors between Usha and JD began to swirl after she didn’t wear her wedding ring during her visit to Camp Lejeune, a military training facility in Jacksonville, NC, on Nov. 19.

Dressed in a burgundy turtleneck dress and matching heels, Usha made the ringless public appearance alongside First Lady Melania Trump.

But according to her spokesperson, Usha, who shares sons Ewan, 8, and Vivek, 5, and daughter Mirabel, 3, wth JD, simply forgot to wear her wedding ring.

“[Usha is] a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes,” the spokesperson said in a statement to People.

Usha, 39, and JD, 41, tied the knot in 2014 after meeting at Yale Law School.

The recent split rumors were also fueled by JD’s hug with Erika Kirk at a Turning Point USA event last month, which went viral.

Kirk — the widow of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed in September — gave the politician a warm embrace onstage, prompting chatter on social media.

“No one will ever replace my husband. But I do see some similarities of my husband in JD — in Vice President JD Vance. I do,” she also told the crowd.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2025/11/23/celebrity-news/jd-vances-wife-usha-addresses-divorce-speculation-after-being-seen-without-wedding-ring/

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott owe more than $1.7 million in unpaid federal and state taxes.

The staggering amount was revealed in the final judgment filed in their divorce. The former couple owe $1.2 million to the IRS, according to court docs obtained by Fox News Digital. They also owe more than $500,000 in unpaid taxes to the California Franchise Tax Board.

Spelling and McDermott will each be responsible for a minimum of $600,000 of the IRS debt, and their unpaid taxes to the California Franchise Tax Board will be split evenly.

Aside from their unpaid taxes, the two also owe $37,000 to American Express and still have a balance with City National Bank for not paying off a six-figure loan from over a decade ago that ballooned to almost $400,000.

More debt includes the “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum owing $288,000 to a private individual, $69,000 to another unidentified individual and $10,228 in uninsured medical expenses, according to the outlet.

McDermott owes $22,000 from a student loan and $20,609 in his own uninsured medical bills, the court docs also reveal.

Reps for Spelling and McDermott didn’t immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

Spelling’s surprising monthly income was previously revealed in a court filing.

In an income and expense report filed on Sept. 5 in Los Angeles Superior Court obtained by Page Six, McDermott claimed that Spelling’s monthly income varies between $3,000-$75,000, “depending on the job.”

As for his own earnings, McDermott claimed he earns $3,800 per month and noted that his financial situation changed significantly over the past year “due to the SAG/AFTRA strikes and change in the industry.”

“My acting and producing work has decreased drastically,” he stated.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2025/11/23/celebrity-news/tori-spelling-and-dean-mcdermotts-staggering-7-figure-tax-debt-revealed-in-divorce-settlement/

Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has formally requested India to extradite deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina following her death sentence by the International Crimes Tribunal. This move intensifies diplomatic tensions between the two neighbouring countries amid serious allegations.

Bangladesh’s interim government of Muhammad Yunus has sent an “official letter” to New Delhi seeking the extradition of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina after the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) sentenced her to death.

“The letter was sent the day before yesterday (Friday),” the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported, quoting foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain as saying without elaboration.

The special Bangladeshi tribunal on November 17 handed Hasina, 78, the capital punishment along with then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on charges of committing “crimes against humanity” after their trial in absentia while both are staying in India.

The third accused in the case, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, who faced the trial in person was handed a five-year jail term as he appeared as an “approver” or state witness.

Hasina’s Awami League government was toppled in a student-led violent protest termed as the ‘July Uprising’ on August 5 last year.

Three days later, Nobel Laureate Yunus flew from Paris at the call of the protesting students to assume the charge of the interim government as its chief adviser.

Hasina and the two others were accused of adopting brutal means to tame the protestors while a UN rights office report said about 1,400 people were killed in between July 15 and August 15 last year.

The interim government had in December last year sent a diplomatic note verbal seeking Hasina’s extradition when India just acknowledged its receipt with no further comment.

However, hours after the ICT-BD verdict was delivered last week, the External Affairs Ministry issued a statement saying “India has noted the verdict announced by the ‘International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh’ concerning former prime minister Sheikh Hasina”.

“As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” the statement read.

Law adviser Asif Nazrul on November 20 said the interim government would send a letter to Delhi to return Hasina and her home minister adding that the government was also thinking about going to the International Criminal Court to bring them back as they were now “fugitive convicts”.

 

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bangladesh-urges-india-to-return-sheikh-hasina-after-tribunals-death-sentence-2824823-2025-11-23

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff scrambled Sunday to get the White House’s controversial 28-point Ukraine peace plan back on track after facing bipartisan criticisms that it was nothing more than a Russian “wishlist.”

Ahead of a key meeting in Geneva, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies raised major reservations about the proposal, which would force Kyiv to make massive territorial concessions.

Rubio, Witkoff, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Jared Kushner and several other US officials huddled in Geneva on Sunday with Ukraine’s delegation to go over the blueprint to end the war in what was reportedly a tense meeting at times.

Ultimately, the US agreed to make changes to the plan — and seemingly appeased Ukraine’s concerns.

“Ukrainian representatives stated that, based on the revisions and clarifications presented today, they believe the current draft reflects their national interests and provides credible and enforceable mechanisms to safeguard Ukraine’s security in both the near and long term,” the White House said in a statement.

The US and Ukraine also issued a joint statement, touting the success of the discussions.

“Both sides agreed the consultations were highly productive. The discussions showed meaningful progress toward aligning positions and identifying clear next steps,” the joint statement said.

“They reaffirmed that any future agreement must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty and deliver a sustainable and just peace. As a result of the discussions, the parties drafted an updated and refined peace framework,” the statement added.

Those comments echoed Rubio’s optimism earlier in the day.

“I’m not going to speculate,” Rubio told reporters on Sunday. “I feel very optimistic that we can get something done here.”

“Obviously, the Russians get a vote.”

Looming over the talks was mass confusion over the origins of the plan to end the bloody war in Ukraine — and reports that the Trump administration threatened to cut off aid if Kyiv didn’t accept.

On Saturday, Rubio attempted to allay concerns over the plan during a call with a bipartisan delegation of senators who attended the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), who was on the call, said that Rubio told them, “It is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan.”

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who was also on the call, indicated that Rubio suggested it was a “wishlist of the Russians.”

But both Rubio and the State Department quickly hit back, with the Secretary of State stating that the plan was “authored by the US.”

“It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine,” Rubio added.

Lawmakers also reported that Rubio demurred on reports that the Trump administration was threatening to cut off aid to Ukraine if the deal wasn’t accepted. The secretary of state said he hadn’t been privy to those conversations.

President Trump has publicly said he wants Ukraine to accept the deal by Thanksgiving.

During talks on Sunday, the Ukrainians unveiled a counterproposal to modify the 28-point plan, and the American side was open to making some of those changes, Axios reported.

Despite the happy talk to the press, behind closed doors, the US sides accused their Ukrainian counterparts of leaking key details about the peace plan to American media in a bid to stir up domestic backlash, according to Axios.

Senior US officials previously told The Post they believe Russia leaked the plan.

Zelensky, who initially suggested the plan was a distressing “choice between losing our dignity and freedom and losing US support,” expressed gratitude on Sunday for the American efforts to end the bloody war that has ravaged his country for just under four years.

“Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump,” he posted on X, not long after Trump fumed that Ukraine showed “zero gratitude” towards him.

“Thank you to everyone who is helping! Thank you, America! Thank you, Europe! I am proud of our people. Glory to Ukraine!”

Zelensky has emphasized that a proper peace plan must take Ukraine’s needs into account and avoid rewarding Russia for launching its invasion and starting the war.

The peace plan, a draft of which leaked last week, calls for Ukraine to make major concessions, including surrendering the entire Donbas region, which Russia has failed to capture for more than a decade of insurgency and war.

Critics fear that giving up the rest of Donbas could leave Ukraine vulnerable to a future Russian attack, as it would cede heavily fortified cities and give Moscow a launchpad for a future invasions.

Just last month, Trump had favored freezing the current lines on the battlefield to avoid complicated negotiations over territory. But the Russians made it clear that would be a dealbreaker.

Under the plan, Ukraine would also have to commit to never joining NATO, shrinking its military force from roughly 900,000 to 600,000 personnel, and giving amnesty to everyone involved in the war — meaning that Russians couldn’t face war crime claims for the atrocities that they have carried out.

The Russians were asked to make only a few concessions in the plan, including a commitment not to invade its neighbors in the future and Ukraine getting some security guarantees.

Those guarantees, however, fall far short of NATO’s Article 5, which treats any attack on a member state as an attack on the entire bloc, leaving little repercussions for Moscow if it choses to launch a third invasion of Ukraine.

Source: https://nypost.com/2025/11/23/us-news/marco-rubio-steve-witkoff-scramble-to-get-ukraine-peace-plan-back-on-track/

Meanwhile, Europe is said to be open to welcoming Russia back into the G8

VOLODYMYR Zelensky has thanked Donald Trump for his proposed peace deal – after the US president blasted Kyiv for showing “zero gratitude”.

It comes after Washington confirmed it was making changes to Trump’s blueprint in response to European leaders dubbing it a “surrender plan”.

In another desperate bid to get the Don back on his side, Zel said Ukraine was “grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump for the assistance”.

The war hero noted that Trump had been “saving Ukrainian lives” through all of his military and diplomatic assistance.

He wrote on X: “It is important not to forget the main goal – to stop Russia’s war and prevent it from ever igniting again.

“And to achieve that, peace must be dignified.”

Zelensky also praised European allies and the G20 who are pushing efforts to negotiate a better deal for Ukraine.

It comes after European leaders unveiled a counter proposal to Trump’s plan following crunch talks in Geneva on Sunday.

Trump slammed both Ukraine and America’s European allies just minutes after Zelensky hinted the US proposal could still protect Kyiv’s core security interests.

Trump said: “I inherited a war that should have never happened, a war that is a loser for everyone, especially the millions of people that have so needlessly died.

“Ukraine ‘leadership’ has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts, and Europe continues to buy oil from Russia.

“The USA continues to sell massive amounts of weapons to NATO, for distribution to Ukraine.”

Politicians from across the divide in the US have criticized Trump for putting his name to a plan which seems to capitulate to Putin.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon warned this could tarnish Trump’s “legacy”, and said: “In the war between Ukraine and Russia, the first to surrender was America.”

Meanwhile, representatives from Ukraine, Europe and the US all gathered in Geneva today in an effort find a shared path forward from the controversial 28-point proposal.

Things kicked off with a meeting between Ukraine’s top negotiator, Andriy Yermak, and national security advisers from the UK, France and Germany.

The European allies produced a counter-proposal with adjusted terms – for example, leaving the door open to Ukraine to possibly join Nato – before Kyiv and Washington diplomats sat down together.

Marco Rubio and Yermak briefly emerged to announce Washington would make some “changes” to the terms after the “most productive and meaningful meeting so far in this entire process”.

Rubio said: “Our teams are have now gone to their rooms as we’re working on some of the suggestions that were proffered to us, so we’re working through, making some changes in the hopes of furthering narrowing the differences and getting closer to something that both Ukraine and obviously the United States are very comfortable with.”

He stressed that anything agreed in principal in Geneva would still need Trump and Zelensky’s sign off, and Russia would be given the chance to give its opinion.

Both men went straight back into the room without taking questions as Rubio said: “There is still some work left to do.”

We’ve also learned that Trump and Starmer spoke on the phone today as their representatives gathered in Geneva, with Downing Street reporting they “agreed that we all must work together”.

The talks come after Trump abruptly rowed back on his threat that Zelensky “will have to” accept the deal by Thursday.

The shift cracks open a sliver of negotiating space as Washington, Kyiv and Europe scramble to rewrite a proposal widely seen as a capitulation to Vladimir Putin.

Convoys of US diplomatic vehicles swept through Geneva early Sunday, carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll to the talks.

Ukraine’s delegation is led by Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff, while Britain’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell joins counterparts from France, Germany, the EU and Italy.

Their aim is to salvage, reshape or stall the 28-point US plan before Trump and Zelensky face their Thursday deadline.

Yermak said the opening session set a “very constructive mood” and that Kyiv and its partners “continue working together to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine”.

Rubio, Driscoll and Witkoff are due to join the next round.

Zelensky said he is awaiting the results from Geneva, warning that “a positive result is needed for all of us”.

In a message to Ukrainians, he said: “Bloodshed must be stopped and it must be guaranteed that the war will not be reignited.”

A US official previously insisted negotiators hope “to iron out the final details… to draft a deal that is advantageous to them (Ukraine)”, adding that “nothing will be agreed on until the two presidents get together”.

But European officials say privately that the plan needs much more than tweaks.

The proposal was drawn up by Russian sovereign wealth chief Kirill Dmitriev and Witkoff after discreet talks in Miami.

It would force Ukraine to cede occupied eastern territory, restrict its military to 600,000 troops and abandon its ambitions to join Nato.

The plan also freezes front lines in the south and offers Russia a path back into the G7, with sanctions lifted and Russian energy reopened to Western markets.

European leaders warn it leaves Ukraine exposed to Mad Vlad’s demands and war powers.

A G7 statement on Saturday said the draft “would leave Ukraine vulnerable to attack” and “requires additional work”.

Sir Keir Starmer said it was “fundamental that Ukraine has to be able to defend itself if there’s a ceasefire”.

Trump, sensing the blowback, abruptly shifted tone late Saturday.

The US president said the plan “does not represent a ‘final offer’”, in a clear retreat from earlier warnings that Zelensky had “no choice” but to accept it.

Rubio, meanwhile, finds himself under pressure after senators accused him of privately calling the plan a “Russian wish list”.

He now insists it was “authored by the US” and is “a strong framework for ongoing negotiations”, albeit “based on input from the Russian side” and on “previous and ongoing input from Ukraine”.

Zelensky has warned the entire process places Ukraine in “one of the most difficult moments in our history”, forced to choose between “lose our dignity or risk losing a key partner”.

He stressed that while diplomacy proceeds, Ukraine “must do everything to strengthen our defense”.

The war-torn country, Zelensky said, is reeling after yet another week of brutal Russian strikes using more than “1,050 strike drones, almost 1,000 guided bombs and more than 60 missiles”.

 

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/15536007/ukraine-crisis-talks-geneva-peace-plan-trump/

Charlie Kirk’s widow spoke during the final stop of Megyn Kelly’s tour

ERIKA Kirk battled through tears as she told Megyn Kelly about the message she would send to the family of her husband Charlie’s alleged assassin.

The brave widow joined the final stop of the Megyn Kelly Live tour on Saturday night to talk about Charlie’s death and her fight to keep his legacy alive.

She was pushed by host Kelly to talk about how she refuses to feel anger for the people who have hate for her husband even after his murder.

“I know you don’t ever feel angry against God, but I kind of do,” Kelly said.

“How do you make sense of that? And do you have any anger when you think about it in general?”

Holding back tears Erika told Kelly: “The enemy would love for me to be angry.”

“He would love it because it would distract me from building what Charlie entrusted to me.

“Raising our babies, Turning Point, being there for the team, being there for what the future holds.

“And if I had any amount of anger in my heart and spirit, the Lord would not be able to use me,” Erika continued.

“And every single day, just how Charlie did, stood on stage, he would say, ‘Here I am, Lord, use me.’

“And if I had that anger in my heart, that foothold from the enemy, he wouldn’t be able to.”

Kelly also asked Erika about how she was able to forgive Charlie’s at his memorial.

“I said that’s the most powerful strongest thing I’ve ever seen anybody do in my life,” she told her.

“But I wonder, if you could say something to him, if you could say something to his parents, like what would it be? Would it be anger? Would it be sympathy? What would it be?”

“It’s a good question,” Erika responded.

“It wouldn’t be sympathy. It wouldn’t be anger.

“Anything that I could ever wish upon him or that family would pale in comparison to the justice of God.

“And so I would look at them almost like I’m so glad I’m not you.”

Activist Charlie Kirk was gunned down while speaking with students at Utah Valley University in September.

Mom of two Erika has given heartwrenching insights into her life since the 31-year-old was killed by suspected gunman Tyler Robinson, 22.

At a massive memorial for her husband that President Donald Trump attended, she revealed that she had forgiven the killer.

Erika has insisted that she wants no part in the trial of her husband’s alleged killer and refuses to comment on whether he should get the death penalty.

“I want the government to decide this,” she previously told The New York Times.

“I do not want this man’s blood on my ledger.”

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/15536994/erika-kirks-tears-message-charlies-assassin-megyn-kelly/

The island of Hokkaido has long been an agricultural powerhouse – now Japan is investing billions to turn it into a global hub for advanced semiconductors.

More than half of Japan’s dairy produce comes from Hokkaido, the northernmost of its main islands. In winter, it’s a wonderland of ski resorts and ice-sculpture festivals; in summer, fields bloom with bands of lavender, poppies and sunflowers.

These days, cranes are popping up across the island – building factories, research centres and universities focused on technology. It’s part of Japan’s boldest industrial push in a generation: an attempt to reboot the country’s chip-making capabilities and reshape its economic future.

Locals say that beyond the cattle and tourism, Hokkaido has long lacked other industries. There’s even a saying that those who go there do so only to leave.

But if the government succeeds in turning Hokkaido into Japan’s answer to Silicon Valley – or “Hokkaido Valley”, as some have begun to call it – the country could become a new contender in the $600bn (£458bn) race to supply the world’s computer chips.

An unlikely player
At the heart of the plan is Rapidus, a little-known company backed by the government and some of Japan’s biggest corporations including Toyota, Softbank and Sony.

Born out of a partnership with IBM, it has raised billions of dollars to build Japan’s first cutting-edge chip foundry in decades.

The government has invested $12bn in the company, so that it can build a massive semiconductor factory or “fab” in the small city of Chitose.

In selecting the Hokkaido location, Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike points to Chitose’s water, electricity infrastructure and its natural beauty.

Mr Koike oversaw the fab design, which will be completely covered in grass to harmonise with Hokkaido’s landscape, he told the BBC.

Local authorities have also flagged the region as being at lower risk of earthquakes compared to other potential sites in Japan.

A key milestone for Rapidus came with the delivery of an extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) system from the Dutch company ASML.

The high-tech machinery helped bring about Rapidus’ biggest accomplishment yet earlier this year – the successful production of prototype two nanometre (2nm) transistors.

These ultra-thin chips are at the cutting edge of semiconductor technology and allow devices to run faster and more efficiently.

It’s a feat only rival chip makers TSMC and Samsung have accomplished. Intel is not pursuing 2nm, it is leapfrogging from 7nm straight to 1.8nm.

“We succeeded in manufacturing the 2nm prototype for the first time in Japan, and at an unprecedented speed in Japan and globally,” Mr Koike said.

He credits the IBM partnership for helping achieve the breakthrough.

Tie-ups with global companies are essential to acquiring the technology needed for this level of chips, he added.

The sceptics
Rapidus is confident that it is on track to mass produce 2nm chips by 2027. The challenge will be achieving the yield and quality that is needed to survive in an incredibly competitive market – the very areas where Taiwan and South Korea have pulled ahead.

TSMC for example has achieved incredible success in mass production, but making high-end chips is costly and technically demanding.

In a 2024 report, the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office highlighted that although Rapidus is receiving government subsidies and consortium members are contributing funds: “The financing falls short of the expected 5 trillion yen ($31.8bn; £24.4bn) needed to start mass production.”

The Center for Security and International Studies (CSIS) has previously said: “Rapidus has no experience in manufacturing advanced chips, and to date there is no indication that it will be able to access actual know-how for such an endeavour from companies with the requisite experience (ie TSMC and Samsung).”

Finding customers may also be a challenge – Samsung and TSMC have established relationships with global companies that have been buying their chips for years.

The lost decades
Nevertheless, Japan’s government is pouring money into the chip industry – $27bn between 2020 and early 2024 – a larger commitment relative to its gross domestic product (GDP) than the US made through the Biden-era CHIPS Act.

In late 2024, Tokyo unveiled a $65bn package for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and semiconductors that could further support Rapidus’s expansion plans.

This comes after decades of decline. Forty years ago Japan made more than half of the world’s semiconductors. Today, it produces just over 10%.

Many point to US-Japan trade tensions in the 1980s as a turning point.

Naoyuki Yoshino, professor emeritus at Keio University, said Japan lost out in the technology stakes to Taiwan and South Korea in the 1980s, leaving domestic companies weaker.

Unlike its rivals, Japan failed to sustain subsidies to keep its chipmakers competitive.

But Mr Koike says that mentality has changed.

“The [national] government and local government are united in supporting our industry to revive once again.”

Japan’s broader economic challenges also loom large. Its population is shrinking while the number of elderly citizens continues to surge. That has determined the national budget for years and has contributed to slowing growth.

More than a third of its budget now goes to social welfare for the elderly, and that squeezes the money available for research, education and technology, Prof Yoshino says.

Japan also faces a severe shortage of semiconductor engineers – an estimated 40,000 people in the coming years.

Rapidus is partnering with Hokkaido University and others to train new workers, but agrees it will have to rely heavily on foreigners, at a time when public support for workers coming into the country for employment is low.

Growing an ecosystem
The government’s push is already attracting major global players.

TSMC is producing 12–28nm chips in Kumamoto, on the south-western island of Kyushu – a significant step for Japan, even if it lags behind the company’s cutting-edge production in Taiwan.

The expansion has transformed the local economy, attracting suppliers, raising wages, and leading to infrastructure and service developments.

Japan’s broader chip revival strategy appears to be following a playbook: establish a “fab”, and an entire ecosystem will tend to follow.

TSMC started building a second plant on Kyushu in October this year, which is due to begin production by the end of 2027.

Beyond Rapidus and TSMC, local players like Kioxia and Toshiba are also getting government backing.

Kioxia has expanded fabs in Yokkaichi and Kitakami with state funds and Toshiba has built one in Ishikawa. Meanwhile, ROHM has been officially designated as a company that provides critical products under Tokyo’s economic security framework.

American memory chipmaker Micron will also receive $3.63bn in subsidies from the Japanese government to grow facilities in Hiroshima, while Samsung is building a research and development facility in Yokohama.

Hokkaido is seeing similar momentum. Chipmaking equipment companies ASML and Tokyo Electron have both opened offices in Chitose, off the back of Rapidus building a production facility there.

“This will make a form of ‘global ecosystem’,” Mr Koike says, “where we work together to be able to produce semiconductors that contribute to the world.”

Mr Koike said Rapidus’s key selling point would be – as its name suggests – an ability to produce custom chips faster than competitors, rather than competing directly with other players.

“TSMC leads the world, with Intel and Samsung close behind. Our edge is speed – we can produce and deliver chips three to four times faster than anyone else. That speed is what gives us an edge in the global semiconductor race,” Mr Koike said.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8676qpxgnqo

A three-year-old boy has astounded doctors with his progress after becoming the first person in the world with his devastating disease to receive a ground-breaking gene therapy.

Oliver Chu has a rare, inherited condition called Hunter syndrome – or MPSII – which causes progressive damage to the body and brain.

In the most severe cases, patients with the disease usually die before the age of 20. The effects are sometimes described as a type of childhood dementia.

Due to a faulty gene, before the treatment Oliver was unable to produce an enzyme crucial for keeping cells healthy.

In a world first, medical staff in Manchester have tried to halt the disease by altering Oliver’s cells using gene therapy.

Prof Simon Jones, who is co-leading the trial tells the BBC: “I’ve been waiting 20 years to see a boy like Ollie doing as well as he is, and it’s just so exciting.”

At the centre of this remarkable story is Oliver – the first of five boys around the world to receive the treatment – and the Chu family, from California, who have put their faith in the medical team at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

A year after starting the treatment, Oliver now appears to be developing normally.

“Every time we talk about it I want to cry because it’s just so amazing,” says his mother Jingru.

The BBC has followed Oliver’s story for more than a year – including how scientists in the UK first developed the pioneering gene therapy and how the medical trial they are conducting almost didn’t get off the ground due to lack of funds.

Stem cell removal – December 2024

We first meet Oliver and his dad Ricky in December 2024 at the clinical research facility at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. It’s a big day.

Since being diagnosed with Hunter syndrome in April, Oliver’s life – like that of his elder brother, Skyler, who also has the condition – has been dominated by hospital visits.

Skyler had shown some late development in speech and coordination, but this had initially been put down to being born during Covid.

Ricky tells me his sons’ diagnosis came as a complete shock.

“When you find out about Hunter syndrome, the first thing the doctor tells you is ‘Don’t go on the internet and look it up because you’ll find the worst cases and you’ll be very, very disheartened’.”

“But, like anybody, you look it up and you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, is this what’s going to happen to both my sons?'”

Children are born apparently healthy, but around the age of two they start to show symptoms of the disease.

These vary and can include changes to physical features, stiffness of the limbs and short stature. It can cause damage throughout the body, including to the heart, liver, bones and joints and in the most serious cases can lead to severe mental impairment and progressive neurological decline.

Hunter syndrome almost always occurs in boys. It’s extremely rare, affecting one in 100,000 male births in the world.

Until now, the only medicine available for Hunter syndrome was Elaprase, which costs around £300,000 per patient, per year and can slow the physical effects of the disease. The drug is unable to cross the blood-brain barrier and so does not help with cognitive symptoms.

But today, Oliver is being hooked up to a machine and having some of his cells removed – the first crucial step in trying to halt his genetic disorder in this one-off treatment.

“His blood is being passed through a fancy machine that is collecting a specific type of cell called stem cells which will be sent to a lab to be modified and then given back to him,” Dr Claire Horgan, consultant paediatric haematologist explains.

Oliver’s cells are tweaked

Oliver’s cells are carefully packaged and sent to a laboratory at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London.

In Hunter syndrome, a genetic error means that cells are missing the instructions for making an enzyme, iduronate-2-sulfatase (IDS), essential for breaking down large sugar molecules which over time accumulate in tissues and organs.

Scientists insert the missing IDS gene into a virus, which has its genetic material removed so that it can’t cause disease.

A similar method has been used in other gene therapies, such as the treatment for another rare inherited condition, MLD.

Dr Karen Buckland, from the Cell and Gene Therapy Service at GOSH, explains: “We use the machinery from the virus to insert a working copy of the faulty gene into each of the stem cells.

“When those go back to Oliver, they should repopulate his bone marrow and start to produce new white blood cells and each of these will hopefully start to produce the missing protein [enzyme] in his body.”

There still remains the issue of how to get enough of the missing enzyme into the brain.

To overcome this, the inserted gene is modified so that the enzyme it produces crosses the blood-brain barrier more efficiently.

Infusion day – February 2025

We next meet Oliver back at the clinical research facility at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

This time he’s with his mum Jingru, while Ricky has stayed in California to look after Skyler.

There is a sense of anticipation as a member of the research team opens a large a metal cryopreservation tank where Oliver’s gene edited stem cells are frozen, having been transported back from GOSH.

A small, clear infusion bag is removed and slowly brought to body temperature in a tray of liquid.

After multiple checks, a nurse draws the clear fluid containing around 125 million gene-modified stem cells, into a syringe.

Oliver is used to hospitals, but is fretful, and wriggles as the research nurse slowly injects the treatment, about a cup full, into a catheter in his chest.

Jingru holds Oliver steady in her arms. After 10 minutes, the infusion is done.

An hour later, a second, identical infusion is made. Oliver continues to watch cartoons on a portable screen, oblivious to the potential importance of what’s just happened.

And that’s it. The gene therapy is complete. It seems to be all over rather quickly, yet the ambition here is huge: to stop Oliver’s progressive disease in its tracks, in a one-off treatment.

After a couple of days, Oliver and Jingru fly back to California. Now the family, and the medical team must wait to see if the gene therapy has worked.

Early signs of progress – May 2025

In May, Oliver is back in Manchester for crucial tests to see if the gene therapy is working. This time the whole family is here.

We meet in a park in central Manchester and it’s immediately clear that things are looking good.

Oliver is more mobile and inquisitive than I’ve seen him. Admittedly, he now has the freedom to play and is out of hospital, but he appears brighter and healthier.

Ricky is thrilled: “He’s doing really well. We have seen him progressing in his speech, and mobility. In just three months he has matured.”

The really big news is that Oliver has been able to come off the weekly infusion of the missing enzyme.

“I want to pinch myself every time I tell people that Oliver is making his own enzymes,” says Jingru. “Every time we talk about it I want to cry because it’s just so amazing.”

She tells me he is “so different” from before the treatment, is talking “a ton” and is engaging more with other children.

It is lovely to finally meet five-year-old Skyler who is very protective and caring towards his younger brother.

“My wish upon the star is for Skyler, to be able to get the same treatment,” says Ricky. “It feels like Oliver has got a reset in his life, and I want the same thing for Skyler, even though he’s a bit older.”

Initially it was thought that Oliver was too old for the trial, as the treatment cannot reverse existing damage, but tests showed he was still largely unaffected.

Skyler seems to take delight in the world around him, and is keen to hold my hand and chat as we walk to the park.

Ricky explains that Skyler has delayed development in speech and motor skills, but is undergoing infusion therapy, which gets the treatment to his body, but not his brain.

‘Eternally grateful’

Oliver returns to Manchester every three months for a few days of follow-up tests.

In late August, further checks confirm the gene therapy is working.

Oliver is clearly thriving, and to date is now nine months post treatment.

Prof Jones, whom Oliver calls Santa because of his white beard, is beaming: “Before the transplant Ollie didn’t make any enzyme at all and now he’s making hundreds of times the normal amount.

“But more importantly, we can see he’s improving, he’s learning, he’s got new words and new skills and he’s moving around much more easily.”

However, Prof Jones exercises a degree of caution: “We need to be careful and not get carried away in the excitement of all this, but things are as good as they could be at this point in time.”

On the rooftop garden at the hospital, Oliver plays with his dad.

“He’s like a completely different child. He’s running around everywhere, he won’t stop talking,” says Ricky.

“The future for Ollie seems very bright and hopefully this means more kids will get the treatment.”

In all, five boys have been signed up for the trial, from the US, Europe and Australia. None are from the UK as patients here were diagnosed too late to qualify.

All the boys will be monitored for at least two years. If the trial is deemed a success, the hospital and university hope to partner with another biotech firm in order to get the treatment licensed.

Prof Jones says the same gene therapy approach is being applied to other gene disorders.

There are similar treatments on trial in Manchester for MPS type 1 or Hurler syndrome and MPS type 3 or Sanfilippo syndrome.

Ricky and Jingru say they are “eternally grateful” to the Manchester team for allowing Oliver to join the trial.

They say they are astonished by his progress in recent months.

Oliver’s now producing the missing enzyme and his body and brain are healthy.

“I don’t want to jinx it, but I feel like it’s gone very, very well,” says Ricky.

“His life is no longer dominated by needles and hospital visits. His speech, agility and cognitive development have all got dramatically better.

“It’s not just a slow, gradual curve as he gets older, it has shot up exponentially since the transplant.”

The trial that almost never was

Researchers at the University of Manchester led by Prof Brian Bigger had spent more than 15 years working on creating the gene therapy for Hunter syndrome.

In 2020 the university announced a partnership with a small US biotech company Avrobio, to conduct a clinical trial.

But three years later the company handed back the licence to the university, following poor results from another gene therapy study and a lack of funds.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y0y56x6veo

Speaking at the G20 Summit, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also highlighted the need to reform the World Trade Organization to make it more outcome-oriented.

New partnerships need to be built around the world in order to reform and update the global rules-based multilateral system to meet today’s realities, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Saturday (Nov 22).

He was speaking during the first session of this year’s G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The session’s theme was on inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

“All of these efforts can form the foundations of a more resilient and secure multilateral trading system,” Mr Wong told fellow leaders at the Johannesburg Expo Centre.

He cited the example of the Trade and Investment Dialogues held two days ago, between the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and also between the CPTPP and the European Union.

The CPTPP is the successor of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which pulled together 12 nations around the Pacific rim to create a more ambitious set of trading rules. After the Donald Trump administration withdrew from the TPP in January 2017, the other 11 nations decided to continue as the CPTPP.

During the dialogues, issues like trade and investment facilitation, digital trade and supply chain resilience were discussed, said Mr Wong.

“In the same regard, we should look at ways in which we can bring the free trade areas and free trade blocs in Africa closer with Southeast Asia and ASEAN,” he said. This year’s G20 Summit is the first to be held in Africa.

Mr Wong also shared about Singapore’s experience working with other countries to launch a new framework, the Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership, that brings together small and medium-sized economies to keep up the momentum of trade liberalisation.

The partnership, announced in September this year, brings together Brunei, Chile, Costa Rica, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Rwanda, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.

In his speech, Mr Wong also emphasised a need to reform the current global system, be it the World Trade Organization (WTO) or other global institutions.

“We cannot be paralysed by old ways of doing things. We all have to get behind the urgent reforms that are needed in the WTO so that it becomes more effective and outcome-oriented,” he said.

“We should complement the WTO with flexible multilateral approaches, and that is why Singapore supports minilaterals and plurilaterals, which can serve as important pathfinders towards updating global rules.”

GLOBAL RULES REMAIN
Mr Wong also urged fellow leaders to “recommit to the core foundations which remain relevant today” in the world.

This means upholding international law and the norms and practices that guide state behaviour, he said.

“That is critical to continued peace and stability in the world,” he added.

In his speech, Mr Wong said that the rules-based multilateral system, anchored by the WTO, for decades provided that stability. However, that system is now under “severe strain”.

“One reason is that the system has been optimised for efficiency in a different era, and it has not caught up with the realities of today’s world, realities like digital trade, as well as the fact that interdependencies are increasingly being seen as vulnerabilities and are open to being weaponised or used as leverage in moments of dispute,” said Mr Wong.

While countries are understandably taking actions to protect themselves and prioritising resilience and security, the global system will unravel even more quickly if every nation goes its own way, said Mr Wong.

“When that happens, everyone will be worse off, and the heaviest burden will fall on the developing nations. So we do need to reform and update the global system to ensure it addresses the strategic realities of our time,” he said.

Building a new global economic architecture will require significant effort and considerable political will, said Mr Wong, adding that multiple efforts are already underway.

“The G20 can and should play a key leadership role in coordinating these efforts, and Singapore stands ready to do our part and work with all members towards these objectives,” he said.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/lawrence-wong-g20-summit-south-africa-johannesburg-rules-based-multilateral-global-system-5484221

Speaking at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong urged world leaders to harness artificial intelligence for more efficient governance and economic productivity.

Amid global excitement over the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and the investments pouring into related infrastructure, governments must address legitimate concerns about jobs and livelihoods, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday (Nov 23).

He was speaking during a session on the second day of the G20 Summit, about creating a fair and just future for all.

Mr Wong noted the “tremendous potential” of AI to improve and transform lives, adding that the world is still in the early stages of this AI journey.

It is natural to see excitement and “exuberance” about AI, and this, he said, is reflected in the massive investments flowing into infrastructure such as data centres.

“But as governments, we should be clear-eyed and look beyond the hype,” he told fellow world leaders.

“Our task is to ensure the responsible use of AI and to harness AI’s real and longer-term potential to build a more efficient and responsive government, and to raise productivity across every sector of the economy.”

Mr Wong said Singapore has been systematically harnessing AI within its public sector to streamline processes, strengthen service delivery and free up officers to focus on higher-value work.

BUSINESSES AND LIVELIHOODS
Businesses are also beginning to harness AI applications, said Mr Wong.

“For smaller enterprises, it could be as simple as accessing AI-powered software and tools. For larger companies, it will mean using advanced AI models or even developing in-house models to fundamentally redesign work processes, and to scale up new solutions,” he said.

Singapore is also creating regulatory sandboxes and test beds, to let companies experiment safely, trial new ideas and bring cutting-edge AI solutions to market more quickly, shared Mr Wong.

Amid these innovations, one key challenge for governments everywhere is to address genuine concerns about jobs and livelihoods, and help workers adjust to the world of AI, he said.

“In Singapore’s case, we work very closely and proactively with employers and unions to reskill and upskill workers and facilitate transitions where necessary to new and better jobs,” said Mr Wong.

Citing Singapore’s ports as an example, he noted that automation has enabled crane operators to control cranes remotely from air-conditioned rooms, instead of working in harsh outdoor conditions. “They get higher productivity and better pay,” he said.

Mr Wong added that there are many other industries where similar challenges will have to be tackled, and countries can all learn from one another.

Mr Wong commended India, Brazil and South Africa for leading G20 efforts to examine how governments can promote decent work through AI, calling it “key to a fair and just future for all”.

AN IMPORTANT ROLE FOR G20
In his speech, Mr Wong said that the G20 can play an important role in coordinating efforts to turn AI into “an engine for global growth and for good jobs for our people”, adding that Singapore looks forward to working closely with the bloc to achieve this goal.

Earlier, Mr Wong held bilateral meetings with several leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

He will depart later on Sunday for Addis Ababa, the next leg of his Africa trip.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/lawrence-wong-g20-summit-artificial-intelligence-jobs-livelihoods-5485471

Despite truce, Israel continues it’s militant campaigns in Lebanon and Gaza

Israel killed militant group Hezbollah’s top military official in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday (Nov 23), the Israeli military said, despite a US-brokered truce a year ago.

The strike, the first on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital in months, targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah’s acting chief of staff, Ali Tabtabai, the military said in a statement.

Hezbollah confirmed the death of Tabtabai in a statement, mourning him as “the great jihadist commander” who had “worked to confront Israeli enemy until the last moment of his blessed life,” showing his seniority, but without giving details about his exact role.

Israel’s strike crossed a “red line”, Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati said as he stood near the bombed-out building in the Haret Hreik suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Hezbollah’s leadership would decide on whether and how the group would respond, he added.

FIVE DEAD IN STRIKE
Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike killed five people and wounded 28 more. It hit a multi-storey building, sending debris crashing into cars on the main road below.

People rushed out of their apartment buildings, fearing further bombardment, a Reuters reporter said.

The United States imposed sanctions on Tabtabai in 2016, identifying him as a key Hezbollah leader and offering a reward of up to US$5 million for information on him.

The Israeli military statement said Tabtabai “commanded most of Hezbollah’s units and worked hard to restore them to readiness for war with Israel”.

In a short televised statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its forces and that he expected the Lebanese government “to fulfill its obligation to disarm Hezbollah”.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the international community to intervene to halt Israeli attacks.

The strike came a week before Pope Leo is set to land in Lebanon on his first foreign trip, with many Lebanese hoping the visit could signal the country was heading towards better days.

The November 2024 ceasefire was meant to end a year of fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli military, triggered by Hezbollah’s rocket fire on Israeli posts a day after the Oct 7, 2023 attack by its Palestinian ally Hamas.

But Israel has kept up near-daily strikes on Lebanon since the truce, targeting what it says are Hezbollah arms depots, fighters and efforts by the group to rebuild. It has ratcheted up those strikes in recent weeks.

Asked if Israel had notified the US before carrying out the strike, Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said Israel makes decisions independently.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/israel-kills-hezbollah-military-leader-in-beirut-strike-5485931

The German chancellor told DW that Europe cannot support elements of a contentious US plan on Ukraine. He also warned that a Thursday deadline set by Donald Trump is not realistic.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday told DW that Europe was facing a “deep threat” to its security architecture as negotiations continue in Geneva over a controversial US plan.

Merz said Ukraine’s sovereignty must not be sacrificed as part of any arrangement, which Washington wants agreed by Thursday.

What did Merz say about the Ukraine plan?
Speaking to DW’s Michaela Küfner after the G20 summit in Johannesburg, Merz said Europe had known about the proposal and confirmed he had spoken with former US President Donald Trump before traveling to South Africa.

“We are aware of this 28-point plan since last Friday,” Merz said. “I had a call with President Trump before I left the country. I told him that we could agree on some of them, but there are others we could not agree, and I told him that we are fully in line with Ukraine, that the sovereignty of this country must not be jeopardized.”

He said negotiations in Geneva were serious and were being led by national security advisers from the US, Ukraine and Europe. “We do not know what the outcome of these talks could be,” Merz said. “At the very end of the day, the sovereignty of Ukraine may not be questioned.”

Ukraine’s European allies have pushed back on the plan, which required Kyiv to give up large areas of territory to Russia and limit the size of its military, as well as other measures.

Merz said the war had destabilized Europe for almost four years. “We are seeing severe attacks on our infrastructure. We are seeing severe attacks on our cybersecurity. So this is a deep threat for the entire political order of the European continent,” he said. “That’s the reason why we are so engaged.”

He also warned that Trump’s Thursday deadline for agreement on all the details is unrealistic. “I think that it’s not achievable to have all the 28 points agreed,” he said, referring to the extent of what could be achieved over the specific timescale.

What did Merz say about Europe’s role?
Merz confirmed Europe was instead proposing a “smaller step” and that it held some influence on what was possible.

“We are trying to figure out which part of this plan could be achieved unanimously between the Europeans, the Americans and Ukraine on the one side, and the Russians on the other side,” he said. “This is extremely complicated… we are now trying to implement an intermediate step until Thursday. And I know that President Trump is really interested in having at least an intermediary result by Thursday.”

Merz stressed that Europe holds leverage over key elements of the plan. “The Russian assets, which are based in Brussels, cannot be paid out to the Americans. That is unthinkable,” he said. “So if this plan comes into reality, the support of the Europeans is definitely needed.”

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/dw-exclusive-merz-warns-ukraines-sovereignty-is-non-negotiable/a-74854890

Israel says it is preparing a plan to bring thousands of Jewish-identifying Bnei Menashe from northeast India and resettle them. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was an “important and Zionist decision.”

Israel has approved a plan to absorb about 5,800 members of the Bnei Menashe community by 2030, according to a government decision announced Sunday.

The group, an ethnic community from the northeastern states of Mizoram and Manipur in India, is expected to move to the Galilee region of northern Israel in stages. The region has been heavily affected by conflict with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, with tens of thousands of residents leaving the area in recent years.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the decision “important and Zionist,” saying it would strengthen Israel’s north.

What is the plan for India’s Bnei Menashe?
A first group of 1,200 people is scheduled to arrive next year. The ministry responsible for their absorption will provide initial financial support, Hebrew language instruction, job guidance, temporary housing and social programs to help newcomers settle.

The government expects to allocate about €23.8 million (about $27.4 million) for the absorption of this initial wave alone. The upcoming arrivals follow roughly 4,000 Bnei Menashe who have already immigrated to Israel over the past two decades.

The plan was jointly coordinated with the Indian government.

Demographic considerations remain central to Israeli state policy, particularly in relation to the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s population stands at about 10.1 million, compared with an estimated 5.5 million in the Palestinian territories.

Who are India’s Bnei Menashe?
The Bnei Menashe identify as descendants of the biblical tribe of Manasseh, considered one of the “lost tribes” of Israel. Many had practiced Christianity before returning to Judaism and receiving recognition from Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. They observe traditional Jewish practices, celebrate holidays such as Sukkot, and have established synagogues in their communities.

A Kolkata-based genetic study in 2005 reported signs of maternally inherited Near Eastern ancestry among the Bnei Menashe. However, researchers suggested the results were likely explained by centuries of intermarriage with populations from the Near and Middle East.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/israel-to-admit-thousands-from-indias-jewish-lost-tribe/a-74855366

Following bitter rows, the UN climate summit COP30 in Belém, Brazil has ended with a deal that contains no direct reference to the fossil fuels that are heating up the planet.

It is a frustrating end for more than 80 countries including the UK and EU that wanted the meeting to commit the world to stop using using oil, coal and gas at a faster pace.

But oil-producing nations held the line that they should be allowed to use their fossil fuel resources to grow their economies.

The meeting takes place as the UN says it fears global efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels have failed.

A representative for Colombia furiously criticised the COP presidency for not allowing countries to object to the deal in the final meeting on Saturday, known as a plenary.

“Colombia believes that we have sufficient scientific evidence saying that more than 75% of the global greenhouse gas emissions come from fossil fuels,” Daniela Durán González, Colombian Climate Delegate, told BBC News.

“So we do believe it’s time that the Convention on Climate Change starts talking about that reality,” she added.

The final deal, called the Mutirão, calls on countries to “voluntarily” accelerate their action to reduce their use of fossil fuels.

For the first time, the US did not send a delegation after President Donald Trump said the country will leave the landmark Paris treaty that committed countries to act on climate change in 2015. He has branded climate change “a con”.

Veteran negotiator and former Germany climate envoy Jennifer Morgan told the BBC that the US absence was a “hole” in the negotiations. Often the US has supported blocs like the EU and UK.

“In a 12-hour negotiation overnight, when you have oil-producing countries pushing back hard, to not have someone counteracting on that, it certainly was hard,” she said

But for many countries, the fact that the talks did not collapse or roll back on past climate agreements is a relief.

Antigua and Barbuda Climate Ambassador Ruleta Thomas commented: “We are happy that there is a process that continues to function […] where every country can be heard.”

In the final meeting, a representative for Saudi Arabia said: “Each state must be allowed to build its own path, based on its respective circumstances and economies.”

Like many other leading oil-producing nations, the country has argued it should be allowed to exploit its fossil fuel reserves as others have done in the past.

The two weeks of talks were at times chaotic. Toilets ran out of water, torrential thunderstorms flooded the venue, and delegates struggled to cope in hot, humid rooms.

The COP’s around 50,000 registered delegates were evacuated twice. A group of about 150 protestors broke into the venue, breaching security lines, and carrying placards reading “our forests are not for sale”.

On Thursday a large fire broke out, scorching a hole into the roof and forcing participants to rush outside.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chose the city of Belém to put the world’s attention on the Amazon rainforest and to bring a rush of finance to the city.

Despite its desire for a more ambitious fossil fuel agreement, Brazil was criticised for its own plans to drill for oil at the mouth of the Amazon.

Its offshore oil and gas production is on course to increase until the early 2030s, according to analysis shared with the BBC by campaign group Global Witness.

Countries at the talks have competing interests, depending on their national circumstances and how exposed they are to the effects of climate change. Some countries were happy about the outcomes.

India praised the deal, calling it “meaningful”. A group representing the interests of 39 small island and low-lying coastal states on Saturday called it “imperfect” but still a step towards “progress”.

Poorer nations have come away with a promise for more climate finance to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change.

“It has moved the needle. There is a clearer recognition that those with historic responsibility [countries that emitted more planet-warming gases in the past] have specific duties on climate finance,” said Sierra Leone Minister of The Environment and Climate Change Jiwoh Abdulai.

But it’s a sour end for more than 80 countries, who negotiated through the night to keep stronger fossil fuel language in the deal.

UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband insisted the meeting is a “step forward”.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c75vn7yel73o

It was at a landmark architecture exhibition in Paris in 1925 that the Art Deco aesthetic first exploded on the scene.

In the 100 years since, the glamorous building style – evocative of neon-lit jazz bars and the golden age of big motion pictures – rapidly spread around the world.

It moved from the famous pastel hotel facades of Miami’s South Beach to the sprawling necklace of mansion apartments along Mumbai’s Marine Drive seafront.

Art Deco’s distinct motifs – typified by geometrical ziggurats (step towers), sweeping curves, sunburst designs, nautical elements and circular or turreted rooftops – symbolised an unequivocal break from the past, celebrating the dawn of a new, unabashed, post-war 20th Century modern age.

In a short time, the style transcended architecture to influence the design sensibility of home interiors, furniture, fonts, jewellery and some of the world’s most iconic cinema halls – from Radio City Music Hall in New York City to Regal, Liberty and Eros cinemas in Mumbai.

“It represented hope, optimism and speed, coinciding with the emergence of the motor car and also concrete as a building material, which when compared with stone, could be worked with in a tenth of the time and fifth of the cost,” Atul Kumar, founder of the Art Deco Mumbai Trust and curator of a new exhibition celebrating the centenary of Art Deco in the city, told the BBC.

“It was not elaborate like Victorian Gothic design that preceded it, and came with a classicism and simplicity that has survived the test of time,” he said.

And nowhere has that been more apparent than in Mumbai, which, according to Mr Kumar, is home to the world’s largest documented collection of Art Deco buildings. Other estimates put Mumbai in the second spot behind Miami.

What made Mumbai’s tryst with Art Deco particularly interesting was how the city embraced its hallmarks in a truly all-encompassing manner.

Just like Miami, the style emerged in the city at a time of economic flux and transformation, spurred by its modern, mercantile port-city energy.

But unlike Miami where it “arrived as a projection of leisure or spectacle”, in Mumbai the “style resonated across various building typologies, including schools, cinemas, bungalows, petrol stations and banks,” Mr Kumar said.

Art Deco buildings in Mumbai were, and still often are, hidden in plain sight, with even their occupants often blissfully unaware of their cultural moorings.

But their all-pervading architectural shadow over the city is perhaps why Art Deco is “seeped into the larger public imagination, and remains relevant in Mumbai’s emotional quotient”, Mr Kumar added.

The style was brought to Mumbai at a time when it was under colonial rule.

It was India’s first bunch of home-grown architects – pivotal figures like Chimanlal Master, Laxman Vishnu Sathe and Gopalji Mulji Bhuta – who integrated it into their designs after returning home with degrees from the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.

“They were suddenly exposed to new European sensibilities and wanted to bring them back to their country, which was deeply colonised by the imposition of Victorian buildings,” Mr Kumar said.

But they adapted Art Deco and vernacularised it, throwing in native design patterns, drawing inspiration from disparate local elements including ocean liners docked at Mumbai’s ports and even lattice screens that are so typical of Mughal architecture.

The British were initially dismissive, calling Art Deco “lesser architecture”, but were presumably threatened, said Mr Kumar, as it signalled the dawn of a new age and of new identities that were shaping India’s public spaces.

It was only a matter of time before South Mumbai’s skyline would become a rich confluence of Indo-Saracenic, Gothic and Art Deco buildings.

Today, Mumbai is yet again a city in rapid flux – its building code governed by real estate moguls trying to maximise the floor space index, giving way to utilitarian rather than stylistic considerations.

Dozens of Art Deco buildings have been erased to give way to glass and steel facades, and hundreds more are under threat.

Over the past decade, Mr Kumar has documented more than 1,500 buildings that are truly representative of the style, but only 70-odd of those are protected.

Authorities are apathetic to their preservation, so his organisation is engaging directly with people, offering pro-bono repair and restoration consultancies to prevent them from giving away their properties to builders for redevelopment.

“The response has been positive as people have seen the value of their real estate go up after the renovations,” said Mr Kumar.

Then there are others, like architect and designer Nidhi Tekwani, who is re-imagining Art Deco objects and hoping to adapt them for a contemporary context.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2p2xp19r3o

The Ukrainian military shared dramatic video of a military strike appearing to decimate Russian air-defense and military assets.

The elite “Ghosts” unit carried out several successful attacks targeting key components of the Russia defenses in the contested Crimea region, the Kyiv Post reported.

A compilation of apparent radar videos of the bombings was shared to the official Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine‘s HUR Telegram account on Friday set to the score of a cover of Justin Timberlake song “Cry Me a River” — in an apparent pun on the location of the attack.

The “Ghosts” unit allegedly destroyed a Ka-27 naval multi-purpose helicopter, a “Lira-A10” airfield radar system, a “Nebo-U” radar and a P-18 Terek radar, according to the report.

Video further showed the destruction of a dome-structured “Nebo-SV” radar which gave the impression of the Death Star from the “Star Wars” franchise.

A missile is recorded apparently dodging live-rounds that explode nearby before destroying its target, in another clip of the bombings.

Even Russo-radar and a multi-purpose helicopter were destroyed by the “Ghosts” unit over the past two weeks, Ukrainian military boasted in its Telegram post.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/11/22/world-news/ukrainian-military-shares-video-of-wild-strikes-against-russian-assets-in-crimea/

After the scandal-scarred Miss Universe pageant wrapped Friday, a fuming Miss Israel demanded they strip Miss Palestine of her top 30 status — following The Post’s bombshell report outing her marriage to a convicted terrorist’s son.

The false eyelashes hit the fan ever since the news broke that the first-ever “Miss Palestine” contestant in the Miss Universe pageant, Nadeen Ayoub, married the son of jailed notorious Fatah terrorist, Marwan Barghouti, and even named a child after him.

“Miss Universe should not condone fraud, violations of its code of conduct and especially terror. I expect them to take corrective action,” Miss Israel, Melanie Shiraz, 27, told The Post Saturday — a day after Miss Mexico was crowned the winner of the plagued pageant.

“I don’t need to act as the moral CEO of Miss Universe – they should be able to do that themselves,” added Shiraz, who said she faced death threats in the wake of accusations she gave the side-eye to Miss Palestine on stage.

“They turned a blind eye and rewarded her for these serious violations” by placing her in the top 30.

“It makes my skin crawl thinking we were in the same room so many times,” said Shiraz, noting photos of Ayoub with her alleged husband and the wife of terror mastermind, Marwan Barghouti, “appears to sympathize with terror.”

“It’s shocking” that we all shared a stage with someone with serious terror ties,” she said.

Though Ayoub, who was dogged by controversy from the get-go as a Canadian living in Dubai and representing the Palestinian state, made it into the top 30, she was eliminated following the swimsuit round — the first competition of the night — in which she wore a white one-piece and sheer, white tights covering her legs.

For Shiraz, a UC Berkeley-educated former data scientist, Ayoub’s presence felt “very unsavory – not aligned with the angelic persona she’s trying to portray of herself, not just to me but to most people who met her.”

Scandal erupted early in the preliminary pageant days when Shiraz accused Ayoub’s social media posts of spreading lies about the Gaza War.

She slammed her Arab competitor for posting images that invoked the murdered Bibas children, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months, as Palestinian casualties of the war in Gaza instead of victims of Hamas terrorists.

“To take these innocent Israeli children—murdered in their homes or in captivity—and present them as though they were Palestinian casualties is not an act of compassion,” Shiraz said in an October video.

Yet, after her dubious crowning as Miss Palestine, Ayoub was quoted as saying, “I want to be a voice for the Palestinian people.”

Shiraz, who spent part of her childhood in the US, isn’t buying it.

“I smiled at her the first day at breakfast – and it was very clear she was not going to engage with me,” said Shiraz, sharing another “awkward” incident.

“We were in an elevator – just us – and she stood there quietly” until Shiraz tried to make small talk. “It was very stiff and awkward.”

An episode earlier this month exploded after Miss Palestine posted doctored footage from a pre-pageant ceremony of Miss Israel purportedly giving her competitor the “side eye.”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/11/22/world-news/israeli-miss-universe-contestant-fumes-over-miss-palestines-terror-ties-makes-my-skin-crawl/

Bounties as high as $100,000 are being offered for the murders of dozens of Israeli researchers, including some in the US, on the website of a hateful anti-Zionist group.

“The Punishment for Justice Movement” website offers between $50,000 for murdering one of the Jewish academics listed — and twice that amount for the killing of “special targets” — claiming the high-achieving researchers are complicit in child murder.

Home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and social media accounts were listed for at least 40 academics, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The website offered a $2,000 USD as reward for installing protest signs in front of homes, $5,000 for sending information on targets, $20,000 for burning down homes or cars, and $10,000 for “eliminating the target.”

It was exposed by Israeli media on Friday and temporarily went offline before the site returned Saturday night.

Five of the individuals targeted are employees of the CERN Institute, which is in Switzerland and is home to the world’s largest particle accelerator.

Punishment for Justice claimed the targets were justified because, “Instead of using science to serve humanity, these killers used their knowledge to kill innocent people and children by spreading weapons of mass destruction to the Israeli military.”

“Double rewards” were offered for five Israel government officials, according to the website.

The organization instructs would-be assassins to establish secure communication before going out to collect the bounties and tells any who make a profile on the website to use a fake name.

The website was established some time in August and appears to be based in Drenthe, Netherlands, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Israel’s Mossad spy agency has launched a probe, Ynet reported, with officials suspecting that Iran is behind the website.

Oxford University computer science professor Michael Bronstein told the outlet he didn’t “give a damn” about the bounty on his head and suggested the website was run by “nutcases who have a lot of free time and no serious job.”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/11/22/world-news/website-reportedly-puts-100k-bounties-on-the-heads-of-hundreds-of-israeli-academics-around-the-world-including-the-us/

 

The fallout from Jeffrey Epstein’s transgressions spans oceans and continents, from the vulnerable girls he exploited to the privileged people and institutions that chose to associate with him, cover up his activities — or look away. No one has paid a higher cost than Epstein’s victims, who number more than 1,000, according to the Justice Department.

The world will soon have more information. President Donald Trump, friends with Epstein for years before he says they had a falling out in the early to mid-2000s, signed a bill late Wednesday forcing the Justice Department to make public many of its files on Epstein. The president’s reversal was a rare bow to the fact that his fight to quash the files was doomed in the Republican-led Congress, a development noted in foreign news outlets as a moment of exposure on the home front for the brash American president who had dominated geopolitics all year.

It’s worth noting that elected representatives of a nation bitterly divided on so much else at least could agree that the web of Epstein’s sex trafficking must be exposed. Yet even that has limits, because the legislation shields some of the case files from public view. Trump has insisted throughout that he has done nothing wrong and did not know of Epstein’s activities.

But even in death, Epstein bedevils not only the president but academics, government leaders, royalty, journalists and banks, across borders and parties. Public trust has suffered, too. Here’s a look at the escalating cost of the truth in the ongoing scandal.

Epstein friendship upends a pillar of academia

Economist Lawrence Summers has bounced back before after falling from the pinnacles of academia, government and punditry. That’s not likely for now, in the face of newly released emails showing that Summers stayed in touch with Epstein years after the disgraced financier pled guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The letters reveal that Summers appeared to ask Epstein for advice about women — and Epstein dubbed himself Summers’ “wing man” — as late as 2019. That has cost the economist his positions with OpenAI, the Center for American Progress, a think tank, and the Budget Lab at Yale University. At first, Summers pledged to keep teaching classes at Harvard, captured in an eyebrow-raising video Wednesday in which he opened a class by noting his shame about the relationship with Epstein. Then he stepped away from that job, too, the university said.

The 70-year-old Summers, a former treasury secretary and onetime contender to lead the Federal Reserve, has had to give up responsibilities at Harvard before. In 2006, he stepped down as president of the elite school after a speech in which he suggested that women were less represented in math and science fields because of “intrinsic aptitude.”

This week, Harvard said it was conducting its own review. In 2020, the elite school reported that Epstein visited its Cambridge, Mass., campus more than 40 times after his 2008 plea deal. It said he was given his own office and unfettered access to a research center he helped establish. It also found that Harvard accepted more than $9 million from Epstein during the decade leading up to his conviction but barred him from making further donations after that point.

A former prince loses royal title, duties, castle home

A well-documented connection with Epstein has cost Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor his home on castle grounds and his title as prince of the realm.

Revelations about the king’s brother trickled forth for years and left little doubt that Mountbatten-Windsor, as Prince Andrew is now known, not only was involved in Epstein’s sex crimes against minors but stayed in touch with the disgraced financier after his conviction.

The evidence against Andrew grew increasingly hard to ignore even by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who was said to consider Mountbatten-Windsor her favorite child and may have shielded him from the full consequences of his scandals.

That became impossible after Andrew gave a disastrous interview to the BBC in 2019. He was widely panned for failing to show empathy for Epstein’s victims and for offering unbelievable explanations for the friendship.

In her posthumous memoir, Virginia Giuffre said she was only 17 when she was trafficked to Andrew and that Epstein took a now-famous photograph that showed the then-prince with his hand around her waist.

Andrew denied ever meeting Giuffre, did not recall the photo being taken and committed no crimes. But he did reach a settlement with her. Giuffre died by suicide in April.

“I can’t take any more of this,” a sender identified in Epstein’s contacts as “The Duke” wrote to him in 2011 of the scrutiny of their friendship, according to the partly redacted emails released by the House.

The flood of tawdry stories threatened to undermine support for the British monarchy at a time when Charles, 77 and in cancer treatment, is seeking ways to buttress the institution for his son, Prince William, to inherit.

Charles stripped Andrew of his title and forced him to move out of Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle where Mountbatten-Windsor has lived for more than 20 years. Mountbatten-Windsor is banished to Sandringham, the king’s remote and private estate in the east of England.

Trump’s image of control took a hit

This time, the president failed to control a crisis of his own making — then claimed credit for resolving it.

In fact, Trump signed the bill to release files only after he’d lost a highly visible political fight, including with some of his fiercest MAGA defenders. That started a 30-day clock ticking for the release.

But six years after Epstein’s death, his friendship with Trump continues to chip away at the president’s time, attention and support.

Trump increasingly began paying those costs in July, when the Justice Department abruptly reversed course and announced that no “further disclosure” of the Epstein files would be forthcoming. MAGA supporters, expecting Trump to make good on his campaign promise to release the files, edged toward rebellion.

Trump claimed he no longer wanted the support of such “stupid people” and “weaklings” — but that didn’t quiet them. He tried lashing out at reporters who asked about Epstein, but they kept doing so. A White House effort to lean on key Republicans supporting the files’ release didn’t work.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/epstein-trump-summers-andrew-elite-cb9ea7854da0582f7f5ddb2efd5fca6a

One year after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the death toll is again climbing as both sides accuse the other of violating the terms of the deal. Can Beirut prevent a full-scale war by pursuing direct talks?

Days before the one-year anniversary of the ceasefire that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon on November 27, 2024, tensions are once again threatening to escalate.

This week, Israel launched numerous airstrikes on southern Lebanon, killing at least a dozen people, according to Lebanese health officials.

Israel’s military said on X that it had targeted Hezbollah members and infrastructure, including weapons storage facilities, as well as a Hamas training compound, all linked to Iran-backed groups.

See more

❌Blatant Ceasefire Violation: Hezbollah Terrorist Organization Is Operating To Reestablish Its Assets in the Village of Beit Lif

IDF troops identified dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites in the village, including:
•Headquarters
•Weapons storage facilities⁰belonging to… pic.twitter.com/MXz1tMgYzE

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 19, 2025

A local resident, speaking to DW on the condition of anonymity, denied the Israeli army’s claim that the area housed weapons or explosives. “The area is populated by civilians,” the resident said, and “the sports ground was reduced to rubble, and there [were] many victims.”

Another local confirmed that the location was a popular sports venue. “We are always there,” the resident said. “The claims that Hamas is present are completely false.”

Hezbollah’s military wing, which is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the US and Germany, has rejected Israel’s allegations.

“One year on, the ceasefire is essentially in shambles,” Sami Halabi, director of policy at the Beirut-based think tank The Alternative Policy Institute, told DW.

“It is held together as all parties to the conflict are using it for their own purposes,” he said, adding that, in his view, the coming year will be decisive. “Either Lebanon addresses the core issues, or the ceasefire collapses and the country slides back into open conflict.”

What led to the ceasefire?

On October 8, 2023, Hezbollah began targeting northern Israel in support of Hamas, which had carried out a terror attack on Israel the day before, sparking two years of conflict in Gaza.

Over the next 12 months of skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah, around 60,000 Israelis and some 100,000 Lebanese were forced to evacuate border areas. In Israel, most have yet to return due to ongoing security concerns, while in Lebanon, widespread destruction and continued airstrikes make returning nearly impossible for many.

On the night of September 30 2024, the conflict escalated into two months of war in Lebanon, including a ground invasion by Israel. By January 9, 2025, more than 4,200 people had been killed, including many Lebanese civilians, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. The World Bank estimates reconstruction costs at approximately $11 billion (€9.5 billion).

Over the course of the war, Israel weakened Hezbollah significantly, killing numerous leaders and reducing much of the group’s military capabilities.

However, Hezbollah remains a key member of Iran’s “axis of resistance” — a coalition of groups and states that call for the destruction of the US and Israel — and continues to advocate for Israel’s extinction. Israel accuses Hezbollah of regrouping and rebuilding its arms stockpile.

What did the ceasefire specify?

The peace deal, brokered by France and the US on November 27, 2024, mirrors key provisions of UN Resolution 1701 from 2006.

It calls for Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory, though Israeli troops remain stationed at five locations within Lebanon.

This week, Beirut filed an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council over the construction of a newly erected wall. According to the UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL), the wall overlaps with the Blue Line, which demarcates the border between Israel and Lebanon, and restricts Lebanese access to more than 4,000 square meters (43, 000 square feet) of land.

In response, Israel denied that the wall, whose construction began in 2022, encroaches on Lebanese territory.

The ceasefire also calls for the deployment of Hezbollah forces north of the Litani River, Lebanon’s largest river. Hezbollah claims it has withdrawn its military presence beyond that line.

Additionally, the ceasefire also specified that Hezbollah must disarm. However, Hezbollah officials argue that this applies only to areas south of Litani River, not across Lebanon. The militia further rejects disarmament as long as Israeli troops remain in Lebanon.

In August, Hezbollah even threatened to start a civil war if the Lebanese government pushed for its disarmament.

The peace plan also called for Lebanon’s military to deploy troops alongside the multinational UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

On Thursday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced that plans to demilitarize the south by the end of the month are “on track.”

“We need to recruit more people into the army, and we need to better equip the army, and we need to be able to raise the salaries of the army,” Salam told the news broadcaster Bloomberg.

However, political analyst Sami Halabi argues that core problems remain unresolved. “The ceasefire agreement was drafted in the same way the [US] Trump administration approached its ‘peace deals’ across multiple conflicts: a list of bullet points posing as a framework,” he said.

“While it can be good to have something to revolve around, the issue is that after a year of ‘revolving,’ the situation in Lebanon is nowhere closer to a resolution,” Halabi told DW.

In his view, the ceasefire can only lead to stability, or durable peace, if it is part of a broader process where the Lebanese state gradually assumes control of national defense and is equipped to maintain deterrence.

“This could be through stronger military capabilities, such as in Egypt, or through a broader political deal,” he said, adding that “one or both could work, but the status quo doesn’t.”

Could direct negotiations mark a turnaround?

The ceasefire also brought an end of Lebanon’s years-long political vacuum with the election of President Joseph Aoun in January 2025.

Earlier this month, Aoun stated that Lebanon has “no choice” but to engage in negotiations. “The language of negotiation is more important than the language of war,” he told reporters, adding “we have seen what [war] did to us.”

Also, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam echoed Aoun’s sentiment, expressing hope that Lebanon could secure US support for a diplomatic solution.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/first-year-of-israel-hezbollah-ceasefire-marred-by-violations/a-74839862

 

Being deepfaked can feel like sexual assault, stripping victims of control, identity, and dignity. With the rise of AI-generated content, experts tell CNA Women that digital sexual violence against women is becoming normalised, and why it’s crucial for victims to regain control.

When lawyer Stefanie Yuen Thio’s colleague told her about suggestive videos and photos of her circulating on TikTok, an intense dread filled her.

“I have been deepfaked,” the joint managing partner of TSMP Law Corporation and chairperson of SG Her Empowerment (SHE) wrote in an Oct 19 LinkedIn post.

“When I saw those racy videos and photos of me, I felt shocked and confused – the images were fake yet disturbingly real,” she said.

Seeing that there was no nudity, her shock turned into “strange relief” and then, “a violent, palpable sense of violation”.

Deepfakes are realistic but fabricated videos, audio, or images generated with artificial intelligence (AI), making someone appear to say or do something they didn’t. While they can be used for humour or creative experimentation, most deepfakes today are non-consensual AI pornography.

Fuelled by increasingly accessible AI tools, the number of these online deepfake videos has since grown exponentially.

A report by Sumsub, a UK-based tech company specialising in online fraud, showed that the Asia-Pacific region recorded a 1,530 per cent rise in deepfake cases between 2022 and 2023, ranking second globally after North America.

A 2019 report by Sensity AI, a Netherlands-based AI threat detection platform, found that about 96 per cent of deepfakes were non-consensual sexual content, and over a staggering 90 per cent of that featured women.

Reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material – including deepfakes of mostly young girls – have also surged. According to the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, such cases jumped by 1,325 per cent, from 4,700 in 2023 to more than 67,000 in 2024.

In Singapore, SHECARES, a support centre run by SHE in collaboration with the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations, has handled over 440 cases of online harm since its launch in 2023, including deepfake and AI-generated pornography.

Additionally, a 2023 SHE survey found that young women aged 15 to 34 were twice as likely as men to experience online sexual harassment. In the same survey, more than 70 per cent of women aged 15 to 24 knew a female friend who had faced some form of online harm, such as online sexual harassment.

Yet, How Kay Lii, the chief executive officer of SHE, highlighted that figures related to deepfake abuse likely represent a small fraction of actual cases, as many incidents go unreported.

And although the Sensity AI report observed that most deepfake pornography targets female celebrities and women politicians, anyone can be a victim.

Last year, South Koreans held various public protests after several women were subjected to AI-generated porn by their peers in what was called the country’s “deepfake porn crisis”. In Singapore, male students at the Singapore Sports School created and shared deepfake nude images of their female classmates. The father of one victim told CNA it wasn’t “just one or two” boys, but “a huge group of boys”.

Sugidha Nithiananthan, AWARE’s advocacy and research director, said: “Online sexual harms and deepfake abuse are growing more insidious and widespread, and women are more vulnerable than ever – both the law and society need to do more to keep up.”

THE CONTENT IS FAKE, BUT THE VIOLATION IS REAL

When Yuen Thio first saw the photos and videos of herself online, she wasn’t sure what to believe – they looked so real. Despite having worked with SHE for over three years and knowing that online sexual violence is never the victim’s fault, she still felt some self-blame and found herself wondering if she had invited it by being visible on social media.

“My friends, who I opened up with, had to attack this mentality headfirst and tell me, ‘It’s not your fault, Stef!’,” she said. “But it still takes a while to really internalise that.”

Mahima Didwania, clinical psychologist at The Other Clinic, explained that even though deepfakes lack physical contact, the emotional toll can be just as severe.

“Knowing that a digital version of you is in someone else’s hands, that they can do whatever they want to your image, can be terrifying and provoke helplessness,” Didwania told CNA Women.

“Even when we know something is fake, our minds struggle to distinguish what’s real. It’s why we fear the dark, or heights, or snakes, even without direct experience – the emotional response is still real,” she said.

Regaining control can look different for everyone, said Didwania. “For some, it comes from reporting, pressing charges, speaking out, setting boundaries, or simply acknowledging what happened. For others, it’s journaling or confronting the perpetrator.”

For Singaporean multimedia artist and photographer Charmaine Poh, 35, reclaiming control took a different form.

She wasn’t deepfaked, but when she was 12, she experienced a similar loss of agency after discovering dozens of online comments sexualising her pre-teen photos and videos in unregulated forums. At the time, she was acting in We Are REM, a Mediacorp show in the early 2000s.

Her 2023 multimedia work, Good Morning Young Body, created two decades later, was a response to that digital violation. Using deepfake technology, she recreated and recontextualised the same pre-teen footage, once the subject of digital harassment, but this time, under her own direction.

“I wasn’t deepfaked, yet I still felt violated and cried all night after reading those online comments about what male strangers said they’d do to me – and I was just 12,” Poh said. “The project was a way to give my 12-year-old self a voice from my 33-year-old self.”

She added: “Deepfakes are often used to exploit women, distorting our sense of truth and reality. To subvert that form and fill it with my own voice and agency was illuminating and liberating.”

Other victims find solace in talking about their experience.

“Writing about it online – and knowing that helps other women who are going through the same thing feel less alone – was healing for me,” Yuen Thio told CNA Women.

“More women have come forward since reading about my experience. I’m grateful to be much more attuned to what other survivors feel, and I want other women to not feel as if they need to go through the horror themselves,” she added.

Still, for victims, the digital permanence of deepfakes can make recovery feel impossible.

“They may believe the video will always exist, that they can never undo what was done or control who’s seen it,” Didwania said. “That sense of helplessness is part of the trauma – the feeling that you can’t function or move forward. It’s a normal response to something deeply unjust.

“Healing rarely happens overnight. It can take years, even decades. But small actions – reclaiming a narrative, speaking out, or creating art – are powerful steps. The trauma doesn’t have to define them; they can grow beyond it,” Didwania added.

CORPORATIONS AND THE LAW NEED TO STEP UP

Both SHE and AWARE stress that the first and most urgent step for deepfake victims is to stop the spread of the video.

How said: “Most victims start by reporting directly to the platforms, but face long waits and inconsistent outcomes. Some go to the police, but investigations slow when perpetrators hide behind anonymity or are overseas.”

TikTok’s community guidelines state that if content violates its rules, the platform may remove it, ban the account, or report incidents of youth sexual exploitation to the authorities.

Similarly, Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – allows users to report non-consensual sexual content or threats to share such material. Reports are reviewed around the clock in more than 70 languages, and if deemed inappropriate, the content is removed and the offender’s account may be disabled.

If victims wish to press charges, they must file a police report. The Singapore Police Force told CNA Women that victims needing additional support can request a Victim Care Officer – volunteers trained by police psychologists to provide emotional and practical assistance throughout the criminal justice process, from investigation to case closure.

In practice, however, enforcement remains inconsistent, SHE’s How said.

In Yuen Thio’s case, the removal of the deepfakes took four days. How added that some cases can take up to a week, while others see no action at all – often because platforms decide the account didn’t explicitly violate their rules or the content wasn’t deemed “severe” enough. Such inconsistencies can be deeply distressing for victims.

“Victims often face confusing, fragmented processes when trying to report deepfakes or get them taken down,” How added. “Even after reporting, they wait helplessly for platforms to act, and every second is psychological torture as they wonder who else is watching.”

The permanence of digital content adds to the despair.

Even after TikTok removed Yuen Thio’s deepfakes and disabled the account, the content still appeared in Google search results, forcing her to file a request to Google for its removal.

“Once uploaded, a deepfake can be copied, forwarded and reshared infinitely,” said How. “Many victims, especially young women, find the process of reporting across multiple channels intimidating and bureaucratic. They need stronger tools to tackle anonymity and responders who understand the trauma of online sexual abuse.”

Using sour ingredients, potassium salt, and umami-rich seasonings can deepen flavour without added sodium, experts suggest.

Salt is magical: It can reduce bitterness, increase sweetness and enhance overall flavor. But 90 per cent of people in the United States eat too much of it.

The US dietary guidelines recommend that adults consume no more than 2,300mg of sodium each day, but the average American consumes 3,400mg, increasing their risk of heart disease, strokes, kidney issues and death.

The good news is that you can retrain your palate to crave less salt, but many people don’t know where to begin. So we asked experts for their best tips and tricks.

DEEPEN FLAVOR WITH LESS SALT

In general, taste follows two flavor-sensing pathways: One for sour and salty and another for sweet, bitter and umami. So you can use lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and other sour ingredients to make food taste saltier, said Yanina Pepino, a professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

If you like to cook, take advantage of the Maillard reaction – the browning process where dry heat creates hundreds of new flavour compounds. This reaction can make the existing salt in your food pop without increasing the amount of sodium you consume, Dr Pepino said. So try searing meat, roasting vegetables and toasting nuts to build deep, savoury flavours without extra sodium.

Also, you can try cutting back on the salt while cooking, and add a tiny bit right before you take a bite. “The flavour you get is when something first hits your tongue,” said Dr Bruce Neal, executive director of the George Institute for Global Health, Australia. So, the most economical place to salt food is on its surface.

TEST OUT POTASSIUM SALT

To cut the downsides of table salt, try potassium salt. Potassium allows your blood vessels to relax and helps your kidneys flush out extra sodium, but 72 per cent of Americans don’t get enough.

While potassium salt can be bitter on its own, many grocery stores sell it mixed with table salt, and most people can’t tell the difference when using a 25 per cent potassium salt and 75 per cent table salt mixture, Dr Neal said. In a 2021 trial of 21,000 adults, replacing table salt with this mixture led to 14 per cent fewer strokes and a 12 per cent lower risk of premature death over about five years of follow-up.

Given these benefits, the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association have recommended using potassium salt to reduce blood pressure. But before making this switch, check with your physician. This substitute can push potassium levels too high for people with kidney disease and on certain blood pressure medications, said Dr Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the author of The Formula For Better Health.

EXPERIMENT WITH HERBS AND SPICES

Try seasoning your food with mushroom powder, nutritional yeast and MSG, since they are packed full of umami – which is characterised by a savoury, meaty flavour – and add depth and body to the dish, Dr Pepino said. (MSG, notably, has only one-third the amount of sodium as table salt.) You can also try incorporating more fermented foods, tomato products and aged cheeses into your meals to replace a little salt with a boost of umami.

Herbs and spices also engage your sense of smell and increase flavour without salt, said Danielle Reed, chief science officer of the Monell Chemical Senses Center. So, fill a saltshaker with your favourite ones – or at least blend some with your salt – such that every sprinkle cuts your sodium intake without sacrificing flavor.

For some easy starters, try cumin for warm, nutty undertones; smoked paprika for roasted, earthy depth; and basil for sweet, peppery lift. And the next time you’re in the grocery store, take a stroll down the seasoning aisle and buy some herbs and spices you’ve never tried.

WATCH OUT FOR SODIUM BOMBS

While you can cut back on table salt when cooking, about 70 per cent of the sodium you eat comes from packaged, prepared or restaurant foods.

Frozen meals, soups, deli meats and other ultraprocessed foods are some of the obvious sodium bombs, Dr Pepino said. But bread – rolls, buns and bagels – are the biggest driver of sodium consumption, not necessarily because each serving is so salty but because Americans eat so much.

For some families, ultraprocessed foods are too convenient, affordable or tasty to stop eating. But you can still defuse these sodium bombs by comparing nutrition labels and choosing a product with the least sodium per serving – for example, going for low-sodium soy sauce or chicken broth.

You can also rinse canned vegetables or beans to remove residual salt, said Dr Stacey Rosen, president of the American Heart Association, and go 50-50 on things, like mixing regular soup with low-salt soup.

Also, consider eating out less or at least ordering smarter. For example, many condiments – like ketchup, salsa and teriyaki sauce – are quite salty, so order them on the side. You can also request some acidity to brighten flavors, Dr Frieden said, like lemon instead of salad dressing, or vinegar instead of soy sauce.

Source : https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/wellness/lower-salt-intake-473981

Caroline Kennedy’s daughter Tatiana Schlossberg revealed she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and told by doctors that she had a year left to live.

In an essay published by the New Yorker on Saturday, Schlossberg, 35, shared that doctors discovered the disease after she welcomed her second baby in May 2024.

“A few hours later, my doctor noticed that my blood count looked strange. A normal white-blood-cell count is around four to eleven thousand cells per microliter. Mine was a hundred and thirty-one thousand cells per microliter,” she wrote.

“It could just be something related to pregnancy and delivery, the doctor said, or it could be leukemia,” Schlossberg recalled, adding that doctors ultimately diagnosed her with “a rare mutation called Inversion 3.”

As for her treatment options, Schlossberg said she “could not be cured by a standard course.” Doctors recommended that she undergo months of chemotherapy treatment and a bone-marrow transplant.

“I did not — could not — believe that they were talking about me. I had swum a mile in the pool the day before, nine months pregnant. I wasn’t sick. I didn’t feel sick. I was actually one of the healthiest people I knew.”

“I had a son whom I loved more than anything and a newborn I needed to take care of,” Schlossberg, who shares a 3-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter, with her husband George Moran, added.

After giving birth to her daughter, Schlossberg said she spent five weeks at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and was later transferred to Memorial Sloan Kettering for a bone-marrow transplant procedure. For her chemotherapy, she began her treatments at home.

After months of treatment, she joined a clinical trial of CAR-T-cell therapy, a type of immunotherapy against certain blood cancers, in January. But, she was eventually told by doctors that her prognosis had worsened.

“George did everything for me that he possibly could. He talked to all the doctors and insurance people that I didn’t want to talk to; he slept on the floor of the hospital,” Schlossberg said of her husband, whom she married in 2017.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/11/22/celebrity-news/caroline-kennedys-daughter-tatiana-schlossberg-reveals-terminal-cancer-diagnosis/

Months after Page Six exclusively revealed Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding will take place in Rhode Island, a new report claims she’s transforming her $17 million New England mansion into her dream wedding venue.

Swift is planning to create a new garden on site, according to the US Sun.

The “Cruel Summer” singer and her fiancé were initially considering tying the knot in Italy, but her house gives them more options for the upcoming nuptials.

The couple is allegedly prepared to spend $1.2 million on the landscaping alone, including gardeners, experts and added security to make sure the developments stay hidden leading up to the big day.

Swift reportedly wants red roses, hydrangeas, orchids and peonies planted on the property “months in advance,” the insider said.

“She wants the entire celebration to feel like a wave of flowers, with arrangements of white, purple, and pink orchids, plus blue, white, and pink hydrangeas, and peonies in pink, white, and red tones.”

The singer also wants to gift all invited girlfriends a bouquet of red eternity roses, according to the source.

“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,” they added.

Reps for Swift and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end didn’t immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.

The wedding venue reveal comes weeks after the US Sun reported Swift chose close friends Selena Gomez and Gigi Hadid to be two of her bridesmaids.

“Taylor wants to start the wedding process this way — building her bridesmaid group and getting everyone involved in the preparations, celebrations, and planning,” an insider said at the time.

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

The “Opalite” singer has turned to Gomez for wedding planning help, as the actress recently tied the knot to Benny Blanco in September.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/11/22/entertainment/taylor-swift-and-travis-kelces-wedding-venue-revealed-report/

WATCH the incredible moment a farm drone plucks a man out of a surging river amid Vietnam’s worst flooding for decades.

The farm worker, Nguyen Van Hat, had to be rescued from an island in the middle of the Serepok River, Dak Lak province, as water rose alarmingly around him.

Footage from Friday morning shows the large drone hovering a few metres above the surface of the thundering water.

A life buoy hangs down from the machine on large straps, with Mr Hat, 49, desperately clinging to it.

The drone battles against the pull of the water as it tries to haul Mr Hat out of the river.

Strong torrents and wind gusts repeatedly threaten to destabilise the machine – and at one moment it almost plummets into the water.

The drone veers down sharply, dipping to within inches of the surface, before the operator manages to regain control.

Eventually, Mr Hat was flown up into the air and across the river to safety.

The farm labourer had been working on a sandbar but became stranded as the river rose rapidly.

Locals rescuers were helped by a farmer who brought the drone along.

They tied a life jacket and buoy to the machine and sent it over to where Mr Hat was stuck – about 30 metres from the shore.

A local official said: “When Mr Hat was discovered on an oasis in the middle of the Serepok River, the authorities asked the police to keep in touch.

“However, by the afternoon of the same day, the river water was flowing more rapidly and it was predicted that the river water level would rise, so the authorities deployed a drone to bring Mr Hat safely to shore.”

Central Vietnam has been hit with torrential rainfall this week bringing the most severe flooding for many years to the region.

Another similar drone rescue was staged to save a fisherman after his boat capsized.

Pham Van Truong fell into the water and was swept away along with his partner on Thursday afternoon.

A search through the night failed to locate him, but on Friday morning rescuers spotted him clinging to a bit of land near a bridge.

An agricultural drone lifted him to safety – but his partner is still missing.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15534996/drone-saves-man-drowning-river-flooding/

A RAPPER who allegedly kidnapped and battered a teenage fan trying to take a snap of him has been charged.

Zola, whose music has amassed millions of listeners, is being held in pre-trial detention with three others for kidnapping and aggravated violence.

The full charges include unauthorised possession of a weapon, property damage, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and theft.

The violent assaults reportedly took place in the rapper’s home in Le Pin Seine-et-Marne.

Prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier said a group of fans showed up on November 6 hoping to grab a quick snap of the star.

He claims a “hooded and clearly armed” man then emerged from the property causing the fans to flee.

According to Mr Bladier, one of them, who remained at the scene, was “immediately subjected to violence” by the rapper.

He alleged the victim was held captive in Zola’s home where he was punched, kicked, insulted and verbally threatened.

The victim was then “forced to undress” before his clothes were set on fire.

Zola and his entourage then allegedly launched a savage beating, even putting a handgun in his mouth, according to the account.

Mr Bladier claimed the musician “mentioned the victim’s ethnicity” and told him not to fear for his life “since they didn’t want to go to prison for a white guy”.

Before it was over, the group allegedly stole his phone and bank card – a grim end to a two-hour ordeal.

Zola and the thugs then allegedly marched the terrified fan back to his vandalised vehicle, its tyres slashed and mirror smashed, and warned him not to go to the police.

According to reports, the victim took refuge with family members living nearby and was signed off work for six days because of his injuries.

It’s understood he was signed off for another 35 days due to mental distress.

It comes as the wife of a popular rapper has been jailed in Russia after being found guilty of killing and dismembering her husband.

Marina Kokhal, 41, was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison, for hacking her partner’s corpse and shoving his body parts in a washing machine.

Ukrainian-born singer Andy Cartwright, whose real name is Alexander Yushko, was killed in 2021 from a suspected insulin injection.

Kokhal quickly became the primary suspect and was accused by detectives of “drinking her dead husband’s blood and having sex with his corpse”.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15532821/rapper-kidnaps-beats-teen-fan/

WITH the city of Pokrovsk falling into Vladimir Putin’s hands, Ukraine is toughening its next line of defence to show the Russian tyrant has won the battle – but not the war.

In the latest episode of Battle Plans Exposed, intelligence officer Philip Ingram MBE reveals the looming carnage Russian forces now face – and how Kyiv will bolster the defence of its next frontline town.

After months of tirelessly protecting the city of Pokrovsk, it looks all but certain that Russian forces are in control of the key transport hub.

But Ingram says Kyiv will undoubtedly design their next line of defence to effectively gather Russian forces into “killing zones”.

These specific areas are bound to be armed to the teeth with British and American tanks and drones.

He explains: “The Ukrainians are using a lot of the Western equipment that we have to good effect.

“And this is done by overwatch from the likes of the British Challenger 2 tank, by interdiction by the likes of the US-supplied Bradley Infantry Fighting vehicle.”

Hardened Ukrainian units will also be aided by FPV drones, mortars, artillery and the troops in trenches, Ingram reveals.

This will make Russia’s next assault yet another bloody meatgrinder, where mad Vlad is bound to take countless casualties.

Former Nato planner Ingram cast doubt over the idea that losing the town – dubbed the “gateway to the Donbas” – is a fatal loss for Ukraine.

He says: “Will the Ukrainians be ready for the next battle? I think they understand the Russians.

“They’ve shown that for the last four years, they have stopped the Russians from advancing as quickly as they did against Nazi Germany during the Second World War.”

The ex-intelligence officer also identifies what he believes the next line of defence might be – the city of Dobropillia.

He says: “It could become the next point where the Russians become fixed, the next Mariupol, the next Bakhmut, the next Pokrovsk.

“And if it holds the Russians up for another 12 months, another 18 months, another two years, then that is the Ukrainians having success in their defensive operations.”

But which ever town Putin is next to target, Ingram says Ukraine has already planned a sturdy defence for the rest of the Donbas.

“Ukraine will be preparing and has prepared defensive lines the whole way through the rest of the areas of the Donbas that Russia has not captured,” he adds.

“We know those defensive lines will be built in a way to concentrate the Russian forces, but to allow Ukrainians to concentrate their defence.

“We know they will consist of anti-tank ditches, of minefields, of anti-tank traps, the dragon’s teeth, as we see, of things that will slow the infantry down, barbed wire, anti-personnel mines.”

Summarising the current situation on Ukraine’s frontline against Russia, he adds: “They’re holding them there, fixing them in place.”

Ingram also notes that Russia has become fixated with capturing certain towns – often at the cost of huge casualties.

“The next Ukrainian defensive battle is likely to be around another town,” he says.

“And we can see that Ukraine is using the time that they’re given by holding the Russians.”

Ingram also reveals how Russia’s current war machine is holding out on its last legs.

“If you’re relying on North Korea to supply 70 per cent of your ammunition, you’re not doing something right, and that does not bode well,” he says.

“And of course, the pressures on the Russian economy are such that they’re only going to get worse and worse.”

The expert also details what Ukraine might do as it plans its next moves of defence.

“Whilst Russia is being bled dry, Ukraine is continuing to withdraw very slowly in the front lines,” Ingram says.

“It’s fixing the Russians psychologically, it’s fixing them militarily.”

He adds: “Ukraine is using that time to try and have a further effect on Russia.

“It’s banking that something inside Russia will break, and therefore it’s attacking Russia’s ability to continue to support the tactical operations in the front line.”

Ingram told how Kyiv is “attacking the logistic infrastructure that’s needed to get that material to the front line,” in order to cripple Putin’s forces.

In the rest of the latest edition of Battle Plans Exposed, Ingram also takes a deep dive into some of Putin’s latest frontline activities.

He exposes how Russian forces were able to swarm the city of Pokrovsk after 18 months of brutal fighting.

Picking apart the role of fog in aiding Russian forces swarm defensive positions, he analyses footage of Putin’s men using the mist to their advantage.

Ingram also deconstructs Putin’s mind when it comes to Pokrovsk, which Russia sees as a “pressure valve” rather than a city with strategic importance.

“For the Ukrainians, it’s a choke point, for the Russians, it’s a political need,” he says.

“Ukraine is exploiting this need from Putin.”

He says that Pokrovsk has taken on an “emotional value” to the Russians, rather than a strategic one.

Ingram compares the situation of Russia taking heavy losses in Pokrovsk to other key battles throughout the invasion.

“First of all, we had Mariupol, Then we had Bakhmut… the Russians throwing everything at trying to push the Ukrainians out of Bakhmut,” he says.

“And then when Bakhmut fell, it then moved to Pokrovsk – Russia doesn’t seem to learn.”

Ingram adds: “Ukraine clearly understands Russia’s psychological weakness, that is its fixation at all costs and at huge costs for towns and cities.

“Once Ukraine feels that they’ll be overwhelmed, as the edges of the cauldron close in and it becomes impossible for them to supply the troops, logistically, they will withdraw.”

But crucially, withdrawing “does not necessarily mean a defeat”.

Ingram describes this process of leaving the defensive lines as “a deliberate military operation”.

But he says that Russia will define it as a defeat so they can feed this win into their propaganda machine.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15532375/putin-faces-ukraine-killing-zones-western-tanks/

THE US is poised to launch “fresh operations” against Nicolas Maduro – following a stark airspace warning and a daring nuclear bomber “attack demo”.

The latest escalation between Washington and Caracas came as several major airlines cancelled flights heading to Venezuela in response to a terrifying flight alert.

White House sources said Trump was ready to launch a new phase of missions in the coming days.

They also said the US would likely use covert operations as the first part of any action taken against Maduro.

Another White House official said Trump was “not ruling anything out”.

The source said: “President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.”

It comes after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) on Friday.

The dramatic alert informed pilots, airlines and air traffic controllers of a “potentially hazardous situation” in and around Venezuela.

Just hours later, it was announced a B-52 flanked by KC-135 Stratotankers and fighter jets “conducted a bomber attack demo” near Venezuela, authorities said.

The bold display of military power also included a supersonic F/A-18E fighter jet which flew from the USS Gerald Ford.

The chilling FAA notice warned of a “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela”.

It read: “Threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, the arrival and departure phases of flight, and/or airports and aircraft on the ground.”

The haunting warning came after the US president refused to rule out airstrikes on Venezuela.

Trump is currently amassing a huge military build-up near Maduro’s shores as he piles pressure on the despot to hand over power.

Washington’s war on “narco-terrorists” has also seen dozens of deadly boat blitzes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels, and thousands of marines deployed to the region.

On Friday, Washington formally declared Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organisation.

The move struck at the core of tyrant Maduro’s power structure and labels his inner circle as “narco-terrorists“.

By naming Cartel de los Soles an FTO, America effectively declared the Venezuelan state – or at least those who run it – a terrorist-backed narco-regime.

For the first time, the US is treating Maduro’s government not just as authoritarian or corrupt, but as a hemispheric security threat.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the cartel – run from inside the Venezuelan estate – had corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary and is headed by Maduro himself.

The designation takes effect on November 24, tightening the Trump’s campaign against the illegitimate regime it says is weaponising the state for organised crime.

The USS General R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has also arrived in the Caribbean in the latest show of force.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15535072/us-warns-airlines-venezuela-nuclear-attack/

TAYLOR Swift is planning to transform her Rhode Island mansion into a flower-filled dream wedding venue, a source close to the superstar has told The U.S. Sun.

Taylor and fiancee Travis Kelce had been considering tying the knot in Italy but insiders are stressing her plush $32 million pad now appears the likeliest of locations for the blockbuster celebration.

FLORAL DREAM

The Cruel Summer singer, according to The U.S. Sun’s source, is planning to create a new garden on site, planting her preferred floral attractions “months in advance.”

It’s understood the couple are prepared to drop $1.2 million into the landscaping alone in Rhode Island, including gardeners, and additional security to ensure nobody sees the developments before the big day.

Taylor is gravitating toward her favorite red roses, hydrangeas, orchids, and peonies.

“She wants the entire celebration to feel like a wave of flowers, with arrangements of white, purple, and pink orchids, plus blue, white, and pink hydrangeas, and peonies in pink, white, and red tones,” claimed the source.

Taylor also wants to gift all invited girlfriends a bouquet of red eternity roses, similar to the ones, as exclusively revealed by The U.S. Sun, NFL star Travis gave her last year.

“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,” the insider said.

The U.S. Sun revealed earlier this month that close pals Gigi Hadid and Selena Gomez have been asked to be part of the bridesmaid party.

The source claimed both Taylor and Travis’ moms are involved in the planning, with the bridesmaids already swapping ideas ahead of the big day.

Fellow songstress Selena is passing on her own experience after marrying Benny Blanco earlier this year.

“Everyone is loving the process,” the insider added.

MASSIVE PLANS

They are all planning to meet in New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville, where Taylor will host them to work on the wedding and spend time together to make sure the plan unfolds perfectly.

The U.S. Sun has been told Taylor wants to organize an entire wedding weekend running from Friday to Sunday.

The idea is to create a “multi-day celebration” which will make it “a unique, unforgettable memory they’ll cherish for the rest of their lives.”

Several bachelorette-style getaways in some of Taylor’s favorite places, including New York, Nashville, the Bahamas, and Italy, are also reportedly in the works.

“Taylor absolutely loves seeing the love, unity, and dedication from her friends as they help her create the best wedding weekend of her life,” gushed the source.

“The goal is to have fun, spend weekends together, and enjoy the process.”

If the wedding takes place at an external venue, the couple have fallen in love with Italy and hope to invest in property in Lake Como.

LEGENDARY LOCATION

Around $750,000 dollars would be dedicated solely to flowers, bushes, bouquets, and floral constructions throughout the venue.

Taylor snapped up the sprawling Rhode Island mansion in the Watch Hill area of Westerly for $17.75 million over ten years ago.

The property — three stories tall with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms — sits atop a dramatic bluff, making it both the highest perch and the largest home in the area.

Spread across five acres, the estate stretches along 700 feet of shoreline and includes a private beach. From nearly every angle, it offers striking views of Little Narragansett Bay and the historic Watch Hill Lighthouse.

The house, dubbed Holiday House, has become legendary in its own right.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/15529450/taylor-swift-rhode-island-mansion-wedding-travis-kelce-planning/

In his opening remarks, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa has sought to preserve the integrity and stature of the Group of 20 top economies.

World leaders have gathered for the G20 Leaders’ Summit in South Africa, which opened Saturday in Johannesburg with opening remarks from its President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa said South Africa has sought to preserve the integrity and stature of the Group of 20 top economies. He added that the country would ensure that the development priorities of the Global South and the African continent would find expression in the summit’s agenda, Reuters reported.

The three-day summit started on Saturday (November 21), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving in Johannesburg a day earlier. Modi held key discussions with global leaders upon his arrival, including a bilateral meeting with Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.

“Landed in Johannesburg for the G20 Summit related engagements. Look forward to productive discussions with world leaders on key global issues,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

Ahead of its final day, here are some key takeaways from the G20 summit.

PM Modi’s six-point agenda

PM Modi pitched India’s vision for six new G20-led initiatives. The PM’s first proposal called for urgent and coordinated action “to overcome the challenge of drug trafficking.” “India proposes a G20 Initiative on Countering the Drug-Terror Nexus,” PM Modi said.

His second proposal focused on creating a G20 Global Healthcare Response Team with trained medical professionals from member countries ready for deployment. PM Modi, in a push for host country Africa’s development, also proposed the G20 Africa-Skills Multiplier Initiative to facilitate the country’s workforce transformation.

His fourth proposal was the establishment of a a Global Traditional Knowledge Repository. Finally, PM Modi announced a G20 Open Satellite Data Partnership and called for the creation of a G20 Critical Minerals Circularity Initiative.

G20 adopts declaration despite US boycott, opposition

The G20 summit adopted a declaration on its first day to address the climate crisis and other global challenges.

The declaration was drafted without any inputs from the United States of America, with the White House saying South African President Ramaphosa was “refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.”

“This, coupled with South Africa’s push to issue a G20 Leaders Declaration, despite consistent and robust US objections, underscores the fact that they have weaponized their G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, according to Reuters.

Trump had ordered a boycott of the summit, over claims that South Africa is pursuing racist and anti-White policies while persecuting its Afrikaner White minority. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also skipped a G20 foreign ministers meeting in February, while saying that the agenda was all about diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change. He further said he would not “waste” American taxpayers’ money on that.

Emphasis on Critical Minerals Framework

In the summit declaration, emphasis was placed on the creation of a G20 Critical Minerals Framework, with the objective to use critical minerals as a catalyst for sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.

The framework further seeks to ensure that the countries producing these minerals, especially in the Global South, can deruve maximum benefit from their resources.

“We recognise that, as the world economy is undergoing significant changes, including sustainable transitions, rapid digitisation and industrial innovations, the demand for critical minerals will increase,” the declaration stated.

It further said that the benefits associated with the minerals have not been “fully realised”, and that the producer countries face challenges including “under investment, limited value addition and beneficiation, lack of technologies as well as socio-economic and environmental issues.”

Need to scale up climate finance

The G20 declaration, which was endorsed on the same day as the COP30 UN climate talks concluded with the signing of a deal, highlighted the need to “rapidly and substantially” scale up climate finance “from billions to trillions globally.”

It further underscored the inequalities in regards to the access to energy, particularly in Africa, and called for the need to increase and diversify investments for sustainable energy transition.

It further mentioned climate-linked disasters, with the leaders saying they would promote the development of more early warning systems for people who are at risk.

Ukraine in focus on the sidelines

While Ukraine was mentioned only once in the 30-page declaration in the context of addressing major global conflicts, Western leaders attending the summit have kept the conflict in focus during their talks on the sidelines.

The declaration calls for “just, comprehensive, and lasting peace” in Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the “Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

The European leaders at the Group of 20 summit issued a statement after controversial details of US President Donald Trump’s 28 point-peace plan was leaked, Bloomberg reported. The leaders are trying to buy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky time and come up with a counter-proposal.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pm-modis-6-point-agenda-climate-deal-us-boycott-five-key-takeaways-from-g20-summit-2025-south-africa-101763861473828.html

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday temporarily paused a lower court ruling that blocked a new voting map in Texas, allowing the state to proceed for now with a plan aimed at adding more Republicans to the House of Representatives.
Texas officials had asked the U.S. Supreme Court in a filing earlier on Friday to revive the map, which was designed to help President Donald Trump’s party keep control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections.

The lower court’s ruling had blocked the map, which was approved in August by the Texas legislature with Trump’s support and redrew the boundaries of several electoral districts.
Alito, a member of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, issued the order as the justice designated to handle emergency matters arising from the states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Alito’s order freezing the lower court’s action gives the justices more time to consider Texas’ emergency request.
The lower court had concluded that the map likely was racially discriminatory in violation of U.S. constitutional protections.

In its filing, Texas said the lower court made multiple legal errors and is causing chaos during the candidate filing period for next year’s congressional elections, while it defended the legislature’s action. “This summer, the Texas Legislature did what legislatures do: politics,” lawyers from state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office told the justices.
The Supreme Court issued an order that the challengers to the state’s new electoral map respond to Texas’ emergency request by Monday.
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 imperil Trump’s legislative agenda and open the door to Democratic-led congressional investigations targeting the president.
The three-judge federal court’s ruling in Texas dealt a blow to Trump’s push for Republican-led state legislatures nationwide to redraw electoral maps to change the population composition of congressional districts – a process called redistricting – in order to boost the number of Republicans elected to the House.

The case involves an electoral map that the Republican-led Texas legislature passed and Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed into law that would likely flip as many as five currently Democratic-held U.S. House seats to Republicans in next year’s elections.
The move by Texas to redraw its map prompted a nationwide battle over redistricting for partisan advantage that is playing out in both Republican-governed and Democratic-led states. For example, Democratic-governed California reworked the boundaries of its U.S. House districts to flip as many as five currently Republican-held seats to Democrats.

PARTISAN AND RACIAL GERRYMANDERING

There have been legal fights at the Supreme Court for decades over a practice called gerrymandering – the redrawing of electoral district boundaries to marginalize a certain set of voters and increase the influence of others.

The court issued its most important ruling to date on the matter in 2019, declaring 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. But 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 Tuesday 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.

‘RACIAL CONSIDERATIONS’

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, who authored the Texas ruling, wrote that “what ultimately spurred” Texas to redraw its map was a letter from the U.S. Justice Department urging state officials to “inject racial considerations into what Texas insists was a race-blind process.”
Brown, a Trump judicial appointee, wrote that the Justice Department’s analysis, opens new tab was based on the “legally incorrect assertion” that the racial composition of four Texas congressional districts in the state’s previous electoral map was unconstitutional and that they must be redrawn.
“Had the Trump administration sent Texas a letter urging the state to redraw its congressional map to improve the performance of Republican candidates, the plaintiff groups would then face a much greater burden to show that race – rather than partisanship – was the driving force behind the 2025 map,” Brown wrote.
“But nothing in the DOJ (Department of Justice) letter is couched in terms of partisan politics,” the judge wrote. “The letter instead commands Texas to change four districts for one reason and one reason alone: the racial demographics of the voters who live there.”
The NAACP civil rights group noted in a statement after the ruling that “the state of Texas is only 40% white, but white voters control over 73% of the state’s congressional seats.”
The court directed that the state’s previous electoral map, approved by the Republican-led legislature in 2021, be used in the 2026 elections.
The ruling marked the latest setback in Trump’s push to tilt political maps. Indiana Republicans on November 14 abandoned a legislative session that had been called to enact a new congressional map in that state.
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.
Virginia has advanced a plan to redraw its political maps, meaning Democrats could find themselves ahead in the redistricting fight should the Texas court decision hold.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-asks-us-supreme-court-allow-pro-republican-voting-map-2025-11-21/

A LUXURY watch was found at the scene of Kris Boyd’s New York City shooting.

Boyd was shot in Manhattan around 2 am on Sunday and needed multiple surgeries.

While the police continue to investigate the shooting, they have also revealed that a $185,000 watch was recovered at the scene of the crime.

No one has claimed it yet.

The New York Police department said on Wednesday that Boyd is in stable condition after a bullet was lodged in his lung.

On Thursday, NYPD sources informed ABC News that a possible suspect has been named and that they are looking to question him.

No details about the suspect have been released.

Police are looking for a man who fled the scene in a blue BMW after Boyd was shot.

It is believed that the shooter fired twice near 38th street and Seventh Avenue.

No arrests have been made either after Boyd was shout outside of Asian-fusion restaurant Sei Less.

Boyd reportedly got into a verbal altercation with another group leading to the shooting.

According to the New York Post, Boyd was alongside Jets teammates Jamien Sherwood and Irvin Charles at the time of the shooting.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/sport/15530408/kris-boyd-shooting-suspect-nypd-luxury-watch/

PUTIN’S “invincible” hypersonic missiles are being foiled by Ukraine’s latest defence strategy: music.

A crack team of techies known as Night Watch are jamming signals on the Russian weapons using a parody of a Kremlin propaganda tune.

The group claims to have brought down 19 Kinzhal missiles – described by Putin himself as “invincible” – in the past two weeks.

The team told tech website 404 Media they are using the song and a redirection command to send the missiles – which go at five times the speed of sound – crashing down into empty fields.

The “next-generation” missiles carry a whopping 480kg payload and cost around £7.7m each.

They are one of Russia‘s top weapons and until recently were very effective at evading interception efforts.

In August, they were being downed at a rate of 37 per cent, but after some modifications just six per cent were being stopped by September.

Now, however, using a technique known as “spoofing”, Ukraine is once again getting the better of the weapons.

Kinzhals and other guided weapons use Russia‘s GPS-style network of satellites to find their targets.

Night Watch has developed its own “Lima” jamming system that replaces the missiles’ navigation signals with the Ukrainian song “Our Father is Bandera”.

This was chosen as a dig at Russian propaganda, which likes to suggest all Ukrainians are supporters of the 20th-century Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera.

When the song begins, the system feeds the incoming missiles a false navigation signal, tricking them into believing that they are flying over Lima, in Peru, so that they try to change their trajectory.

Travelling at a speed of more than 4,000mph, the missiles are destabilised by the sudden change of course.

Night Watch said they designed the system after finding out that Kinzhals’ defence against jamming and spoofing relied on outdated technology.

The team told 404: “They had the same type of receivers as old Soviet missiles used to have.

“The airframe cannot withstand the excessive stress, and the missile naturally fails.

When the Kinzhal tried to quickly change navigation, the fuselage of this missile was unable to handle the speed… and, yeah, it was just cut into two parts.

“The biggest advantage of those missiles, speed, was used against them.”

A Night Watch source told Forbes that on another occasion a missile had been lured 200km off course from its target airfield.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15530218/putin-hypersonic-missiles-downed-ukraine-music/

 

BOTH FedEx and UPS have confirmed their holiday schedules and the exact dates you should be mailing your packages so they arrive in time for Christmas.

FedEx, for example, has allowed its customers to wait until the absolute last minute to mail their packages.

It’s time to start thinking about when exactly you should get your gifts and letters in the mail so they arrive before or by Christmas Eve.

FedEx has released its 2025 holiday shipping schedule for domestic packages, complete with easy-to-follow deadlines.

Luckily, those behind schedule can use FedEx SameDay shipping to mail gifts by December 24 – and they’ll still arrive on the same day.

For those using FedEx First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, and Extra Hours, packages should be sent by December 23.

Packages sent using FedEx 2Day and 2Day AM services should be in the mail by December 22.

Other services, such as FedEx Express Saver, should have packages sent by December 20, while FedEx Ground Economy packages should be en route by December 15.

This, of course, differs for FedEx Air Freight Services.

If you are using 1Day Freight, mail should be sent by December 23, with 2Day Freight packages by December 19, and 3Day Freight by December 18.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15527997/fedex-ups-christmas-shipping-deadlines/

 

FORMER First Lady Jill Biden is said to have shared a pointed four-word message with Kamala Harris during their encounter at Dick Cheney’s funeral on Thursday.

The two reconnected in public for the first time since failed presidential hopeful Harris blasted her former president in her memoir 107 Days.

The Bidens were seated by Harris at the memorial held at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington DC.

Biden and Jill shook hands with several attendees before making their way up to their seats and acknowledging the former vice president.

When they arrived, Biden shook Mike Pence’s hand, who was sitting beside Harris, and turned to his right as Jill shared a few words with Harris.

Harris then shook her pointer finger and smiled as she responded to the former first lady before the row abruptly turned to the front to listen to George W. Bush’s eulogy.

According to a lip reader Nicola Hickling, Biden first said “Nice to see you Kamala,” when he got to the pew, the Daily Mail reported.

Jill then uttered the four-word response, “He wasn’t ignoring you,” Hickling said.

Afterwards, Harris responded, “I know he wasn’t, I was thinking you’re going to look at me, but he didn’t,” according to the lip reader.

Onlookers braced for a frosty meeting as it was the first time the Bidens had been seen meeting in public with Harris since she blasted her former president in her latest book.

At one point in the memoir, the failed presidential hopeful described Biden’s decision to run for re-election as “reckless.”

But she admitted she never voiced her hesitations, as she felt the vice president should support his decisions.

“I knew it would come off to him as incredibly self-serving if I advised him not to run,” she wrote in her book.

“He would see it as naked ambition, perhaps as poisonous disloyalty, even if my only message was: Don’t let the other guy win.”

Nevertheless, Harris said she believed ousting Donald Trump was of the utmost importance and feared “ego” got in the way.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15528064/jill-biden-kamala-harris-dick-cheney-funeral/

 

Russia is increasing its hybrid attacks on Germany, including the use of drones, sabotage of infrastructure and disinformation campaigns. Security forces say the situation is serious, but Germany is not helpless.

When do we call it a “war”? How does “war” begin? Especially nowadays, in the digital age of cyberattacks?

“If a German corvette ship is attacked and sunk by a Russian submarine, you would call that war,” Sönke Marahrens, a colonel in the German Armed Forces and a military strategist, said at a recent meeting of German security forces. “But what if metal shavings were thrown into the ship’s gears and it is then no longer operational: Is that war?”

Marahrens is an expert on hybrid threats. At the autumn conference of the German National Criminal Police Office (BKA), he discussed future challenges with German and international security experts in Wiesbaden.

Marahrens’ example of sabotage affecting the operational capability of a German warship is a real incident which occurred in January on the corvette Emden, shortly before its delivery to the German navy.

Europe is experiencing a steady increase in hybrid attacks. Military personnel, police officers, politicians and scientists have warned that the situation is serious.

“We are experiencing cyberattacks, the circumvention of sanctions and arson attacks on a scale we have never seen before,” said Silke Willems of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.

Russia relying on cost-effective agents

Identifying the perpetrators is extremely difficult. For the police and intelligence services, it’s often not clear whether they’re dealing with a Russian attack, a criminal act or just a case of dilapidated infrastructure breaking down.

Comparing it to similar incidents usually provides a clearer picture. Russia is deliberately operating in a gray area, investigators say, which complicates the response of the affected countries.

According to security authorities, Russia is increasingly relying on cost-effective operations. “This is now being carried out by so-called ‘low-level agents,'” Holger Münch, head of the National Criminal Police Office, told DW. These individuals, Münch explained, often don’t even know who is hiring them, and they are willing to carry out attacks for a relatively small amount of money.

The perpetrators are mostly young men who already have a criminal record, many of whom have immigrated to Germany from the former Soviet Union. They are often recruited, for example, via the Russian social media platform Telegram, Münch explained.

Germany ready to fight back

The Criminal Police Office has significantly expanded its capabilities to combat cyberattacks, according to Münch. Even if the criminals were to rent hundreds or thousands of servers all over the world, the BKA could disable them, he said.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has vowed that Germany will intensify its response to the attacks. “Anyone who attacks us in cyberspace should be aware: We want to and we will defend ourselves in the future! We can also disrupt and destroy,” Dobrindt said.

In the fight against hybrid threats, the German government decided this week that in addition to the Federal Police, the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, will also be authorized to shoot down drones within Germany. The police, in turn, plan to establish additional drone units to defend against attacks.

But it’s not just Russian drones, incendiary devices and disinformation that are worrying politicians and security experts: More and more people in Germany are becoming increasingly distrustful of state institutions, a huge challenge.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/russias-hybrid-war-germany-steps-up-its-defenses/a-74835432

For decades, China has been a critical economic partner for German business. That remains the case and German industry is reluctant to pivot away despite a changing economic and political relationship.

For Matthias Rüth, there’s no question of pivoting his business away from China — despite growing government warnings about the risks of being too invested in the country.

As the managing director of Frankfurt-based rare earths and commodity trading firm Tradium, China remains fundamental to the business, given the country’s almost complete dominance of the increasingly vital rare earths sector.

“With China covering, for instance, more than 95% of the rare earth market, you cannot replace this in a short time,” he told DW. “These are long-standing and reliable trading relationships, and the material and processes are proven.”

For Rüth and so many other firms in Germany, China remains an obvious place to do business. For a long time, the German government fully embraced and encouraged that position.

However, the country’s authoritarian shift under President Xi Jinping — which has seen China back Russia in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine — has changed EU-China relations.

The geopolitical position has shifted and for the last few years, the German government has spoken of “de-risking” [reducing dependencies on a single country for components, goods or raw materials — the ed.] from China, not least because of the risks of foreign companies facing harsh measures from the Chinese authorities.

Recently, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said of German companies working in China: “I always tell them when I meet them: ‘That’s your risk if things go wrong, please don’t come to us.'”

Earlier this week, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil visited Chinato discuss the two countries’ evolving economic relationship.

Speaking in Beijing, he said Germany sees “fair competition at risk and also sees industrial jobs under threat,” but he emphasized the need for dialogue, saying: “We have to speak with China instead of speaking about China.”

A love story in cars

China is clearly a relationship that German industry finds hard to quit, and with good reason. Earlier this week, China overtook the US to once again become Germany’s top trading partner. Trade between the two countries was €185.9 billion ($215 billion) between January and September this year.

For decades now, leading German industrial titans have prioritized the massive Chinese market and investment volumes remain high.

According to a recent study from the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin, German foreign direct investment accounted for 57% of total EU investments in China in the first half of 2024, roughly 2.3% of German GDP. It notes that investment volumes are still growing, with corporate investment increasing by €1.3 billion between 2023 and 2024.

One of the sectors that has seen Germany and China most entwined is car making. Some of the largest German carmakers, such as Volkswagen and BMW, have invested and made billions in China over the years, and despite severe recent struggles, still retain hopes of long-term success.

BMW recently invested €3.8 billion into a battery project in the city of Shenyang and the company told DW it has no major plans to pivot away from the country.

“The BMW Group is represented in the Chinese market by two joint ventures and operates several plants there,” Britta Ullrich, a spokesperson for the carmaker, told DW. “In our largest single market worldwide, we pursue a long-term market strategy, which we regularly review and adjust as needed. There are no fundamental changes to our activities in the region.”

However, despite the continued importance of China for German carmakers, the relationship is undergoing a fundamental shift — not just because of geopolitics. The intense competition German carmakers now face from Chinese rivals and the perception that some of that competition has been achieved through Chinese industrial practices undermine global trade rules.

“It is crucial that there are equal competitive conditions and a level playing field on both sides,” a spokesperson for the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) told DW. “In this context, China is called upon to approach Europe with constructive proposals, to consistently and swiftly prevent anti-competitive behavior, and to ensure free trade in the current situation.”

Yet despite the continued importance of China to German business, financial pressure is coming from all sides. German exports to China have fallen by 25% since 2019, while the main German carmakers Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW have seen their market share decline sharply in the last few years, as China has ramped up its own electric vehicle production.

The VDA spokesperson added that while “the necessary de-risking is being pursued and implemented vigorously by companies in the automotive industry,” it must also be “enabled politically, not merely demanded.” They also emphasized that de-risking should not mean the “closing off of markets.”

“The best policy is to do everything possible to promote business location, competitiveness, and growth,” they said. “This not only creates a stronger negotiating position but also fosters investment and innovation at home.”

The cold reality of market pressure

Rare earths trader Matthias Rüth says it is important to remember that his business contacts in China are also impacted by the geopolitical tensions.

“The current difficulties stem mainly from political decisions, not from the suppliers themselves,” he said.

His business has been primarily impacted by China severely restricting rare earths exports, which has also frustrated his suppliers. “They are also facing disadvantages and challenges of the current export restrictions,” he said.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/why-german-companies-cant-quit-china/a-74831685

Zelenskyy, who has rejected the plan’s terms in the past as capitulation, appealed to Ukrainians for unity and said he would never betray Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Friday (Nov 21) that Ukraine risked losing its dignity and freedom, or Washington’s backing, over a US peace plan that endorses key Russian demands, a proposal Donald Trump said Kyiv should accept within a week.

The US president told Fox News Radio he believed Thursday was an appropriate deadline for Kyiv to accept the plan, confirming what two sources told Reuters.

Washington’s 28-point plan calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits to its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO. It also contains some proposals Moscow may object to and requires its forces to pull back from some areas they have captured, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who has previously refused to budge on Russia’s key territorial and security demands, said on Friday the US plan could be the basis of a final resolution of the nearly four-year-old conflict.

He said Kyiv was against the plan but neither it nor its European allies understood the reality of Russian advances in Ukraine.

“DIGNITY AND FREEDOM OF UKRAINIANS”

Zelenskyy, who has rejected the plan’s terms in the past as capitulation, appealed to Ukrainians for unity and said he would never betray Ukraine.

“Now is one of the most difficult moments of our history,” he said in a solemn speech to the nation delivered in the street outside his office, a location he uses only rarely for major addresses.

“Now, Ukraine can face a very difficult choice, either losing dignity or risk losing a major partner,” he said, adding: “I will fight 24/7 to ensure that at least two points in the plan are not overlooked, the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians.”

Two sources told Reuters Washington had threatened to cut off intelligence sharing and weapons supplies to Ukraine if it does not accept the deal. They spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose the contents of private meetings.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, a senior US official later said it was not accurate to say the US threatened to withhold intelligence.

In his public remarks, Zelenskyy has appeared careful not to reject the US plan or to offend the Americans.

He held a phone call on Friday with the leaders of Britain, Germany and France, and later spoke to US Vice President JD Vance. He said he had agreed with Vance to have their advisers work “to find a workable path to peace”.

“We value the efforts of the United States, President Trump, and his team aimed at ending this war,” Zelenskyy said. “We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace.”

A poor deal for Ukraine could test the stability of its society after nearly four years of relentless warfare.

“Russia gets everything it wants and Ukraine gets not very much,” said Tim Ash of Britain’s Chatham House think tank. “If Zelenskyy accepts this, I anticipate huge political, social and economic instability in Ukraine.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on X he spoke with Trump by phone about the peace plan on Friday evening. He called it “a good and confidential phone call” in which they had “agreed on the next steps at the advisors’ level.”

The plan is expected to dominate discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg that European leaders are attending this weekend despite a boycott by Trump.

“A VERY DANGEROUS MOMENT”

Three sources told Reuters Ukraine was working on a counter-proposal to the 28-point plan with Britain, France and Germany. The Europeans have not been consulted on the US plan and have expressed strong support for Kyiv.

“We all want this war to end, but how it ends matters. Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded,” said the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. “This is a very dangerous moment for all.”

US officials have said their plan was drafted after consultations with Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, a close Zelenskyy ally who served as defence minister until July.

Umerov “agreed to the majority of the plan, after making several modifications, and presented it to President Zelenskyy,” a senior US official said on Thursday.

However, Umerov denied agreeing to any of the plan’s terms and said he had played only a technical role organising talks.

RUSSIA’S DEMANDS SPELLED OUT, KYIV’S LEFT VAGUE

The plan would require Ukraine to withdraw from territory it still controls in eastern provinces that Russia claims to have annexed, while Russia would give up smaller amounts of land it holds in other regions.

Ukraine would be permanently barred from joining the NATO military alliance, and its armed forces would be capped at 600,000 troops. NATO would agree never to station troops there.

Sanctions against Russia would be gradually lifted, Moscow would be invited back into the G8 group of industrialised countries, and frozen Russian assets would be pooled in an investment fund, with Washington given some of the profits.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/ukraine-trump-russia-peace-plan-5483651

Fifteen people with disabilities were recognised on Friday (Nov 21) at the 2025 Goh Chok Tong Enable Awards (GCTEA).

The awards ceremony was attended by guest of honour President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development, and Law Eric Chua.

Launched in 2019, the GCTEA is a key initiative of the Goh Chok Tong Enable Fund (GCTEF) that provides opportunities to people with disabilities to actively contribute to society and lead socially integrated lives through providing financial aid, supporting aspirations and conferring awards. The community fund is administered by SG Enable and supported by Mediacorp.

The GCTEA comprises two categories: The GCTEA (Achievement) category, which celebrates people with disabilities who have made significant achievements in their own fields and served as an inspiration to others, and the GCTEA (Promise) category, which recognises awardees for their potential and commitment to serve the community.

INSPIRING OTHERS THROUGH ACHIEVEMENTS

Four people, including Paralympians Toh Wei Soong and Jovin Tan Wei Qiang, were awarded GCTEA (Achievement) awards and S$10,000 (US$7,642).

One of Singapore’s most accomplished para-swimmers, Mr Toh is a two-time Paralympian, and medalled at the Asian Para Games, Commonwealth Games and ASEAN Para Games between 2013 and 2023.

Beyond his sporting achievements, the 27-year-old, who has transverse myelitis, a rare neurological condition affecting his lower spinal cord, also raises disability awareness through creative ventures such as his collaboration with Mediacorp for the Chinese drama Hope Afloat.

Jovin Tan Wei Qiang, 39, was another Paralympian honoured under the achievement category this year. The para-athlete, who has cerebral palsy, won Singapore’s first parasailing gold at the 2014 Asian Para Games and clinched another at the 2015 ASEAN Para Games.

After competing in four consecutive Paralympics, he transitioned to competitive Boccia following the removal of parasailing from the Paralympic Games.

Mr Tan dedicates every weekend to guiding young para-athletes with a range of disabilities through the Singapore Disability Sport Council’s “Learn to Sail” programme at Changi Sailing Club.

Another GCTEA (Achievement) recipient was 70-year-old Kua Cheng Hock, an entrepreneur specialising in assistive technology who has been visually impaired since birth.

Dedicating himself to improving the lives of the visually impaired community, he has promoted independence by introducing guide dogs to Singapore and establishing the Guide Dogs Association.

Mr Kua also developed a plan for the Elections Department that enabled Singaporeans with visual impairment to vote privately at polling centres since 2011.

To expand professional career options for the visually impaired community, he is establishing a foundation to provide improved education and training opportunities.

The final awardee was Yap Qian Yin. The 35-year-old is paralysed below the waist due to complications from chemotherapy when her childhood leukaemia relapsed when she was 16.

Ms Yap won gold medals at the 2014 Asian Para Games and 2015 ASEAN Para Games before competing at the 2016 Paralympic Games, and is currently serving as Assistant Honorary Treasurer and Chair of the Fundraising Subcommittee on the board of the Disabled People’s Association.

PROMISE TO PURSUE GREATER HEIGHTS

Among the 11 recipients of the GCTEA (Promise) was para-athlete Nur Aini Mohamad Yasli, who made history as Singapore’s first female para-powerlifter at the 2017 ASEAN Para Games – just two months after starting formal training.

Diagnosed with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, a condition affecting bone growth, the 33-year-old is a sports and health educator, and supports community initiatives like PlayBuddy, an adaptive sports play group for children with physical disabilities.

When Sherry Toh Yee Teng was diagnosed at 13 months with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type II, a rare neuromuscular condition, she discovered her love of video games, which has led to her career as a game writer.

An advocate for systemic change for people with disabilities in Singapore, the 27-year-old was awarded the Singapore Health Inspirational Patient and Caregiver Award in 2025.

Another awardee was Arassi Maria Rajkumar, 32, a dancer who co-founded the Diverse Abilities Dance Collective in 2018.

Starting her dance journey at the age of four in the Down Syndrome Association, she has trained in different dance forms, performing an Asian contemporary dance piece and co-facilitated a Bharatanatyam workshop at the World Down Syndrome Congress in Brisbane in 2024.

Other GCTEA (Promise) recipients include Amanda Chan Si Qi, a quality assurance analyst at Deutsche Bank, Johnson Chia Rong Xi, who is an accounts and finance manager at Avon Group, and Victoria Liew Yi Xuan, a Master of Architecture graduate from the National University of Singapore.

Two retail associates at UNIQLO, Johannes Cheong Hui Ming and Florence Hui Xuan Lin, also received the award, as did Patricia Gerardine Tomnob Merilo, a digital accessibility lead at Equal Dreams, Lydia Tay Wan Ching, who is a musician, composer and violin teacher, and Jade Ow Yanhui, a programme coordinator at National Gallery Singapore.

Chairman of the GCTEA Evaluation Panel Michael Ngu attended the ceremony at Pan Pacific Singapore and congratulated this year’s recipients.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/15-people-disabilities-recognised-goh-chok-tong-enable-awards-2025-5483016

At least five people have been killed, including one child, and more than 450 injured after a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit Bangladesh.

The epicentre of the earthquake was close to the Narsingdi district, about 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) from the capital, Dhaka.

People rushed from residential buildings as buildings shook and makeshift structures collapsed. At least 10 students were injured in a stampede as they tried to leave Dhaka University on Friday.

“We have never experienced an earthquake this powerful in the last five years,” said the country’s environmental adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan.

At least three people were killed when a railing and debris fell from a five-storey building in Dhaka’s Armanitola area, deputy police commissioner Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami said.

Nitai Chandra De Sarkar, director of the department’s monitoring division, said 461 people have been reported injured across the country, including 252 in the Gazipur district, north of Dhaka.

Sarker told the BBC: “Our main task at the moment is to assess casualties and damage. We are not yet seeing the challenge of rescue from the rubble or debris management at that level.”

Bengali Sadman Sakib told Reuters news agency: “I have never felt such tremor in my 30 years of life. We were at the office when the furniture started shaking.

“We rushed down the stairs on the street and saw other people on the road already.”

A student called Abdullah, who was sleeping at the time of the earthquake, told Reuters the “whole building was shaking”.

Tremors were felt in eastern Indian states bordering Bangladesh, but there were no reports of major damage.

The earthquake caused Ireland’s second cricket test match in Bangladesh to stop temporarily.

Coaches and players not involved gathered at the boundary, while those in the stands took shelter. The game was stopped for three minutes but play soon resumed.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgke7e2jx8o

When it assumed the presidency of the G20 last year, South Africa hoped that as the first African country to host the gathering of world leaders, it could champion issues that mattered the most to developing nations.

For instance, it wanted the 20 heads of state from the world’s biggest economies to consider arguments that borrowing should be cheaper for developing countries, which pay two to four times more in interest on debts than more advanced economies.

Other themes of this weekend’s summit include securing climate change financing, increasing the participation of African countries in multilateral forums and ensuring that they get the best value out of their critical minerals.

But so far, discourse surrounding the meeting has been dominated by Donald Trump’s very public decision not to attend.

The US president said he would not go due to the widely discredited claim that South Africa’s white minority is the victim of large-scale killings and land grabs.

The relationship between the two countries has become increasingly fraught over the past year – the US expelled the South African ambassador to Washington, cut some of its aid funding and slapped South Africa with tariffs of 30% (the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa).

And finally, after initially saying he would send Vice-President JD Vance to the G20 summit, Trump abruptly announced two weeks ago that no US representatives would attend.

The government in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, has tried to maintain a defiant but diplomatic tone. It has firmly denied claims of a white genocide and insisted that the summit would proceed with or without the US.

In a sudden about face, and with less than 48 hours to go before the G20 conference, the US announced that it would be sending a small team of its in-country diplomats to the handover ceremony, but that it wouldn’t take part in any discussions.

As tension between the two nations shows no sign of letting up, there are concerns that South African diplomats may be frozen out of meetings when the US takes over the G20 presidency next year.

South Africa’s Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, told reporters earlier this week that there’s only one way they would not attend next year’s meetings.

“We are members of the G20, we’re not an invited country. So we don’t need an invitation from anybody,” he said.

“If the United States do not want us to participate, the only way they can do it is to decline us visas.”

So will South Africa manage to reach its aims without the presence of the world’s wealthiest nation? Professor Richard Calland, from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, thinks it can.

“I think that people who are serious-minded in their analysis will not attach much weight to [the US’ absence],” he says.

“Ironically, the absence of President Trump may create more space for real consensus, because people won’t be constantly looking over their shoulder at him and trying to anticipate or navigate his conduct and his positioning.”

Prof Calland adds that the absence of the US may enable middle powers to step up and push for the reforms they want by issuing a joint declaration.

Answering reporters’ questions at the summit’s venue in Johannesburg on Monday, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola echoed this sentiment.

“[The United States] are absent, so in their absence, the countries that are present must make a decision.

“We are forging ahead to persuade the countries that are present that we must adopt a leaders’ declaration because the institution cannot be bogged down by someone who’s absent,” he said.

The leaders’ declaration is a culmination of work done throughout the year to build consensus on issues affecting the global economy, including trade barriers, technological advancements and climate change. It outlines what decisions the members have agreed to act on moving forward.

President Trump isn’t the only head of state who will not be attending. China’s Xi Jinping is sending his Premier Li Qiang, who has represented the president in a number of meetings this year.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin will also be absent due to the International Criminal Court’s warrant against him.

Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum is another leader who will not be attending.

And Argentinian President and Trump ally, Javier Milei, is skipping the summit in solidarity with Washington.

However, unlike the US, all of these countries are sending senior delegations to represent their countries’ interests.

Mr Lamola was keen to downplay the significance of these absences, saying sometimes heads of state are not able to attend major events, and it is “nothing abnormal” for them to send a replacement.

Other global powers have expressed their support of South Africa’s presidency of the G20, including France, the UK and the European Union, which signed a deal with South Africa on Thursday agreeing to boost the extraction and, more importantly, the domestic processing, of critical minerals.

African countries have long argued that processing minerals in their countries before exporting them would boost their economies by providing much-needed development, jobs and income.

These are the types of initiatives that Pretoria has spent the year lobbying for across various working groups and ministerial meetings.

South Africa is the last G20 country to take over the presidency in this current cycle. It’s also the last country in the global south to host the gathering. Indonesia, India and Brazil have led the summit over the past three years.

As such, the South African government says it wants to use its presidency to bridge the developmental divide between the global north and south. It wants to push for equity, sustainability and shared prosperity.

Although building consensus through multilateral institutions like the G20 is becoming increasingly fraught in a divided world, Prof Calland argues that it is needed more than ever.

“Human life on Earth is facing an existential set of challenges, whether it’s climate change, demographic shifts, technological revolution and so on.

“All of these are hugely difficult pressure points for human society. And you can’t deal with them unless there is international collaboration and cooperation,” he says.

President Trump and his supporters argue that multilateral organisations do little to change real people’s lives, preferring instead bilateral deals done directly between two countries.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20508y7w5yo

France’s government is taking action against billionaire Elon Musk ‘s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok after it generated French-language posts that questioned the use of gas chambers at Auschwitz, officials said.

Grok, built by Musk’s company xAI and integrated into his social media platform X, wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus” rather than for mass murder — language long associated with Holocaust denial.

The Auschwitz Memorial highlighted the exchange on X, saying that the response distorted historical fact and violated the platform’s rules.

In later posts on its X account, the chatbot acknowledged that its earlier reply to an X user was wrong, said it had been deleted and pointed to historical evidence that Auschwitz’s gas chambers using Zyklon B were used to murder more than 1 million people. The follow-ups were not accompanied by any clarification from X.

In tests run by The Associated Press on Friday, its responses to questions about Auschwitz appeared to give historically accurate information.

Grok has a history of making antisemitic comments. Earlier this year, Musk’s company took down posts from the chatbot that appeared to praise Adolf Hitler after complaints about antisemitic content.

The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that the Holocaust-denial comments have been added to an existing cybercrime investigation into X. The case was opened earlier this year after French officials raised concerns that the platform’s algorithm could be used for foreign interference.

Prosecutors said that Grok’s remarks are now part of the investigation, and that “the functioning of the AI will be examined.”

France has one of Europe’s toughest Holocaust denial laws. Contesting the reality or genocidal nature of Nazi crimes can be prosecuted as a crime, alongside other forms of incitement to racial hatred.

Several French ministers, including Industry Minister Roland Lescure, have also reported Grok’s posts to the Paris prosecutor under a provision that requires public officials to flag possible crimes. In a government statement, they described the AI-generated content as “manifestly illicit,” saying it could amount to racially motivated defamation and the denial of crimes against humanity.

French authorities referred the posts to a national police platform for illegal online content and alerted France’s digital regulator over suspected breaches of the European Union’s Digital Services Act.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/france-ai-musk-grok-holocaust-e8c952c5d878226aa917d7a65836ed88