Archaeologists in Hungary have unearthed a well-preserved Roman sarcophagus, revealing insights into the life of a young woman from 1,700 years ago. The limestone sarcophagus, found in Budapest has remained intact over the centuries. (AP video by: Bela Szandelszky)
A remarkably well-preserved Roman sarcophagus has been unearthed in Hungary’s capital, offering a rare window into the life of the young woman inside and the world she inhabited around 1,700 years ago.
Archaeologists with the Budapest History Museum discovered the limestone coffin during a large-scale excavation in Óbuda, a northern district of the city that once formed part of Aquincum, a bustling Roman settlement on the Danube frontier.
Untouched by looters and sealed for centuries, the sarcophagus was found with its stone lid still fixed in place, secured by metal clamps and molten lead. When researchers carefully lifted the lid, they uncovered a complete skeleton surrounded by dozens of artifacts.
“The peculiarity of the finding is that it was a hermetically sealed sarcophagus. It was not disturbed previously, so it was intact,” said Gabriella Fényes, the excavation’s lead archaeologist.
The coffin lay among the ruins of abandoned houses in a quarter of Aquincum vacated in the 3rd century and later repurposed as a burial ground. Nearby, researchers uncovered a Roman aqueduct and eight simpler graves, but none approaching the richness or pristine condition of the sealed tomb.
Keeping with Roman funerary customs, the sarcophagus held an array of objects: two completely intact glass vessels, bronze figures and 140 coins. A bone hair pin, a piece of amber jewelry and traces of gold-threaded fabric, along with the size of the skeleton, point to the grave belonging to a young woman.
The objects, Fényes said, were “items given to the deceased by her relatives for her eternal journey.”
“The deceased was buried very carefully by her relatives. They must have really loved who they buried here,” she said.
During the Roman period, much of what is now Hungary formed the province of Pannonia, whose frontier ran along the right bank of the Danube River less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the site. A short distance away stood a legionary camp guarding the empire’s border, and the newly found structures are believed to have been part of the civilian settlement that grew around it.
Anthropologists will now examine the young woman’s remains, a process expected to reveal more about her age, health and origins. But even now, the grave’s placement and abundance of artifacts offer strong clues.
The sarcophagus and its contents “definitely make it stand out,” said Gergely Kostyál, a Roman-period specialist and coleader of the project. “This probably means that the deceased was well-to-do or of a higher social status.”
“It is truly rare to find a sarcophagus like this, untouched and never used before, because in the fourth century it was common to reuse earlier sarcophagi,” he added. “It is quite clear that this sarcophagus was made specifically for the deceased.”
Excavators also removed a layer of mud roughly 4 centimeters (1.5 inches) thick from inside the coffin that Fényes hopes could contain more treasures.
The State Capitol is seen in Austin, Texas, on June 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that found Texas’ 2026 congressional redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump likely discriminates on the basis of race.
The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito will remain in place at least for the next few days while the court considers whether to allow the new map favorable to Republicans to be used in the midterm elections.
The court’s conservative majority has blocked similar lower court rulings because they have come too close to elections.
The order came about an hour after the state called on the high court to intervene to avoid confusion as congressional primary elections approach in March. The justices have blocked past lower-court rulings in congressional redistricting cases, most recently in Alabama and Louisiana, that came several months before elections.
The order was signed by Alito because he is the justice who handles emergency appeals from Texas.
Texas redrew its congressional map in the summer as part of Trump’s efforts to preserve a slim Republican majority in the House in next year’s elections, touching off a nationwide redistricting battle. The new redistricting map was engineered to give Republicans five additional House seats, but a panel of federal judges in El Paso ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the civil rights groups that challenged the map on behalf of Black and Hispanic voters were likely to win their case.
If that ruling eventually holds, Texas could be forced to hold elections next year using the map drawn by the GOP-controlled Legislature in 2021 based on the 2020 census.
Texas was the first state to meet Trump’s demands in what has become an expanding national battle over redistricting. Republicans drew the state’s new map to give the GOP five additional seats, and Missouri and North Carolina followed with new maps adding an additional Republican seat each. To counter those moves, California voters approved a ballot initiative to give Democrats an additional five seats there.
A THOR-5F female crash test dummy is shown in a driver’s seat at Humanetics in Farmington Hills, Mich., June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
The U.S. government announced major design changes it wants to implement to make the female version of the vehicle crash test dummy more lifelike, potentially replacing a model used for decades that is based almost entirely around the body of a man despite higher injury risks for women.
Department of Transportation officials will consider using the new dummy in the government’s vehicle crash test five-star ratings once a final rule is adopted, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday night in a news release.
Women are 73% more likely to be injured in a head-on crash, and they are 17% more likely to be killed in a car crash, than men.
The standard crash test dummy used in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration five-star vehicle testing was developed in 1978 and was modeled after a 5-foot-9 (175-centimeter), 171-pound (78-kilogram) man. The female dummy is smaller and has a rubber jacket to represent breasts. It’s routinely tested in the passenger or back seat but seldom in the driver’s seat, even though the majority of licensed drivers are women.
But the change is not guaranteed to happen. Some American automakers have been skeptical and a group representing auto insurers has already said it thinks the current crash test dummies are fine.
The new female dummy endorsed by the department more accurately reflects differences between men and women, including the shape of the neck, collarbone, pelvis, and legs. It’s outfitted with more than 150 sensors, the department said.
Maria Weston Kuhn, a law student at New York University, started lobbying members of Congress to pass a law requiring the new female dummy after surviving a 2019 crash in Ireland in which her seat belt slid off her hips and ruptured her intestines. She welcomed Duffy’s support but said she won’t celebrate until NHTSA incorporates the new model into its testing — a step that has been delayed numerous times.
“I fear that with this announcement everybody will throw up their hands and say we’ve won,” Kuhn said Friday. “But we are far from crossing the finish line.”
Some American automakers have been skeptical, arguing the new model may exaggerate injury risks and undercut the value of some safety features such as seat belts and airbags.
Despite Duffy’s announcement, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research arm funded by auto insurers, continues to advocate for the current line of dummies used to represent women and has seen dramatic improvements in safety as a result, spokesperson Joe Young said.
“Certainly we are going to continue to monitor the new tools and perhaps do some additional research,” Young said. “But for now, our researchers are content and confident that the dummies we’re using are doing a good job.”
Lawmakers and transportation secretaries from the past two presidential administrations have expressed support for new crash test rules and safety requirements, but developments have been slow.
U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer, a Republican from Nebraska, and Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, both released statements welcoming the female crash test dummy announcement.
Gunshots were fired during an annual Christmas event in United States’ North Carolina. At the time of the firing, over 200 people were attending the downtown Concord Christmas tree lighting.
US Shooting: Several Injured In Firing At Concord Christmas Tree Lighting in North Carolina | X/@HotSpotHotSpot
Several people were injured in a shooting incident in the United States’ North Carolina on Friday evening (local time). The incident took place during the downtown Concord Christmas tree lighting.
At the time of the firing, over 200 people were attending the event. According to reports, gunshots were heard at around 7:30 pm (local time).
After receiving the information, the police reached the spot. The entire area was cordoned off. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital.
There are no details about the person who opened fire. Brett Ford, a balloon artist, told WCNC Charlotte that at the time of the incident around 250–300 people were present at the spot. “All of a sudden, you heard what you thought was fireworks, but it’s about 40 minutes early for the fireworks,” he added.
A slow and systematic jihadist takeover is underway in Mali, where Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM has built a shadow state that now dominates more than 70% of the country.
Al-Qaeda-linked militants tighten their ‘anaconda strategy’ in Mali, cutting off fuel routes and encircling key towns.
A slow, methodical jihadist takeover is unfolding in Mali – one that mirrors the Taliban’s return in Afghanistan.
In large parts of the Sahel nation, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) is administering justice, collecting taxes, enforcing rules and squeezing the state in what analysts now call an “anaconda strategy”.
The shift has been years in the making.
Mali, once held up as a fragile but working democracy, has been vanquished to a point where only a handful of garrison towns remain firmly under state control. Elsewhere, the JNIM’s influence fully replaces – or shadows – the government.
And while global attention remains on Gaza, Ukraine or the South China Sea, the Sahel is witnessing one of the most significant territorial expansions by the Al Qaeda since 2001.
Sahel refers to the transitional region in North-Central Africa comprising of countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, and Niger. These countries face challenges like climate change, food insecurity, and political instability.
If Mali falls outright, it would be the first time since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Afghanistan, that an al-Qaeda affiliate captures and governs an entire country.
A Collapse Years In The Making
JNIM stepped into the vacuum created by the breakdown of Mali’s junta in 2022, creating a shadow government that locals often depend on. In many communities, their courts, tax collectors and armed patrols function more consistently than any state service.
By early 2025, over 70% of the region was either under jihadist domination or contested.
This year, the grip tightened further. In July, militants disrupted the fuel supply – nearly all of which comes through Senegal and Ivory Coast. In September, they blockaded key southern routes.
By October, the US Embassy told Americans to leave immediately, citing “terrorist attacks along national highways”.
In November, five Indian nationals were kidnapped, underscoring the deteriorating situation.
The jihadist takeover of Mali is destabilising its neighbours. Jihadist groups operate with impunity across Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and parts of Algeria.
A cross-border jihadist “emirate” may have been unthinkable once. But it is becoming increasingly plausible.
Human Cost Of Takeover
Nearly two million Malians are displaced. Farming has collapsed. Girls’ education in many areas has stopped altogether. Aid groups warn that the country is undergoing a “slow motion Talibanisation”.
In capital Bamako, the junta strives to project strength through parades and media control, even as the countryside slips out of its reach.
What A JNIM-Run Mali Would Mean
If the insurgents gain complete control, Mali could become Al Qaeda’s most stable sanctuary in two decades – a vast territory with gold reserves, smuggling routes and a large population governed through coercion and local alliances.
Demonstrators attend the “We Are All D.C.” protest against the National Guard troops, in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 6, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A federal judge on Thursday moved to halt President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., a temporary legal setback to Trump’s efforts to send the military to American cities over objections of local leaders.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to enforce the law in the nation’s capital without approval from its mayor. However, she paused her ruling until Dec. 11 to allow the administration to appeal.
The legal fight is playing out alongside several others across the country as Trump presses against longstanding but rarely tested constraints on presidents using troops to enforce domestic law.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement that Trump acted lawfully and called the lawsuit an attempt to undermine his successful efforts to stop violent crime.
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a statement that permitting Trump to use troops to enforce domestic law would set a dangerous precedent.
Schwalb, an elected Democrat, sued on Sept. 4 after Trump announced the deployment on Aug. 11. The lawsuit accused Trump of unlawfully usurping control of the city’s law enforcement and violating a law prohibiting troops from doing domestic police work.
Trump has unique law-enforcement powers in Washington, which is not part of any state, but local officials say he overstepped by supplanting the mayor’s policing authority and violated legal prohibitions against federal troops doing civilian police work.
Trump administration lawyers called the lawsuit a political stunt in court filings and said the president is free to deploy troops to Washington without the approval of local leaders. The administration also has said the troops are operating lawfully and successfully reducing crime.
Trump, a Republican, has also moved to deploy troops in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon, to combat what he describes as lawlessness and violent unrest over his crackdown on illegal immigration.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday removed his 40% tariffs on Brazilian food products, including beef, coffee, cocoa and fruits that were imposed in July to punish Brazil over the prosecution of its former president, Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro.
The move follows a similar order by the administration last Friday to remove tariffs on several agricultural products from other countries as the White House makes a U-turn on some tariffs that have increased the cost of food in the United States.
The order will affect Brazilian imports to the U.S. on or after November 13 and may require a refund of the duties collected on those goods while the tariffs were still being charged, according to the text of the order released by the White House.
Brazil normally supplies a third of the coffee used in the United States, the world’s largest coffee drinker, and has more recently become an important supplier of beef, particularly the type that is used to make burgers.
U.S. retail coffee prices rose as much as 40% this year due to the tariffs and other market factors such as weather-induced production shortfalls.
Rising food prices are a major factor behind Trump’s declining approval ratings, which have fallen to their lowest since his return to power, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Pieces of meat are stocked inside a refrigerator at a butcher shop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil July 31, 2025. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares Purchase Licensing Rights
“You can expect some thousands of bags of Brazilian coffee that were sitting in bonded warehouses to start moving quickly to U.S. roasters,” said commodities analyst Judith Ganes, president of J. Ganes Consulting.
Bonded warehouses are storage facilities where importers can leave products without paying import duties.
Several importers stored products in those facilities after the heavy Brazilian tariffs were announced, while they waited for an eventual revision of the duties.
“The decision (to lift Brazil tariffs) shows the effectiveness of the trade negotiations,” said Brazilian beef industry group ABIEC, adding it will continue to work to increase its share in the market.
Zelensky’s office said the US believed the draft plan could “help reinvigorate diplomacy”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is ready for “honest work” with the US after receiving a draft peace plan to end the war with Russia.
Several US media outlets report that under the plan, Kyiv would give up areas of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine that it still controls, cut the size of its army, and pledge never to join Nato.
It was unclear how involved Ukraine has been in drafting the plan, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US had engaged “equally with both sides”.
In a separate statement, Zelensky’s office said that Ukraine had “agreed to work on the plan’s provisions in a way that would bring about a just end to the war”.
If confirmed, the demands in the plan would appear to favour Moscow’s interests.
Zelensky said he expected to speak with US President Donald Trump in the coming days about the proposals, which also include plans for Ukraine to forego many of its weapons.
But in a press briefing at the White House, Leavitt rejected suggestions that the plan demanded major concessions from Ukraine, and said the US president “supports” it.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been working on a proposal quietly for about a month, and had engaged both sides “to understand what these countries would commit to in order to see a lasting and durable peace”, Leavitt said.
“It’s a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine,” she added, without providing further details. “We believe that it should be acceptable to both sides. And we’re working very hard to get it done.”
An unnamed senior US official told CBS News that the plan “was drawn up immediately following discussions with one of the most senior members of President Zelensky’s administration, Rustem Umerov, who agreed to the majority of the plan, after making several modifications, and presented it to President Zelensky”.
In a statement on X, Zelensky wrote: “The American side presented points of a plan to end the war—their vision. I outlined our key principles. We agreed that our teams will work on the points to ensure it’s all genuine.”
The statement came after a meeting in Kyiv on Thursday between Zelensky and senior US military figures, including US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, army chief of staff Gen Randy George and top US army commander in Europe Gen Chris Donahue.
Despite Kyiv’s tepid reaction to the draft, Zelensky said he “appreciated the efforts of President Trump and his team to return security to Europe” – perhaps a way to keep the US president onside despite his administration’s apparent soft approach to Russia.
In his nightly address on Thursday, Zelensky said Ukraine needs a “worthy peace,” and that the “dignity of the Ukrainian people” must be respected.
When asked if Europe was involved in the process of drafting the plan, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: “Not that I know of.”
“For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board,” she added.
Moscow downplayed the significance of the plan, which is rumoured to include 28 points.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that while there had been “contacts” with the US there was “no process that could be called ‘consultations'”.
Peskov warned that any peace deal would have to address the “root causes of the conflict” – a phrase Moscow has used as shorthand for a series of maximalist demands which, to Ukraine, are tantamount to surrender.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “The future of Ukraine must be determined by Ukraine and we must never lose sight of that principle underpinning the just and lasting peace that we all want to see.”
Since starting his second term earlier this year, Trump has launched into various initiatives aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, including a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, several visits by his envoy Witkoff to Moscow, and rounds of talks with Zelensky and other Western leaders.
But as the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears, the two sides remain deeply at odds over how to end the conflict.
While Ukraine has become adept at targeting Russian military infrastructure and energy facilities with long-range drones, Moscow’s attacks on Ukrainian targets continue unabated.
President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks against ABC and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday, urging the network to “get the bum off the air” in a social media post sent shortly after the comic’s latest episode ended.
The president this week had also expressed anger at the network’s chief White House correspondent, Mary Bruce, for questions she asked in an Oval Office meeting, which his press staff followed with a 17-point memo listing grievances against ABC News.
Trump’s latest attack against Kimmel came two months after ABC temporarily suspended the comic for remarks made following the assassination of GOP activist Charlie Kirk. ABC lifted the suspension following a public outcry.
Kimmel’s show Wednesday night began with a blistering monologue about Trump, the first 10 minutes concentrated on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Congress’ vote this week to release more material from Epstein’s correspondence. He noted the country was carefully following the movements of “Hurricane Epstein.”
“We are ever closer to answering the question: What did the president know, and how old were these women when he knew it?” Kimmel said, riffing off a question Sen. Howard Baker Jr. asked about Richard Nixon during the Watergate saga in the 1970s.
Trump struck back in a Truth Social post sent at 12:49 a.m. Eastern. “Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air? Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it?” Trump said. The latter was a reference to ABC affiliates, some of whom got the movement toward Kimmel’s brief suspension started in September by complaining about his Kirk content.
ABC said it would not comment about Trump’s statement on Kimmel, whose ratings saw a bump upon his return to the air in September. While Trump associated him with ABC News, Kimmel works for the network’s entertainment division.
Kimmel isn’t the only late-night comic to draw Trump’s ire lately. Over the weekend, he called for the firing of NBC’s Seth Meyers.
The Epstein case was one of three topics that ABC’s Bruce asked about in pointed questions during an Oval Office news conference Tuesday. The president called Bruce a “terrible reporter” and said he didn’t like her attitude. The Epstein story has clearly gotten under Trump’s skin. Late last week, Trump referred to a Bloomberg News reporter, Catherine Lucey, as “piggy” during a question-and-answer session on Air Force One.
In a recent interview, Eric Trump described the 34-year-old Democrat as someone who “hates the Indian population” and branded him a “socialist communist”. He further claimed Mamdani harbours animosity toward both Indian and Jewish communities.
Mehdi Hasan criticised Eric Trump after he alleged that Zohran Mamdani hates Indians
American journalist Mehdi Hasan sharply criticised US President Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, after he made sweeping allegations about New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of anti-Indian and antisemitic attitudes.
In a recent interview, Eric Trump described the 34-year-old Democrat as someone who “hates the Indian population” and branded him a “socialist communist”. He further claimed Mamdani harbours animosity toward both Indian and Jewish communities.
Hasan fired back on X, slamming Eric Trump’s remarks. Sharing the interview clip, he wrote, “Zohran Mamdani is Indian. This is why they call Eric the dumbest of the dumb sons.” Hasan, whose parents are originally from Hyderabad, challenged the logic of Eric Trump’s assertion that an Indian-origin politician “hates” Indians.
Zohran Mamdani *is* Indian. This is why they call Eric the dumbest of the dumb sons. https://t.co/wh7LaJFKkH
Eric Trump’s criticism extended to Mamdani’s political positions, including a campaign statement in which Mamdani said he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visited New York. In the interview, Eric Trump claimed the city had elected “a socialist… communist… who wants to nationalise grocery stores and wants to arrest Netanyahu, hates the Jewish people, hates the Indian population.”
Mamdani, son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair, has not responded directly to Eric Trump’s accusations that he “hates” Indians or Jewish people.
Eric Trump, who also serves as executive vice-president of the Trump Organisation, criticised Mamdani’s policy agenda, arguing that New York needs “safe streets, clean streets, reasonable taxes.”
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina, who is now in exile in India, to death in a case over alleged crimes against humanity on Monday.
Sheikh Hasina’s son said that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus will not be able to kill his mother
Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, said that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus will not be able to kill his mother.
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina, who is now in exile in India, to death in a case over alleged crimes against humanity on Monday.
Wazed asserted, “Yunus cannot touch my mother, and he cannot do anything to her.”
Speaking to IANS, he said that the situation in Bangladesh is “illegal and unconstitutional”, and once there is a rule of law, the case will be unsustainable.
“They will not be able to kill her, but they will execute the verdict. First of all, they can’t get her. And once there is a rule of law, this entire process will get thrown out. Everything here is so illegal and unconstitutional and violates every legal principle that, once there is rule of law, everything will get thrown out and it will not be sustainable,” he said.
Responding to whether Yunus’ Nobel Prize should be revoked in view of alleged human rights violations in Bangladesh, he said, “Well, Nobel committees never take back their prizes. But look at Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar. She won the Nobel Prize as well. The Peace Prize is basically given by lobbying. But she led to Rohingyas getting killed, and now Yunus is turning Bangladesh into a failed state and an Islamist terrorist state.”
He said that the Congress party would have done what BJP has done to protect Hasina too, as there is a “rule of law” in India and that people follow the Constitution and laws.
Denouncing the judgement on Hasina, he listed out the reasons why it was ‘completely illegal’.
“It’s a mockery. First of all, there is a government that is unelected, unconstitutional, and illegal. Then, in order to fast-track the trial in the tribunals, they had to amend laws, which you can only amend with a Parliament. Currently, there is no Parliament. So the process itself was completely illegal. They terminated 17 judges on this tribunal and appointed a new judge who has no experience. He has publicly made a nasty comment about my mother. So he is clearly biased”, he said.
He pointed out that the authorities in Bangladesh did not let Hasina appoint a lawyer and instead chose their own lawyers to defend her.
Passed under the Biden administration in 2022, the CHIPS Act was designed to boost the US chip manufacturing industry and allocated US$39 billion to spur the construction of new factories and expand existing facilities.
Logo of ASML is displayed at the company’s booth at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, China, November 5, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced a Bill on Thursday (Nov 20) in the House that would block the purchase of Chinese chipmaking equipment by CHIPS Act grant recipients for 10 years.
The Bill targets a range of chipmaking tools from complex lithography equipment, like that produced by Dutch manufacturer ASML, to machines that slice and dice the silicon wafers on which chips are printed.
The Bill was introduced in the House by Republican Jay Obernolte and Democratic member Zoe Lofgren. In the Senate, Democrat Mark Kelly and Republican Marsha Blackburn plan to introduce the Bill in December.
Passed under the Biden administration in 2022, the CHIPS Act was designed to boost the US chip manufacturing industry and allocated US$39 billion to spur the construction of new factories and expand existing facilities.
Chip manufacturers such as Intel, Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics have received grants under the law, though the US later converted Intel’s grant money into an equity stake.
China has invested more than US$40 billion in the chip industry with a focus on manufacturing equipment, and the market share of such equipment has grown substantially, according to background material provided by the lawmakers.
US chip equipment makers have grown concerned that export restrictions on their tool shipments to China will lower sales and hurt their ability to invest in research and development. The use of CHIPS Act grant money to buy Chinese equipment has compounded the issue.
The largest American chipmaking tool companies include Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he boards Air Force One en route to Washington, at Palm Beach International Airport, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 16, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
US President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday (Nov 20) that Democratic lawmakers who urged the military to refuse illegal orders could be executed, calling them traitors and accusing them of “seditious behaviour”.
Democrats immediately slammed Trump’s “absolutely vile” threats against the six senators and representatives, who made the comments in a video posted on X on Tuesday.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” Trump said on Truth Social.
He then added in a later post: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
The 79-year-old also reposted a message from a user urging him to “hang them” and saying that the first US president, George Washington, would have done the same.
The Democratic lawmakers all have backgrounds in the military or intelligence services and included Senator Mark Kelly, a former member of the Navy and NASA astronaut, and Senator Elissa Slotkin, who served with the CIA in Iraq.
“You can refuse illegal orders,” they said in the video, accusing Trump of “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens”.
They did not specify which orders they were referring to, but Trump has ordered the National Guard into multiple US cities, in many cases against the wishes of local officials, in a bid to bring allegedly rampant unrest under control.
Abroad, Trump has ordered strikes on a series of alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that have left more than 80 people dead and which experts say are illegal.
“LIGHTING A MATCH”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later walked back Trump’s suggestion, saying that the president did not want to see members of Congress executed.
She still lashed out at the lawmakers, saying: “Why aren’t you talking about what these members of Congress are doing to encourage and incite violence?”
The Democratic Party reacted furiously to Trump’s remarks.
“Trump just called for the death of Democratic elected officials. Absolutely vile,” the party posted on its official X account.
The lawmakers in the video vowed not to be deterred by Trump’s threats, saying they were “veterans and national security professionals who love this country” and had sworn an oath to defend the US constitution.
“That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation,” they said.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of fanning the flames of violence among his supporters.
“He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline,” Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor.
Trump previously evoked the death penalty in 2023 in relation to his former top US military officer Mark Milley, who became an outspoken critic of the president.
Meghan King temporarily lost custody of her three kids to her ex-husband Jim Edmonds because she allegedly gave one of their twins unprescribed medication — and asked the school nurse to do the same.
Page Six is told that the “Real Housewives of Orange County” alum has allegedly given Hayes, 7, Ritalin multiple times, even though he has not been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Our source claims King, 41, asked Hayes’ school nurse to administer the medication, which prompted Child Protective Services (CPS) to get involved.
We’re told the “Real Housewives of Orange County” alum has allegedly given Hayes, 7, Ritalin multiple times, even though he has not been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). meghanking/Instagram
We’re told Edmonds, 55, and his wife, Kortnie Edmonds, were at their Tennessee home when he got the call from CPS, so the couple flew back to Missouri.
At present, our source says King is allowed to have supervised visits with Hayes, his twin brother, Hart, and their 8-year-old sister, Aspen, twice a week.
We’re told a temporary restraining order has been granted and that a more permanent solution will be determined at a court hearing scheduled for Dec. 9.
Reps for King and Jim did not immediately respond to Page Six’s repeated requests for comment.
Earlier on Thursday, Kelly Dodd took to social media with similar claims, citing a conversation she’d had with King.
Dodd called King an “excellent” parent, adding that she prays her former co-star “gets her babies back.”
King and Jim married in October 2014. She filed for divorce from the retired MLB star five years later following a cheating scandal, and their split was finalized in May 2021.
Though the exes initially agreed to share joint custody of their kids, there have been numerous incidents since then.
The most recent one took place in May, when Kortnie called the cops on King for allegedly trespassing on her and Jim’s property.
FORMER First Lady Jill Biden stood out from the pack with a glaring fashion choice at late Vice President Dick Cheney’s memorial service on Thursday.
She appeared to break funeral protocol before she was forced to interact with her husband’s ex-running mate Kamala Harris for the first time in months.
Former President Joe Biden and his wife Jill had a reunion with ex-Vice President Kamala Harris at Dick Cheney’s memorial service ThursdayCredit: EPA
The Bidens joined many other high-powered politicians to remember the life of Cheney, who served as President George W Bush’s vice president from 2001 to 2009.
Cheney died from cardiovascular disease on November 3 at the age of 84.
The pews in Washington National Cathedral in Washington DC were filled with mourners all dressed in black as they paid their respects.
But standing out from the crowd was Jill, whose bright white scarf flashed against her skirt and jacket.
Curious onlookers wondered why the former first lady, celebrated for her fashion choices, chose the flashing fabric, as it’s customary to dress in all black.
One X user speculated that the scarf could be a symbol for “I surrender.”
Jill walked in with her husband Joe, and she was sat beside Harris, who notably attended without her lawyer husband Doug Emhoff.
The two shared some pleasantries before Harris struck up a brief conversation with her former boss.
At one point, Jill stood straight-faced while the former colleagues caught up.
This is the first time the trio has been seen publicly together since Harris released her memoir, 107 Days, in which she criticized Biden for waiting to call off his 2024 presidential campaign.
At one point, Harris claimed that Biden called her hours before her presidential debate with Donald Trump and indicated that some of his brother’s powerful associates refused to support her.
She also called Biden’s decision to run for re-election “reckless” and said it “should have been left to his ego.”
MISSING TRUMP
Although Cheney was a powerful presence in the Republican Party throughout his years, President Donald Trump wasn’t invited to the ceremony.
Cheney heavily criticized Trump in his final years, at one point calling him a “coward.”
He stood by his daughter Liz Cheney, who infamously turned on her own party to endorse Harris’ presidential campaign.
Trump has been eerily silent about Cheney’s death, and Vice President JD Vance just now mentioned him on Thursday.
KIM Kardashian has revealed her doctor’s scary warning about her health after she was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm.
The model opened up about her diagnosis on the latest episode of The Kardashians.
It happened while Kim, 45, visited her sister, Kourtney Kardashian, 46, at her home, and she brought up her recent doctor’s appointment.
Kim shared that she underwent a scan, which found an aneurysm in her brain that her doctor said had been there for “years.”
The TV star then revealed she called a brain surgeon, who instructed her to come in for imaging immediately after she showed him a picture of her scans.
“And then I asked, I was like, ‘Can I wait? Like what makes it rupture?’ They’re like, ‘Just stress,’” Kim recalled, before mentioning her grueling 10-hour-a-day study schedule for the California bar exam.
Kourtney also highlighted other stressors in her sister’s life, including her bustling career and being a mother to four children.
“Oh, it’s been next level, like to the point of hives,” Kim admitted.
Kourtney shared her worries for Kim in a confessional interview, given all she has on her plate, which, at the time, included the start of the trial for her 2016 Paris robbery.
The reality star was tied up and robbed at her hotel while in town for Paris Fashion Week, and the perpetrators fled with millions of dollars’ worth of diamond jewelry.
Kim testified at the May 13th trial, and seven men and one woman were later convicted.
The Hulu personality recently gave fans a closer look at her life behind the scenes, particularly the days leading up to her bar exam.
She shared a nine-minute-long vlog on social media of her cramming for the test and showed herself having an emotional breakdown after a long day of studying.
“It is like every time I feel like I am a step ahead, something happens to try and stop me from doing this,” Kim told the camera.
“A part of me just wants to stop.
“I feel like my brain is going to explode, and I still have so much more to go,” she added through tears.
NEWLY released pictures capture the devastating moment a UPS cargo plane’s wing ignited during takeoff, sparking a disastrous accident that left 14 people dead.
Three crew members and 11 people on the ground were killed after the doomed plane took off at Louisville International Airport in Kentucky on November 4.
Newly released images have captured the moment a UPS cargo plane burst into flames as it took off at Louisville International Airport in Kentucky on November 4Credit: NTSB
On Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board published a preliminary report that gave new insights into the UPS Boeing MD-11F crash.
Officials determined that the left pylon, the structure that carries the engine, on the 34-year-old craft had “fatigue cracks” and suffered “overstress failure.”
Bone-chilling surveillance images captured the left engine and pylon separating from the wing as the plane lifted from the ground.
The craft burst into flames, lifted 30 feet in the air, and barely cleared the fence at the end of the runway before clipping the roof of a UPS Supply Chain Solutions 3,000 feet away, altitude data shows.
It then crashed into a storage yard and two other buildings, including a petroleum-recycling facility.
The facility was completely reduced to rubble by the flames.
Investigators recovered the plane parts and found cracks in the lugs holding the left pylon to the engine.
The well-traveled plane had racked up 93,000 hours of flight time and 21,043 cycles at the time of the wreck, the NTSB said.
Maintenance activity testing the lubrication of the pylon thrust links and bearing was last conducted on October 18, but the craft wasn’t due for a “special detailed inspection” until it hit 29,200 cycles.
The NTSB has yet to conclude whether the flaws found in the plane parts contributed to or caused the crash.
MD-11, MD-10, and DC-10 plans have all been ordered not to fly until the investigation is completed, the Federal Aviation Administration determined.
According to aviation officials, the aircraft have similar unsafe conditions like “loss of continued safe flight and landing.”
VICTIMS MOURNED
A three-year-old girl, a mom of two, and three pilots were among the 14 victims killed in the devastating crash.
Twenty-three people also suffered injuries from the fireball explosion caused in part by the more than 38,000 gallons of fuel inside the craft.
Craig Greenberg, the mayor of Louisville, said the entire city “feels the whole weight of this unimaginable tragedy.”
He said that UPS was in contact with the families of the victims to provide support.
In a statement, UPS said, “Words can’t express the sorrow we feel over the heartbreaking Flight 2976 accident.
“This continues to be an incredibly sad time for our entire UPS family, and as our CEO, Carol Tomé reminded us: ‘United, we are strong.’”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ‘ready for constructive, honest and prompt work’Image: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/AFP
Zelenskyy: Ukraine ready for ‘clear and honest work’ on peace proposals
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukraine was “geared up for clear and honest work” as he pledged to engage with US peace proposals — without disrupting ongoing diplomatic efforts.
“Ukraine needs peace and Ukraine will do everything so that no one in the world can say we are upending diplomacy. This is important,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, but said Kyiv would issue no “rash” statements.
“The number one task for everyone … is a constructive diplomatic process with America and all our partners,” he continued. “It is vital to have stable support for our army and all our planned defense operations and deep strikes.”
After having a “very serious conversation” with a “high-level [US] delegation,” Zelenskyy said: “The American side presented points of a plan to end the war — their vision. And I outlined our key principles: a real peace which will not be broken by a third invasion, a dignified peace with terms which respect our independence.”
The American side presented points of a plan to end the war—their vision. I outlined our key principles. We agreed that our teams will work on the points to ensure it’s all genuine.
We’re geared up for clear and honest work—Ukraine, the U.S., our European and global partners. pic.twitter.com/DscaCBg4vW
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 20, 2025
EU must help craft peace plan, former Ukraine PM tells DW
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk tells DW why Kyiv insists on EU involvement in any peace deal with Russia, even as US President Donald Trump has apparently backed a fresh proposal seemingly giving in to Moscow’s demands.
Russian commanders claim capture of Kupiansk
Senior Russian army commanders on Thursday claimed that their troops had captured the small Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, 120 kilometers (75 miles) away from the major city of Kharkiv in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Sergei Kuzovlev, commander of Russia’s western troop grouping, told President Vladimir Putin in televised comments that Russian forces has “completed the liberation of the city of Kupiansk,” which he described as a “key cog in Ukraine’s defenses.”
The chief of Russia’s general staff, Valery Gerasimov, added that Russian troops were “continuing to destroy Ukrainian armed forces units surrounded on the left bank of the Oskil River.”
Kupiansk, which had a pre-war population of around 55,000, is a key road and rail hub and has been on the frontline ever since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. It initially fell to Russian forces on the first day of the offensive but was recaptured in a Ukrainian counter-offensive a few months later and has since become an important logistical hub for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military on Thursday evening denied that Kupiansk had been captured.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that President Putin had “visited one of the command posts for the western troop grouping and held a meeting with the chief of staff.” It wasn’t clear whether the command post was in Russia or in occupied Ukraine.
Putin was reportedly briefed on the military situation in the cities of Kramatorsk, Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk, key Ukrainian strongholds further south in the Donetsk region. General Gerasimov claimed that Russian forces now control 70% of Pokrovsk, a claim the Ukrainian armed forces described as “false.”
Kyiv ‘ready to work’ on US peace plan
The Ukrainian government said on Thursday that it was prepared to engage with what it called “draft” proposals drawn up by the United States to end the ongoing Russian invasion .
But other senior officials in Kyiv have alled the suggestions “absurd” and a “provocation.”
“The President of Ukraine has officially received a draft plan from the American side which, according to the American side’s assessment, could invigorate diplomacy,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said in a statement.
“We are ready now to work constructively with the American side and our partners in Europe and around the world to achieve peace as the result.”
In a post on Telegram after meeting with US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian and US teams would “work on the points of the plan to end the war.”
The precise proposals have not been published but media outlets including the AFP news agency have reported that the plan echoes many of Russia’s most maximalist demands for ending the war, including the ceding of territory which is still controlled by Ukraine.
Following a meeting with US army officials in Kyiv, Zelenskyy’s office said, “it was agreed to work on the plan’s points to ensure a dignified end to the war,” but other senior Ukrainian figures dismissed the proposals.
“There is nothing concrete about this next ‘peace plan,'” said Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign policy, telling the Ukrainian Interfax news agency that the suggestions were “a Russian provocation to disorient Ukraine’s allies and stir up society.”
He accused US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Kremlin representative Kirill Dmitriev, who have reportedly drawn up the proposals, of “putting forward this absurd plan just to remind people of their existence and pretend that they are doing something.”
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister, Sergiy Kyslytsya, dismissed suggestions of peace proposals as “unrealistic.”
Ukraine briefed on peace plan, White House says
Senior officials from the Trump administration met in recent days with representatives of the Ukrainian government to discuss a fresh peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
Reports emerged this week that a new proposal was being negotiated between Washington and Moscow without Kyiv’s involvement, which would reportedly entail Ukraine having to cede territory currently occupied by Russia.
Leavitt told a press conference that the plan, which has been backed by US President Donald Trump, is “good for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides.”
The White House spokesperson added that the plan is “ongoing and it’s in flux.”
Leavitt also said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff were involved in the discussions.
Wadephul discusses peace plans with Witkoff, Fidan
German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul said he held a phonecall with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Wadephul discussed “our various current efforts to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and thus finally put an end to the immeasurable human suffering,” the foreign minister said in a statement.
“Both colleagues emphasized the importance of close coordination with Germany and our European partners, which we are fulfilling at all levels,” he added.
Wadephul said that winter now setting in, attacks on energy infrastructure must come to a halt in order to shield civilians from the cold. Following that, talks on a permanent ceasefire must be held without delay, Germany’s top diplomat said.
Wadephul’s statement comes amid reports that the US and Russia have agreed on a peace proposal for the war in Ukraine, which would reportedly require Ukraine to cede large swathes of territory.
The reports have prompted concerns from Kyiv and its European allies, who have repeatedly insisted that any peace deal must be approved by Ukraine and the EU.
Kallas: EU’s plan is to ‘weaken Russia and support Ukraine’
The EU’s foreign policy and security chief Kaja Kallas has responded to reports that the US and Russia have agreed on a peace plan for the war in Ukraine.
After meeting with Kyiv representatives and EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Kallas said the EU has a “two-point plan” to end the war.
That plan, Kallas said, consists of weakening Russia and supporting Ukraine.
“If Russia really wanted peace they would have accepted the unconditional ceasefire offer already in March,” Kallas stressed.
“Russia has repeatedly paid lip service for peace talks and previous talks fell apart because Russia never made real commitments,” she said, adding that “the pressure must be on the aggressor, not the victim.”
Kallas also said that to that end the EU plans to impose more sanctions on Russia. In particular, the EU will continue to go after Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of vessels and its enablers.
“The data is very clear, the export of Russian crude oil is the lowest it has been in months. Russian tax revenues from oil are the lowest since the war started,” Kallas said, claiming that sanctions against Russia are working.
Ukraine says 1,000 bodies repatriated by Russia
Ukraine has said it received 1,000 bodies of what Russia said were fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
“Investigators from law enforcement bodies, together with expert agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will soon conduct all necessary examinations and identify the repatriated bodies,” Kyiv’s prisoner-of-war coordination center said on Telegram.
The returning of the bodies of dead military servicemen is a rare occasion of cooperation between the two sides.
There have been numerous swaps conducted since the war began, although Kyiv has accused Moscow of returning bodies in a disorderly way and even of sometimes sending the bodies of Russian soldiers, which Moscow has denied.
US President Donald Trump has said he signed a bill requiring the Justice Department to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
There have been repeated calls in the US for the government to release all files related to Jeffery EpsteinImage: Bryan Dozier/NurPhoto/picture alliance
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he has signed a bill passed by Congress with near unanimity requiring the release of records related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The documents have created headlines since Trump retook office in January, with many of Trump’s supporters repeatedly calling for the release of the material.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed Wednesday that the Justice Department will release its Epstein-related material within 30 days.
The monthlong deadline for the release is required by legislation passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday.
“…At my direction, the Dept. of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget — The Biden Admin did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him. Democrats have… pic.twitter.com/QTlqdsWyj0
“We will continue to follow the law and encourage maximum transparency,” Bondi said.
Senate Democratic Party leader Chuck Schumer said his party members would be prepared to “push back” if they believed Trump was not being completely forthcoming.
“This bill is a command for the president to be fully transparent, to come fully clean, and to provide full honesty to the American people,” Schumer said.
What will happen next with the Epstein files?
There could be some limits to what is released publicly, as the legislation that was passed will allow the Justice Department to block the disclosure of personal information about Epstein’s victims, as well as information that could jeopardize an active investigation.
Although the bill allows certain details to be withheld, it will also require the Justice Department to produce reports on the materials withheld and the redactions made within 15 days of the release of the files.
Another stipulation in the bill said that officials are barred from holding back anything “on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”
Germany’s support for Brazil’s new rainforest protection fund adds momentum to a global effort that will reward forest conservation, penalize deforestation and direct resources to Indigenous and traditional communities.
Deforestation has hit Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, hard [File: March 13, 2024]Image: Wang Tiancong/Xinhua/picture allianceGermany has committed to contributing €1 billion ($1.15 billion) over the next decade to Brazil’s new global rainforest fund.
Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva made the announcement on Wednesday at the UN Climate Change Conference in Belem.
The substantial support from Berlin will go to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF).
It is a mechanism designed to reward countries for preserving their rainforests and to penalize those that increase deforestation, based on satellite monitoring.
“This is about protecting the tropical rainforests, the lungs of our planet,” German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider and Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan said in a statement.
What does Brazil hope to achieve with the TFFF?
The South American country estimates the fund could eventually reach $125 billion, distributing around $4 billion annually after an initial ramp-up phase, nearly tripling the current international forest financing.
Rainforests have been described as the planet’s “green lungs” as they absorb substantial amounts of greenhouse gases.
They also help cool the atmosphere and host vast biodiversity, but face accelerating pressure from agriculture, pasture expansion and mining.
Norway has already pledged $3 billion over 10 years, while Brazil and Indonesia plan to add $1 billion each.
Founding members of the initiative include Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The TFFF will be overseen by an 18-member board split evenly between rainforest nations and donor countries, with the World Bank initially serving as trustee.
Next year’s COP climate conference will be held under an unusual setup: Turkey will host the talks, but Australia will steer the negotiations.
Turkey will host COP31 in the Mediterranean resort city of AntalyaImage: DHA
Turkey bagged the hosting rights for COP31, while Australia reluctantly agreed to lead the summit’s negotiations, ending a diplomatic standoff between the two countries over the presidency of next year’s UN climate conference.
Both countries had bid to host next year’s COP, but Turkey emerged with greater support.
Australia eventually compromised and agreed to a pre-COP event staged in the Pacific and to preside over the negotiations during COP31.
“Obviously, it would be great if Australia could have it all. But we can’t have it all,” said a dejected Chris Bowen, Australia’s climate minister, on Wednesday during this year’s COP30 in Brazil.
“What we’ve come up with is a big win for both Australia and Turkey,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
How did the impasse unfold and get resolved?
Both Turkey and Australia refused to back down, leading to a tug-of-war in Belem. If neither country had conceded, COP31 would have by default landed in Germany’s lap, as it hosts the UN climate body’s offices.
Australia had pitched its bid as a “Pacific COP,” partnering with climate-vulnerable low-lying island nations and emphasizing the threat of rising sea levels.
The meeting to break the deadlock was chaired by German State Secretary for the Environment Jochen Flasbarth, who told the AFP news agency that the co-hosting proposal was “innovative” and that he had not heard any opposition to the plan.
Meanwhile, Turkey proposed that, as an emerging economy, it would promote solidarity between rich and poor countries at its summit, focusing more on a global rather than regional aspect. The summit will be held in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya.
Brazil’s COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin attend a press conference during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), in Belem, Brazil, November 17, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado Purchase Licensing Rights
Brazil said on Tuesday it still expects to land a deal on some of the most contentious issues at the COP30 climate summit ahead of schedule, but conceded there were still wide gaps between countries on issues like fossil fuels.
The two-week summit in the Amazon city of Belem has brought together governments from across the world to strengthen the complex U.N. framework underpinning global action to halt rising greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the damage caused by warming temperatures.
Host nation Brazil wants a deal agreed in two stages: one package on Wednesday, including subjects like cutting fossil fuel use and delivering promised climate finance that were a week ago deemed too thorny to even include on the formal agenda, and another wrapping up any outstanding issues by Friday.
Confirming that negotiators would work late into the night for the second day in a row, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago said he still expected the first deal to be approved on Wednesday, but that it could be “very late”.
Any such deal would confound expectations set by recent COP summits – all of which have run way past their scheduled end. The conference is due to end at 2100 GMT on Friday.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will attend the conference on Wednesday to give fresh political impetus to the negotiations. He will meet U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Lula said the meeting was designed to “strengthen climate governance and multilateralism.” FRESH DEAL TEXT EXPECTED WEDNESDAY
Earlier, the COP30 presidency, invoking the Brazilian Portuguese concept of “mutirão” – a spirit of collective effort – released a first draft of a possible summit deal titled “Global Mutirão: uniting humanity in a global mobilization against climate change”.
After a day of country-by-country consultations, a new version of the text is expected to be drawn up overnight and presented on Wednesday for further feedback.
The toughest topics include pinning down how rich countries will provide finance to poorer countries to switch to clean energy, and what must be done about a gap between promised emissions cuts and those needed to stop temperatures rising.
Renovations continue at the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/ Purchase Licensing Rights
A divided U.S. Federal Reserve begins receiving updated economic reports from the now-reopened federal government this week as policymakers hope for clarity in their debate over whether to cut interest rates when they meet in just over three weeks.
It remains unclear how much of the shutdown-delayed data on employment, inflation, retail spending, economic growth, and other aspects of the economy will be in hand by then. As of Monday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said it would publish the delayed employment report for September on Thursday, but the White House has said some of the October reports may be skipped altogether, while data gathering for November may also be hampered by a shutdown that stretched to mid-month.
But the lines of debate have been sharply drawn, and minutes of the Fed’s October meeting to be released on Wednesday could provide more detail on the split that has emerged over whether the risk of higher inflation remains pronounced enough to delay rate cuts for now, or whether slowing job growth and looser monetary policy should take priority.
“I am not worried about inflation accelerating or inflation expectations rising significantly,” Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday. “My focus is on the labor market, and after months of weakening, it is unlikely that the September jobs report later this week or any other data in the next few weeks would change my view that another cut is in order” when the Fed meets on December 9-10.
Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson meanwhile said the central bank should go “slowly” given the benchmark interest rate, in the 3.75%-to-4.00% range, is likely nearing the level where it will no longer discourage economic activity and put downward pressure on inflation.
Clear camps have formed within the central bank, with several Fed governors – all appointees of President Donald Trump – arguing for another cut, and several regional reserve bank presidents taking a hard line on inflation. Still, the intensity of those divisions may mask a narrower set of concerns about timing and the desire for more data to show a clearer direction for the economy.
The Fed’s approval of a quarter-percentage-point rate cut at the October 28-29 meeting included dissents in favor of both looser and tighter monetary policy, a rarity in recent decades. Afterward, Fed Chair Jerome Powell offered unusual, explicit guidance about the outcome of the December meeting.
“There were strongly differing views about how to proceed in December. A further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion – far from it,” Powell said using language that pointed to a compromise with the policymakers most concerned about inflation. ‘GROWING CHORUS’ FAVORS NO CUT IN DECEMBER
Those remarks and other recent data have shifted market bets away from a December cut that previously had been given high odds. Policymaker projections in September showed officials themselves anticipated the benchmark interest rate would end the year in the 3.50%-to-3.75% range, a quarter-point below where it is now.
Yet that outlook already showed the sharp division emerging, and some officials since then have intensified their concerns about higher inflation.
“We’ve got this persistent high inflation that is sticking around. When all is said and done it will be the better part of a decade,” said Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, among three regional presidents who will take on voting roles next year and who have been among the more strident recently on the need to not rush further cuts because of inflation risks. “Getting (inflation) back to 2% is critical to our credibility,” she told MarketWatch in an interview last week.
The array of opinions and the potential gaps in official data pose a challenge for Powell in molding a consensus. Even if some dissents may be unavoidable, possible points of compromise include approving a rate cut at the December meeting but indicating that a pause is likely to follow, or pausing in December but pointing to likely further cuts depending on incoming data.
Officials will issue new quarterly projections at the December meeting that could help reinforce either approach.
The pace of the federal government’s data catch-up could also matter. While U.S. central bankers feel they have enough ways to monitor the economy to make a decision, a full suite of catch-up reports could boost their confidence in whatever decision is made.
Even that may fall short of what’s needed to produce consensus in a body also facing a leadership transition, with Powell’s term as chair ending in May and two of the sitting governors on a short list of possible Trump nominees to replace him.
1 of 8 | The International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka, the capital, handed down death sentences in absentia to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Monday for their involvement in deadly force used against protesters last year. Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party rejected the court proceedings Monday, calling it “a kangaroo court” and called for a nationwide shutdown the next day. (AP video by Al Emrun Garjon and Sony Ramany)
Bangladesh’s capital and major cities were calm Tuesday despite a call for a nationwide shutdown by the former ruling party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after she was sentenced to death over her crackdown on a student uprising last year.
The International Crimes Tribunal handed down death sentences in absentia to Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Monday for their involvement in deadly force used against protesters last year.
Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party rejected the court proceedings Monday, calling it “a kangaroo court” and called for a nationwide shutdown the next day.
Hasina’s opponents clashed with police and soldiers until late Monday and attempted to use excavators to demolish the home of her father, Bangladesh independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Local media reported the home of former President Abdul Hamid, a veteran Awami League leader, was vandalized in the northeastern Kishoreganj district.
But on Tuesday, there was no closure of services or shops and schools, although some people expressed tension and confusion over what lies ahead for the South Asian nation, a parliamentary democracy of 170 million people.
Mohammad Saikot Hossain, a Dhaka businessman, said there is “no real rule of law here” and he worries about his children’s future.
“Those who ruled the country before shaped the law in their own way, and those who are ruling now are also shaping the law in their own way,” he said. “Our next generation is growing up in this environment. They have no aim and no future. I am very worried about where they will go and what they will do in the days to come.”
Hasina, 78, was convicted Monday on five charges of crimes against humanity. She also was sentenced to prison until natural death for making inflammatory remarks and ordering the extermination of student protesters with helicopters, drones and lethal weapons.
A former police chief was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty and becoming a state witness against Hasina.
Bangladesh experienced weeks of student-led protests in July and August last year. Demonstrators voiced discontent over a quota system for allocating government jobs that critics said favored those with connections to Hasina’s party. More than 800 people were killed and about 14,000 were injured, Bangladesh’s interim government reported. The United Nations in February estimated that as many as 1,400 people were killed.
The uprising led to the collapse of Hasina’s 15-year rule on Aug. 5, 2024. Hasina and Khan fled to India, which has declined to extradite them, making it unlikely they would ever be executed or imprisoned.
Hasina cannot appeal unless she surrenders or is arrested within 30 days of the sentencing. She and Khan did not designate defense lawyers and rejected a state-appointed defense attorney for the tribunal.
On Monday, she said the charges were unjustified, arguing that she and Khan “acted in good faith and were trying to minimize the loss of life.”
“We lost control of the situation, but to characterize what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts,” she said in a statement.
The U.N. said Hasina’s sentencing marked “an important moment for victims of the grave violations committed during the suppression of protests last year.”
New York-based Human Rights Watch expressed misgivings, saying the trial process raised “serious human rights concerns” and questioned statements by the witnesses and the conduct of the defense appointed by the state.
“There is enduring anger and anguish in Bangladesh over Hasina’s repressive rule, but all criminal proceedings need to meet international fair trial standards,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director.
Those responsible for the “horrific abuses” under the Hasina administration should be held to account after “impartial investigations and credible trials,” Ganguly said.
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard protested the death sentence and said “this trial and sentence is neither fair nor just.”
This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)
Pakistani security forces, acting on intelligence, raided multiple militant hideouts in the country’s northwest near the Afghan border and killed 38 militants, the military said Tuesday.
Troops first carried out an operation on Sunday in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing 10 Pakistani Taliban, according to a military statement. A second raid in the region’s North Waziristan district killed five more militants, including a militant commander, it said.
In twin raids across the northwestern Bajaur and Bannu districts, security forces killed 23 Pakistani Taliban on Monday, the military said in a statement on Tuesday.
The military identified the killed militants as “Khawarij,” a term authorities use for militants they allege are backed by Afghanistan and India, including those linked to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a charge Kabul and New Delhi deny.
The Pakistani Taliban are a separate but allied group to Afghanistan’s Taliban, who have been emboldened since taking power in Kabul in 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to operate from sanctuaries across the Afghan border, straining relations between Islamabad and Kabul.
When Kim Min-seok gave the go-ahead in June 2016 to publish a 90-second clip of a children’s song, he had no idea what he was unleashing.
It became a global phenomenon, clocking up more than 16 billion views – YouTube’s most watched video ever.
That song was the incredibly catchy Baby Shark.
Not only has it captivated toddlers and terrorised adults around the world, it laid the foundations for its creator Pinkfong to become a media business worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“We didn’t expect it to stand out from our other content,” Mr Kim, Pinkfong’s chief executive, told the BBC from the firm’s headquarters in Seoul.
“But looking back, it became a major turning point that set the stage for our global journey.”
On Tuesday, that journey took Pinkfong to the South Korean stock market, where its shares rose by more than 9% on their debut, giving it a valuation of more than $400m (£304m).
‘We didn’t expect a salary’
Founded in 2010 as SmartStudy, the firm made digital content for children up to 12 years of age.
It had just three employees, including Mr Kim and the firm’s chief technology officer, Dongwoo Son.
“The office was tiny – even smaller than this,” recalled Mr Kim, gesturing to the conference room he was calling from.
It was so small “we didn’t even expect a salary at the time”, he said through a translator.
Pinkfong went through several major overhauls, including shifting its focus to toddlers.
The firm grew to around 100 employees and prioritised simpler, learning-based games and content. “And that’s when Baby Shark emerged,” Mr Kim said.
The firm has been known as The Pinkfong Company since 2022, a name inspired by a cheerful and curious fox that featured in one of its early cartoons.
It now has around 340 employees, with offices in Tokyo, Shanghai and Los Angeles.
The Baby Shark moment
Baby Shark is believed to have originated in the US in the 1970s and was often sung at children’s summer camps.
The song, which repeats the phrase “Baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo” is “attractive for children, though possibly annoying for adults,” said media analyst Kevin Chew from the Nanyang Technological University.
Mr Kim is also very aware of just how catchy it is.
“It’s like a K-pop song. It’s very fast-paced, rhythmical and it’s addictive,” he said, adding that the tune has a “chanting” effect, which makes it easy for children to remember.
But it was an instant hit and only gained traction when its dance routine was featured at children’s events in South East Asia.
Videos of children and adults dancing to the song started to spread online and the clip went viral.
There was a “festival-like feeling” in the Pinkfong office, as the team watched its viewing numbers soar, Mr Kim said.
In November 2020, the Baby Shark clip claimed the title of YouTube’s most viewed.
It generated around half of the firm’s revenue in the years immediately after the video’s release and became a springboard for new content and merchandise, he said.
But Pinkfong faced a legal challenge in 2019 when it was accused of plagiarising the work of an American composer.
South Korea’s Supreme Court rejected the case, after the company argued that its version was derived from a folk song in the public domain.
The victory, Mr Kim said, gave the firm a lift as its shares went public. He added that the stock market application had been filed before the verdict was announced.
One-hit wonder?
Pinkfong’s other franchises like Bebefinn and Sealook are growing fast but the firm must prove its success is not just reliant on Baby Shark, said Korea University business lecturer Min Jung Kim.
The company’s target audience is a major plus as toddlers tend to watch the same material repeatedly, she said.
Kim Min-seok insists his business can grow beyond Baby Shark, which currently accounts for about a quarter of Pinkfong’s revenue. Meanwhile, Bebefinn has leapt ahead, generating roughly 40% of the firm’s earnings.
One parent told the BBC that his family has mixed feelings about Pinkfong’s videos.
Father of two Saleem Nashef said he appreciates the educational qualities of the firm’s content but his wife thinks Baby Shark is “too over-stimulating for kids”.
Still, the viral video is apparently inescapable, as his daughter, who is about to turn three, will have a Baby Shark-themed birthday party.
Both chambers of Congress agreed to order the US justice department to release its files on sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the measure in a 427-1 vote and the Senate unanimously fast-tracked it without a formal vote.
The moves come just days after President Donald Trump reversed his position and urged Congress to vote to disclose the records following public pushback from many of his supporters.
Last week, Trump and his ties to Epstein were thrust back into the headlines after more than 20,000 pages of documents – some mentioning the president – were released. The White House denied any wrongdoing.
Republican Clay Higgins, of Louisiana, was the sole House objector and cited his concern about “innocent people being hurt” with the release of the information.
Trump’s reversal from attacking those on Capitol Hill who wanted the files released to saying there was “nothing to hide” surprised some in Washington.
The Republican congressional leadership was caught off guard after aligning their message with the president for the past few weeks and opposing the release.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had repeatedly called the push to release the Epstein files a “Democrat hoax”.
On Tuesday, he voted in support of release.
What do we know about the Epstein files?
Epstein saga reveals Republican rifts – and the power of Trump’s base
The only ‘no’ vote on releasing Epstein files
The measure had been expected to take a few days to reach the US Senate, but after the resounding afternoon vote in the House, the timeline quickly sped up.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer brought up the bill on the floor of the Senate under a procedure called unanimous consent. Because no one objected, there was no debate and no amendments added to the bill.
It will head from the Senate to the president‘s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.
A congressional vote was not required to release the files – Trump could have ordered the release on his own.
The bill requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” related to Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell no later than 30 days after the law is enacted.
Those materials include internal justice department communications, flight logs and people and entities connected to Epstein.
But the bill also gives Bondi the power to withhold information that would jeopardise any active federal investigation or identifies any victims.
Epstein, a financier, was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019 in what a coroner ruled was a suicide.
He was being held on charges of sex trafficking, having previously been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.
During two criminal investigations into Epstein, thousands of documents were gathered, including transcripts of interviews with victims and witnesses.
Trump and Epstein previously socialised in similar circles, but the president said he cut ties with Epstein many years ago, before his 2008 conviction. The president also said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal activity.
Last week, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee published three email chains, including correspondence between Epstein and Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
Some of those make mention of Trump, including one email, sent in 2011, in which Epstein wrote to Maxwell: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him.”
The White House said last week that the victim referenced in the email was prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.
Giuffre, who died in April, said that she never saw Trump participate in any abuse and there is no implication of any wrongdoing by Trump in the emails.
Speaking after the vote, Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts praised her sister’s role in seeking justice for Epstein survivors.
“She did it, she paved the way… She paved the way for us to come forward as advocates, for her survivor sisters to come forward, and we won’t stop,” Roberts said.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the emails were “selectively leaked” by House Democrats to “liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump”.
The push for the release of the investigative files held by the Department of Justice was led by Republican Thomas Massie, a Kentucky congressman who sometimes dissents from his party, and Democrat Ro Khanna, a California congressman, both of whom introduced the legislation.
Massie has faced criticism from Trump for his push to release the files, but has stood firm.
“In 2030, he’s not going to be the president,” Massie said to ABC News over the weekend. He added that fellow Republicans who voted against release “will have voted to protect paedophiles”.
Another Republican who has pushed for the release of the files is House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. She had been a staunch supporter of Trump before the two fell out over the issue, with the president now calling her a “traitor”.
At a news conference earlier in the day on Tuesday, Greene said she is speaking up on behalf of Epstein’s survivors. She also called out Trump directly.
Ukraine plans to seek nearly $44 billion from Russia for the damage linked to an increase in climate-warming emissions from the ongoing war, a government minister told Reuters.
The move marks the first time a country is claiming damages for such an increase in emissions, including from the fossil fuels, cement and steel used in fighting the war, and from the destruction of trees through resultant fires.
Residents buy groceries at a street market as smoke rises at the site of food warehouses hit by an overnight Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yan Dobronosov Purchase Licensing Rights
“A lot of damage was caused to water, to land, to forests,” said Pavlo Kartashov, the country’s deputy minister for economy, environment, and agriculture.
“We have huge amounts of additional CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases,” Kartashov told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
A member of the Russian delegation at COP30 declined to comment.
Dutch carbon accounting expert Lennard de Klerk estimated the war had generated about 237 million tons of additional CO2-equivalent emissions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, nearly equal to the annual emissions for Ireland, Belgium and Austria combined.
De Klerk told Reuters he had helped Ukraine to calculate the damage figure based on a 2022 study in Nature estimating the so-called social cost of carbon, an estimate of damages to society from CO2, at about $185 a ton.
He said Ukraine was preparing to submit a claim through a new compensation process being set up by the Council of Europe that has already received some 70,000 claims by Ukrainian individuals for wartime damages.
All the claims, including any filed by other legal entities such as companies, will then be decided by a claims commission.
It remains unclear where the compensation will come from. De Klerk suggested that the billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets could be used in covering the claims.
Eric Trump’s assertion that Mamdani “hates the Indian population” is part of a wider Republican effort to portray the mayor-elect as a radical socialist, with critics warning that his policies could threaten the city’s stability.
Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, and son of US President Donald Trump. (Reuters Photo)
US President Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, has trained his guns on New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, claiming that he “hates the Indian population.”
During an interview with Fox News, Trump Junior labelled Mamdani as “a socialist communist who wants to nationalise grocery stores, wants to arrest Netanyahu, hates the Jewish people, and hates the Indian population.”
He insisted that the mayor-elect should instead focus on basics like “safe streets, clean streets, reasonable taxes,” and suggested that the city could prosper “without government intervention.”
Eric Trump said Mamdani’s rise as a left-wing leader signals a broader decline in New York, claiming that “far-left policies are undermining major American cities.” He identified Mamdani as a core example of this perceived “radical” transformation, expressing concern about the city’s future under progressive governance.
Mamdani, 34, is set to become New York’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor, an achievement widely regarded as a milestone for immigrant representation and progressive politics. Born to Ugandan-Indian parents, Mamdani has built his career on ambitious reforms targeting social and economic inequity.
Despite these accomplishments, Mamdani’s victory has triggered a strong response among conservative circles.
Political analysts observe that Eric Trump’s remarks form part of a broader campaign to evoke fears among constituents who view Mamdani as a disruptor of established norms.
Eric Trump’s assertion that Mamdani “hates the Indian population” is part of a wider Republican effort to portray the mayor-elect as a radical socialist, with critics warning that his policies could threaten the city’s stability.
Mamdani has not publicly responded to the specific “hate” accusation, but he has consistently rejected personal attacks from political opponents. Earlier this year, when Donald Trump questioned his citizenship and threatened him with deportation if he clashed with ICE operations, Mamdani condemned the remarks as an abuse of power and pledged to remain undeterred.
Trump Junior further linked Mamdani to other progressive leaders such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, recalling her role in halting Amazon’s planned headquarters in New York. “They were going to bring tens and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs to New York City and she ran them out like absolute dogs, right?,” he asked.
Mamdani is poised to break several historical barriers when he assumes office on January 1, having secured victory over Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. Observers note that his win marks the city’s most left-leaning administration in generations, and the first led by someone Muslim, of South Asian descent, and born in Africa.
The organization Al-Majd Europe says it’s helping Palestinians emigrate to third countries. But it has been accused of helping facilitate “forcible transfer” from Gaza. DW spoke to a representative of the organization.
Human rights organizations say Israel has made Gaza ‘unlivable,’ which means that locals’ emigration cannot be considered voluntaryImage: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP
It wasn’t the first such flight out of Israel, but it was the first to get so much attention. Late last week, 153 Palestinians from Gaza arrived in South Africa on a charter flight from the Israeli airport of Ramon but they arrived without the correct documentation. Given how tightly Israel controls its borders — and those of the Palestinian territory that the passengers had to cross to make it to the Israeli airport — South African authorities couldn’t work out how the plane had even managed to leave.
Later on, it seemed to be because the Palestinians’ travel had been arranged by an organization called Al-Majd Europe.
On its website, the organization says it arranges “humanitarian evacuation.” But activists have been raising concerns about flights organized by Al-Majd Europe since summer.
Shadowy organization
Al-Majd claims it was founded in Germany in 2010 and is now located in Jerusalem. However no such company or charity exists in German registries and Israeli researchers say the same is true there
Al-Majd’s website uses pictures of individuals from other crisis situations and claims them as its own. The website’s IP address, and therefore its real location, is hidden by privacy software.
The “donate” button on the website doesn’t work and DW’s own research shows Al-Majd has only ever received $106 worth of cryptocurrency via the Bitcoin account it lists — despite the fact it says it works with donations to assist the needy.
The Palestinian passengers who traveled with Al-Majd to South Africa told journalists they paid between $1,500 (€1,200) and $2,000 (€1,720) but this was sent to personal accounts.
This Palestinian man, who wants to remain anonymous, left Gaza through ‘Al Majd Europe’, a controversial group using Israeli-coordinated channels that required payments to unknown individuals.
He told Al Jazeera that passengers did not know they were flying to South Africa. pic.twitter.com/KHSsGX1brV
This week, an investigation by Israeli newspaper, Haaretz found more anomalies, including that Al-Majd is connected to Tomer Jamar Lind, an individual with dual Israeli-Estonian citizenship who’s based in London.
The air charter companies — Fly Yo, based in Romania, and Kibris Turkish Airlines, based in Cyprus — that took the Palestinians to South Africa are both Israeli owned.
An Israeli government operation?
Because of all of this, activists, South African politicians and media raised concerns that Al-Majd could well be part of a plan to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza.
South Africa to refuse charter flights of Palestinians over fears of ‘cleansing agenda’ https://t.co/Dkori3B63R
“The reports about people being flown to sometimes unknown destinations by Al-Majd are deeply troubling,” says Tania Hary, executive director at Gisha, an Israeli non-profit advocating for Palestinian freedom of movement. “It appears that this questionable private entity is taking advantage of people’s desperation and beginning to quietly fulfil Israel’s vision for transfer of Palestinians.”
In February 2025 US President Donald Trump spoke about his “Gaza Riviera” plan, which would require moving locals out of Gaza to third countries. The same month, Al-Majd started advertising its services to Palestinians on social media. In March, the Israeli government announced it would create a “directorate of voluntary emigration” within its Ministry of Defense.
Rights groups in Israel raised the alarm back then and say they still don’t have much information about the directorate now. Hari says that a policy of “voluntary emigration” from Gaza is supported by senior Israeli politicians, and that Israeli intelligence agencies previously sent text messages to Gaza residents “inviting them to explore departure options.”
DW asked the Israeli Ministry of Defense about any connections to Al-Majd Europe but did not receive a reply by the time of publication Tuesday night.
Al-Majd representative: ‘Helping people to live’
DW was able to contact a man named Omar, whose number is listed on Al-Majd’s website. In an interview via WhatsApp, he said he was a Palestinian living in Jerusalem, but wouldn’t give further details, including his last name, for security reasons.
He told DW that speculation about Al-Majd’s connections to the Israeli government is being spread by the militant Hamas group, which used to govern Gaza and is classified by multiple countries as a terrorist organization, and the Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied Palestinian West Bank territory. He implied these two groups don’t want people to leave Gaza.
Omar also said that, in order to get people out of Gaza and to the airport in Israel, Al-Majd had to be in touch with Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, which runs Israel’s official business in Gaza. COGAT is also part of Israel’s defense ministry.
“I’m helping my people in Gaza and this isn’t emigration,” Omar insisted. “I’m helping people who want to live, not die inside Gaza.”
But Omar refused to answer more challenging questions, for example about connections to Lind, how he got in touch with international, Israeli-owned charter companies and why the links on Al-Majd’s website don’t work. Nor would he explain Al-Majd’s finances, and he said he “couldn’t remember” how many Palestinians had left Gaza with Al Majd.
So it remains unclear whether Al-Majd is connected to the Israeli government, whether it could be a private citizens’ initiative in support of the government’s policies, or whether it is simply a money-making venture.
Cooperation with Israel authorities
What is certain though is that Israeli security forces would have had to cooperate with the charter flights that left the country.
Israel has restricted Palestinians’ freedom of movement since 1967, when it occupied the Palestinian Territories. Those restrictions have evolved depending on the level of tensions between Israel and Palestinian militant groups. Before the current conflict, travel out of Gaza was allowed for work, for medical treatment or in “exceptional humanitarian cases,” such as the wedding or funeral of a first-degree relative.
Today, with Israel’s blockade of Gaza, since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, it’s even harder to leave the coastal enclave — although since the announcement of the directorate of voluntary emigration, Israeli media reports suggest it has become easier.
There are no official numbers on how many Palestinians have left Gaza.
The World Health Organization has organized 2,589 medical evacuations this year , with 5,000 companions. It’s also thought that in early 2024 more than 100,000 Palestinains made their way to Egypt. But since then, as the Times of Israel reported in May this year, there haven’t been as many departures.
Emigration a sensitive subject
The issue of Palestinians leaving Gaza, even now, is politically fraught.
“Under international law, every person has the right to live in their country in safety and dignity, to leave for their own security or any other reason, and to return to it,” explains Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. “The challenge in the Israeli-Palestinian context is that the Israeli government has a decades-long track record of blocking Palestinian refugees from their right to return home.”
In May, a survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that around half of Palestinians in the occupied territories would be willing to apply to emigrate. And beneath Al-Majd Europe’s posts on TikTok, you’ll see hundreds of comments from desperate Palestinians.
A district judge in Washington ruled that Facebook’s parent company Meta does not hold a monopoly. Antitrust accusations had threatened the forced break-up of Instagram and WhatsApp.
Meta welcomed the verdict and said it looks forward to continued cooperation with the Trump administrationImage: Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA/picture alliance
The US tech giant Meta — formerly Facebook — dodged a bullet on Tuesday when US District Judge James Boasberg ruled in its favor in a major antitrust case filed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020 and ending in May.
The case posed an existential challenge to the company, charging that it had simply purchased Instagram and WhatsApp to stave off competition. An unfavorable ruling would have forced the company to divest from Instagram and WhatsApp.
“The landscape that existed only five years ago when the Federal Trade Commission brought this antitrust suit has changed markedly,” said Judge Boasberg. “While it once might have made sense to partition apps into separate markets of social networking and social media, that wall has since broken down.”
“Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, though, the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now. The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so,” said Boasberg.
What was Meta accused of?
The Federal Trade Commission or FTC, is an independent US agency tasked with enforcement of civil antitrust law — alongside the Department of Justice — as well as protecting consumers.
Prosecutors representing the FTC argued that Meta had systematically tracked and purchased companies that it viewed as competitive threats, following Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s 2008 maxim, “It’s better to buy than compete.”
Zuckerberg has since sought to downplay such attitudes, and in April testimony said Facebook had not purchased Instagram in 2012 to neutralize it. He admitted, however, that internal e-mails circulating at the time of its purchase — for $1 billion and stock options — did not fully reflect his true enthusiasm for the non-monetized photo-sharing app.
Instagram was the first company purchased by Facebook that was not scavenged and dismantled but rather allowed to keep running as an individual app.
The FTC claimed that Facebook had enacted policies designed to make it difficult for smaller rivals to enter the market and to “neutralize perceived competitive threats,” at the precise time that the world began to shift from desktop computers to mobile devices.
The move also allowed Meta to connect with a younger audience than that of its original social network, Facebook, as it competed with emerging platforms like Snapchat and later TikTok.
In his ruling, Boasberg said prosecutors had failed to prove “current or imminent legal violation” by the company.
How did Meta react to the ruling?
The FTC argued that Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat competed in a distinct market of “connecting friends and family” that was separate from video entertainment platforms like YouTube or TikTok.
However, in his verdict, Boasberg said this distinction no longer applies in today’s social media landscape, noting how Facebook and Instafram have both evolved to display short videos reccomended by algorithms, much like TikTok.
The court noted that just 7% of Instagram users nowadays spend their time viewing content from friends, instead mainly watching short videos, or Reels.
“Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have thus evolved to have nearly identical main features,” Boasberg wrote.
As Johannesburg prepares to host Africa’s first ever G20 summit, South Africa aims to showcase its diplomatic and economic potential despite the US boycott.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will welcome G20 leaders to Johannesburg, after hosting G20 finance ministers in FebruaryImage: Jerome Delay/dpa/picture alliance
In South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, preparations for hosting the world’s biggest economic players at the annual G20 (Group of 20) summit have been underway for weeks.
“The preparations were actually perfect. Anything else will be overkill,” Siphamandla Zondi, a professor of politics and international relations at the University of Johannesburg, told DW following a workshop on the G20 summit, which takes place on November 22–23.
Lindelani Mkhaliphi, a young South African who also took part in the workshop, said: “It does make me feel proud. We’re also representing the entirety of Africa.”
The first G20 summit to be held on African soil is a big moment for South Africa, which is trying to straddle its role as a BRICS member, while remaining a valued trade partner for Western democracies.
But for Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, president and CEO of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), South Africa’s focus on solidarity, equality, and sustainability has been refreshing.
“It comes at a time when the world is starting to recognize that Africa is central to solving a lot of the global challenges,” Owusu-Gyamfi told DW, adding that “global growth and stability depend on whether the African continent’s trajectory is good or bad.”
She points to Africa’s fast growing, young population, its increasing share of the global workforce, and sovereignty over a “significant percentage of the critical minerals that we need for green growth.”
Why is the US boycotting the G20 in South Africa?
The United States will assume the G20 rotating presidency on December 1, but is boycotting the G20 summit in Johannesburg.
Washington’s relationship with South Africa has soured: First came crippling aid cuts through USAID in February, which affected thousands of vulnerable South Africans. Then Pretoria was singled out for high tariffs.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has asserted, without tangible evidence, that a genocide targeting white people is occurring in South Africa.
The South African government has denied that Afrikaners and other white South Africans are being persecuted.
Washington has also castigated Pretoria for its ongoing case at the International Court of Justice against Israel over its actions in the Gaza Strip.
But according to Menzi Ndhlovu, a political risk analyst at Signal Risk, skipping the G20 serves another function.
“This is about the delegitimization of South Africa, its leadership status, and its belonging in the upper echelons of the global power structures,” he said.
“The US, or Republicans rather, see South Africa as a country case of DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion],” Ndhlovu told DW. “And the Republicans are opposed to DEI in America. So to make an example in the international arena, they have flagged South Africa.”
In February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused South Africa of “using the G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’ In other words: DEI and climate change,” which he said were “anti-Americanisms.”
Many other G20 attendees still expected
But snubbing an organization representing around 85% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP),60% of the world’s population, and over 75% of global trade is still an issue. The G20 consists of the world’s 19 biggest economies plus the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU), and senior officials are expected to attend despite the US absence.
Referring to Trump’s claims of genocide in South Africa, analyst Ndhlovu said: “A lot of major powers are looking past some of the theatrics, and they don’t want any part of it because they see the value in partnering with what still is Africa’s largest and most influential economy.”
Ndhlovu acknowledges the US boycott is a major obstacle because of its economic clout and influence on global institutions, but suggests there are ways around this for South Africa.
“The response from South Africa to Trump’s non-attendance was very stately,” Ndhlovu told DW. “The next step is actually more important, and that is finding resolutions that can work in the absence of the US and where there is consensus.”
“Global cooperation does not revolve around a single country,” noted economist Owusu-Gyamfi.
“South Africa has used this G20 presidency to highlight the fact that solving current global challenges, be it debt reform, climate financing, trade, is a collective action by the G20 and beyond.”
What can South Africa gain from the G20?
The problems for South Africa, and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government, are considerable: Corruption scandals, high crime rates, and a stagnating economy battling staggering unemployment. Still, Ndhlovu and others see the G20 as a chance for South Africa to “put on a good show.”
“As Africans, there is a tendency to feel like all of this does not affect us, that we perceive this as European,” Nghede Adams, a Nigerian scholar at the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation, told DW.
“But, here in South Africa, it is home, an opportunity for us to connect.”
Ugandan Martha Tukahirwa of the Fight Inequality Alliance, who will be on the sidelines of the G20, told DW: “The global economy is not only in a state of just mere faltering, but we’re in a moment where there is a lot of extractivism. It’s exclusionary, and highly unstable.”
She believes the summit is a “political moment” because previously, important multilateral spaces were led by representatives from other continents.
“We need to use the space to really amplify our demands,” she said.
Big, bold challenges
Aside from the apparent US snub, the boldest aims of South Africa’s leadership may also be its biggest challenges.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, our elders hold dearly to the principles of equity, of unity in a crisis,” Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi said.
“So I’m really proud Soupluth Africa held strong onto those. They’ve put debt sustainability for low-income countries at the heart of the agenda, with countries spending an average of 17% of their revenues on debt repayment right now.”
She describes this as a first, and believes the G20’s legacy must translate into real benefits for Africa’s economic growth.
“Africa has to transform its economies from a dependence on exporting raw materials to value addition that can create jobs for its people,” political economist Owusu-Gyamfi told DW.
“It must have access to the right types of finance when it is needed. South Africa’s focus on the cost of capital is an excellent example of why the G20 happening on African soil is good for Africa.”
Analyst Ndhlovu added that picking the right themes, like debt restructuring, can make the G20 a success for South Africa.
The Chinese embassy in London says the latest accusations were “pure fabrication and malicious slander”.
The Elizabeth Tower, more commonly known as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, Feb 5, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville)
Britain’s MI5 security service issued a new warning to lawmakers on Tuesday (Nov 18) about attempts by Chinese agents to collect information and influence activity, its latest accusation that Beijing is trying to spy on the nation’s parliament.
Lawmakers were told Chinese spies were targeting them by posing as headhunters or companies to make contact, with two individuals reaching out on LinkedIn to “conduct outreach at scale on behalf” of the Chinese government.
The speakers of the lower and upper houses of parliament said MI5 had said the Chinese Ministry of State Security was “actively reaching out to individuals in our community”.
Britain’s Security Minister Dan Jarvis told parliament the alert revealed “a covert and calculated attempt” by Beijing to interfere in UK politics and said the government would launch a counterespionage plan to address the threat.
“MI5 have stated that this activity is being carried out by a group of Chinese intelligence officers, often masked through the use of cover companies or external headhunters,” he said.
In recent years, Britain and China have traded accusations of perceived spying. The Chinese embassy in London said the latest accusations were “pure fabrication and malicious slander”.
“We strongly condemn such despicable moves of the UK side and have lodged stern representations with them,” an embassy spokesperson said in a statement.
“We urge the UK side to immediately stop this self-staged charade of false accusations and self-aggrandisement, and stop going further down the wrong path of undermining China-UK relations.”
SPYING CASE COLLAPSED IN SEPTEMBER
The new warning comes after British prosecutors abandoned a case in September against two British men charged with spying on members of parliament for China, saying the British government had not provided clear evidence to show that Beijing was a threat to its national security.
The collapse of the case led to accusations from opposition politicians that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was prioritising better relations with Beijing over national security. The government denies that.
It also comes just weeks before the government must decide whether to approve a massive new Chinese embassy in London that critics say will pose a security risk.
In October, MI5 said Chinese spies were creating fake job adverts to try to lure British professionals into handing over information, with thousands of suspicious postings placed on online recruitment platforms.
In his annual speech last month, Ken McCallum, the director-general of MI5, said Chinese spies posed a daily national security threat and that his service had “intervened operationally” against China only the week before.
Jarvis told parliament that the foreign secretary had spoken to her Chinese counterpart on Nov 6 to say any activity that sought to undermine Britain’s national security would not be tolerated.
He said Britain would spend 170 million pounds on improving encrypted technology used by civil servants to safeguard sensitive work, in response to the threat from China and others.
There would also be security guidance for election candidates and plans to tighten rules on political donations, while Chinese-made surveillance equipment had been removed from sensitive sites.
ABC News reporter Mary Bruce ask a question as President Donald Trump meets Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House, Nov 18, 2025, in Washington. (Photo: AP/Evan Vucci)
Donald Trump ripped into a reporter from the US network ABC News on Tuesday (Nov 18), just days after calling another woman journalist “piggy” after she asked a question related to the convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump threatened ABC’s broadcast licence after reporter Mary Bruce posed questions during a White House visit by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The earlier incident involving Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey happened a few days ago on Air Force One, but only came to light on social media on Tuesday.
“Quiet. Quiet, piggy,” Trump said to Lucey on Friday, pointing his finger at her, after she asked him why he would not release material on disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, if there’s nothing incriminating in the files”.
CNN journalist Jake Tapper called Trump’s “piggy” comment “disgusting and completely unacceptable”.
On Tuesday, Trump singled out ABC News’s Bruce after she asked a series of questions in the Oval Office as the US president hosted the de facto Saudi ruler in a high-profile event.
Bruce first asked questions about whether dealings by Trump’s family business with the Saudis were a conflict of interest.
She then quizzed Prince Mohammed over the 2018 murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying “US intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist, 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you?”
Trump cut in angrily, saying: “ABC fake news. One of the worst in the business.”
“NO MORE QUESTIONS”
The president then said he has “nothing to do” with the Trump Organization, which is currently run by his two eldest sons and which announced a deal with a Saudi developer for a resort in the Maldives on Monday.
Trump also backed Prince Mohammed’s denial of involvement in the Khashoggi murder, despite US intelligence suggesting he approved the operation.
“You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Trump snapped.
Trump boiled over again when Bruce later asked about the flashpoint issue of Epstein. Congress voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to order the release of files about the financier, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
At least 170 buildings in Japan’s southern city of Oita were affected by the fire.
Firefighters work at the scene of a major blaze at a residential area in Saganoseki, Oita City late on Nov 18, 2025. (Photo: STR/JIJI Press/AFP)
One person was unaccounted for while 175 others were evacuated as a major fire engulfed a residential area in Japan, the local government said Wednesday (Nov 19).
Firefighters were still struggling to extinguish the blaze in the southern city of Oita as it spread to a forested mountain nearby, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Footage showed firefighters hosing ferocious flames as they ripped through houses on Tuesday night, while people were taken to a makeshift evacuation centre.
“The flames rose high, turning the sky red. The wind was strong. I never thought it would spread so much,” one man in the city on the southern island of Kyushu told NHK.
“The mountain was burning, the one behind,” said another man. “I brought with me my driver’s licence and smartphone.”
The blaze broke out late on Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of 115 households, or 175 people, the regional government said in a statement.
Bags of chips and other snack foods are displayed on shelves at a store in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Jan 28, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Osorio)
Ultra-processed foods are a major public health threat that must be urgently addressed, according to a new series of papers authored by 43 global experts in the Lancet medical journal.
The scientists, including the Brazilian professor who coined the term with colleagues around 15 years ago, argue that UPFs are now increasingly common worldwide and linked to a decline in diet quality and a number of diseases, from obesity to cancer.
“It’s about the evidence we have today about … ultra-processed foods and human health,” Carlos Monteiro, professor at the University of Sao Paulo, said at an online briefing on Tuesday (Nov 18). “What we know right now justifies global public action.”
PROCESSING AND POLITICS
UPFs are a class of food or drink made using processing techniques, additives and industrial ingredients, and mostly containing little whole foods. Examples include carbonated soft drinks or instant noodles.
While the term UPF has been used widely in recent years, some scientists and the food industry argue it is too simple, and the fight has become increasingly politicised.
The authors acknowledge criticisms in the Lancet series, saying more evidence is needed, particularly on why and how UPFs cause ill health, as well as on products with different nutritional values within the UPF class. But they say the signal is already strong enough for governments to take action.
In a systematic review of 104 long-term studies done for the series, 92 reported greater associated risks with one or more chronic diseases linked to UPF dietary patterns, and significant associations for 12 health conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, obesity and depression.
Most of these studies were only designed to show links, rather than direct causality, which the authors acknowledged.
But they said the situation needed to be addressed while more data was gathered, not least because consumption of UPFs is rising worldwide as a share of the diet, to above 50 per cent in countries like the United States.
The three papers in the series, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, also outline ways to tackle the problem, such as adding UPFs into national policies on foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt. But they cautioned that the UPF industry is the biggest barrier to tackling the issue.
The “big deal” sports star that Kristin Cavallari recently went on a date with in Nashville has been revealed to be Will Hardy.
The Utah Jazz head coach, 37, came out to the Tennessee capital to “see” the “Laguna Beach” alum, 38, “many months ago,” a source told Us Weekly.
“It was one date and that was it,” the insider explained of their date. “She never saw him again.”
The “big deal” sports star that Kristin Cavallari recently went on a date with in Nashville has been revealed to be Will Hardy. NBAE via Getty Images
Page Six has reached out to Cavallari for comment but did not immediately hear back. Hardy had no comment on the matter.
Last month, Cavallari shared that she had recently gotten set up on a date with a mystery sports star.
“I literally said to the universe, ‘I’m ready to go on a date,’” she said during an October episode of her “Let’s Be Honest” podcast.
“The next day, I got a phone call from my agent who set me up with a coach, which is also funny because [‘Millionaire Matchmaker’ star] Patti Stanger came on my podcast and said, ‘You should go out with coaches,’” the reality star added.
Though the “Hills” alum didn’t reveal the man’s identity, she did say that she heard he was “a big deal.”
“He is represented by CAA. So am I. Our two agents made it happen,” Cavallari explained.
“He flew to Nashville, took me to dinner, such a great guy,” she recalled.
However, the podcast host said something “just wasn’t right” during their date.
“I know after the first date if I’m going to like someone or not. I was trying to make it work, and I kept talking to him, and I was going to see him again and everything in me was telling me not to,” she remembered.
“When I’m out of alignment for what is meant for me, everything in my body screams at me. He is such a good guy. I enjoyed talking to him. … It just wasn’t right,” the mom of three added.
Cavallari has had her fair share of dating athletes.
President Donald Trump said on Monday he plans to approve the sale of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, speaking a day before he hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a day of diplomacy.
“I will say that we will be doing that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’ll be selling the F-35s.”
A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining Israel’s “qualitative military edge.”
Saudi Arabia has requested to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighters, a potential multibillion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of bin Salman’s visit, Reuters reported early this month.
The Saudis have long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s (LMT.N), fighter.A senior White House official told Reuters before Trump spoke that the president wanted to talk to the crown prince about the jets, “then we’ll make a determination.”
PERSONAL APPEAL
An F-35 jet performs performs at the Dubai Airshow in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 17, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky Purchase Licensing Rights
Saudi Arabia, the largest customer for U.S. arms, has sought the fighter for years as it looks to modernize its air force and counter regional threats, particularly from Iran. The kingdom’s renewed push for what would constitute two squadrons comes as the Trump administration has signaled openness to deepening defense cooperation with Riyadh. The Saudi Air Force flies a mix of fighter aircraft including Boeing (BA.N), F-15s, European Tornados and Typhoons.
Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal to buy the jets earlier this year to Trump.
The Pentagon’s policy department worked on the potential transaction for months, U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity had previously told Reuters.
Washington weighs weapons sales to the Middle East in a way that ensures Israel maintains a “qualitative military edge”. This guarantees that Israel gets more advanced U.S. weapons than regional Arab states.
The F-35, built with stealth technology that allows it to evade enemy detection, is considered the world’s most advanced fighter jet. Israel has operated the aircraft for nearly a decade, building multiple squadrons, and remains the only Middle Eastern country to possess the weapons system.
The F-35 issue has also been intertwined with broader diplomatic efforts. The Biden administration previously explored providing F-35s to Saudi Arabia as part of a comprehensive deal that would have included Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel, though those efforts ultimately stalled.
A protestor is detained as members of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) conduct immigration raids on the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., November 17, 2025. REUTERS/Sam Wolfe Purchase Licensing Rights
Over 130 people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally have been detained in Charlotte, North Carolina, authorities said on Monday, as President Donald Trump’s nationwide mass deportation campaign ramped up in the South.
Rob Brisley, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said that Border Patrol agents had arrested over 130 people on Saturday and Sunday in Charlotte during the first two days of the federal operation targeting undocumented migrants.
“We will not stop enforcing the laws of our nation until every criminal illegal alien is arrested and removed from our country,” Brisley said.
He did not give details on ongoing operations Monday. It was not clear when the operation in the southern city would end.
Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell, a Democrat, said the North Carolina operation would expand to her city, the second largest in the state after Charlotte, and that Raleigh police have not participated in any planning.
“I ask Raleigh to remember our values and maintain peace and respect through any upcoming challenges,” Cowell said in a statement.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, said that the constitutional rights and protections of every person in Charlotte, regardless of their immigration status, must be upheld, and said that city officials were working to support the impacted people and communities “while working within complicated legal boundaries.”
“To everyone in Charlotte who is feeling anxious or fearful: you are not alone,” Lyles wrote on social media. “Your city stands with you.”
Charlotte has seen peaceful protests in response to the crackdown, including a walkout on Monday by the students of East Mecklenburg High School, and videos of arrests have been posted across social media, including one showing masked agents smashing a pickup window and dragging a man out.
Some Latino-run businesses closed over the weekend and remained shuttered Monday in Charlotte, a city of 943,000 people and one of the fastest growing areas in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. Many people are drawn by higher-paying jobs in the growing finance, tech and logistics sectors.
Mass deportation and strict enforcement of immigration laws have been a key part of Trump’s domestic policy agenda. Since Trump, a Republican, took office in January, federal immigration agents have carried out raids in largely Democratic-run cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, and in more conservative rural areas.
The aggressive immigration enforcement by federal agents has led to some large protests across the country, and confrontations between federal agents and ordinary citizens, many of whom take video of the operations as they play out in their neighborhoods.
A U.S. judge found on Monday there is evidence of misconduct in how a federal prosecutor closely aligned with President Donald Trump secured criminal charges against James Comey, and ordered that grand jury materials be turned over to the former FBI chief’s defense lawyers.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, in Alexandria, Virginia, found that Lindsey Halligan, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney leading the case, may have made significant legal errors in presenting evidence and instructing grand jurors who were weighing whether to charge Comey – mistakes that could have tainted the case.
“The record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding,” Fitzpatrick wrote in his ruling.
Fitzpatrick said his order to turn over the grand jury material was an “extraordinary remedy,” but said it was necessary under what he called “unique circumstances.”
Comey is among three prominent critics of the Republican president who have been hit with criminal charges by Trump’s Justice Department in recent months. Trump critics have described the charges as a part of a campaign by the president to chill opposition. Comey pleaded not guilty after being charged in September with making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation.
A different judge previously expressed skepticism about the legality of Halligan’s appointment. Other courts have raised alarm about political motivations in Justice Department investigations, and grand juries have rejected cases tied to Trump’s police surge in Washington.
Halligan had not worked as a prosecutor before Trump appointed her in September. She had primarily practiced real estate law and represented Trump in civil litigation.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the judge’s decision. Prosecutors quickly sought to pause the order to turn over grand jury material and claimed in a court filing that Fitzpatrick “may have misinterpreted some facts.”
Later on Monday, the trial judge in the Comey case, Michael Nachmanoff, of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, agreed to review the magistrate judge’s order and temporarily halted it from taking effect.
Former FBI Director James Comey is sworn in prior to testifying before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files Purchase Licensing Rights
WAVE OF TARGETS
Comey has sought to get the charges against him dismissed, saying the prosecution resulted from Trump’s “personal spite” against him over his criticism of the president and his leadership of an investigation into contacts between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russians.
Trump has threatened to imprison rivals since he first ran for president in 2015. Comey’s indictment was followed by indictments of two other prominent Trump critics – his former national security adviser John Bolton and New York state Attorney General Letitia James. The charges in the three cases breached a long-standing Justice Department practice of political independence in criminal investigations.
Prosecutors allege that Comey lied to a Senate committee in 2020 when he said he stood behind prior testimony that he had not authorized anyone at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about investigations into Trump and his 2016 rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Fitzpatrick said he would order prosecutors to turn over grand jury materials to Comey’s defense for use in a potential future legal motion to have the charges dismissed.
Grand jury materials are typically protected by strict secrecy rules. Fitzpatrick acknowledged that disclosure to the defense was an “extraordinary remedy,” but found that Comey had shown a specific need for the records.
“The Court finds the record in this case requires the full disclosure of grand jury materials,” he wrote.
“In so finding, the Court recognizes this is an extraordinary remedy, but given the factually based challenges the defense has raised to the government’s conduct and the prospect that government misconduct may have tainted the grand jury proceedings, disclosure of grand jury materials under these unique circumstances is necessary to fully protect the rights of the accused.”
President Trump pledged that prices will come down in a speech to owners, operators and suppliers of his beloved McDonald’s Monday.
Trump’s address at the fast-food giant’s Impact Summit in Washington, DC, comes as concerns over his handling of the economy and the cost of living have mounted.
“Prices are coming down,” the president claimed.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures at the McDonald’s Impact Summit at the Westin Hotel in Washington, D.C.. REUTERS
“I will tell you that nobody has done what we’ve done in terms of pricing,” Trump argued. “We took over a mess. We had the highest inflation in the history of our country … and now we have normal inflation.”
Inflation ticked up to 3% in September over the past 12 months – the highest rate since the start of this year.
The Economist’s famed “Big Mac” index, which tracks the average price of the Golden Arches’ iconic burger, shows the sandwich cost $6.01 in July, up from $5.69 a year ago.
The surge in price comes as the cost of ground beef went up to an average of $6.32 in September — up from $5.67 a year before, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Last week, the Trump administration eased tariffs on imports of beef, coffee, tropical fruits and other food products to help ease affordability concerns.
“We have it down to a low level,” Trump said of inflation. “But we’re going to get it a little bit lower. We want perfection.”
The president, describing himself to the audience as “one of your all-time, most loyal customers,” said he’d heard from CEO Chris Kempczinski that “prices at McDonald’s are coming down,” as well.
Trump touted his investment and trade deals, arguing that the economy would’ve been a “catastrophe” and the country may have gone “bankrupt” if he’d lost to former Vice President Kamala Harris last November.
“You are so damn lucky that I won that election,” he said.
Trump, who served french fries at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s during the 2024 election campaign, quipped that he’s “the very first former McDonald’s frycook to ever become president of the United States.”
“It was not that easy!” he said of working the drive-thru.
Trump argued that McDonald’s employees “know the people of our country better than anybody.”
James Lamb works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The U.S. stock market sank Monday as Nvidia and other superstars created by the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology dimmed some more.
The S&P 500 fell 0.9% and pulled further from its all-time high set late last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 557 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.8%.
Nvidia was the heaviest weight on the market, as it’s often been in its last couple of tumultuous weeks. The chip company fell 1.8%, while losses for other AI winners included a 6.4% slide for Super Micro Computer.
Other areas of the market that had been high-momentum winners also sank. Bitcoin fell below $92,000, down from nearly $125,000 last month, for example. That helped drag down Coinbase Global by 7.1% and Robinhood Markets by 5.3%.
Critics have been warning that the U.S. stock market could be primed for a drop because of how high prices have shot since April, leaving them looking too expensive. Critics point in particular to stocks swept up in the AI mania, which have been surging at spectacular speeds for years.
Even with Monday’s loss, Nvidia is still up 39% for the year so far after it doubled in price in four of the last five years.
That has Wall Street’s spotlight on Wednesday, when Nvidia will report how much profit it made during the summer. AI stocks have surged as much as they have because of expectations that they’ll produce huge growth in profits. If they fail to top analysts’ expectations, that would undercut one of the big assumptions that’s driven the U.S. stock market to records.
Such high expectations extend beyond tech stocks, even if they are toughest for AI darlings.
Aramark fell 5.2% after the company reported a profit for the latest quarter that fell short of analysts’ expectations. The company, which offers food and facilities management for schools, national parks and convention centers, also said it expects an underlying measure of profit to grow between 20% and 25% this upcoming year. While relatively strong, that was less than what analysts had been forecasting.
That helped offset a rise of 3.1% for Alphabet. It jumped after Berkshire Hathaway said it built a $4.34 billion ownership stake in Google’s parent company. Berkshire Hathaway, run by famed investor Warren Buffett, is notorious for trying to buy stocks only when they look like good values while avoiding anything that looks too expensive.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 61.70 points to 6,672.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 557.24 to 46,590.24, and the Nasdaq composite sank 192.51 to 22,708.07.
Another source of potential disappointment for Wall Street is what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates. The expectation had been that the Fed would keep cutting interest rates in hopes of shoring up the slowing job market. Wall Street loves lower rates because they can give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments.
But questions are rising about whether a third cut for the year will come out of the Fed’s next meeting in December, something that traders had earlier seen as very likely. The downside of lower interest rates is that they can make inflation worse, and inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed’s 2% target.
Fed officials have also pointed to the U.S. government’s shutdown, which delayed the release of updates on the job market and other signals about the economy. With less information and less certainty about how things are going, some Fed officials have suggested it may be better to wait in December to get more clarity.
Now that the shutdown is over, the government is preparing to release September’s delayed jobs report on Thursday. That could create further swings for the market. Data that’s very strong would likely stay the Fed’s hand on rate cuts, while figures that are very weak would raise worries about the economy.
In 2026, the Fed is likely to cut interest rates only in response to a slowing economy instead of trying to cut ahead of it, according to Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel. That’s not as good an environment for stock prices, and Bannister said the “Fed’s ‘free lunch’ is over.”
Two were killed as massive clashes broke out in several parts of Bangladesh, including capital Dhaka, after the ICT’s death penalty ruling for for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for crimes against humanity during the students’ uprising in 2024.
Protesters clash with security forces in Dhaka after the ICT death penalty verdict for ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (Photo: Reuters)
Bangladesh was on the boil yet again as Awami League supporters clashed with their rivals and police following the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)’s death sentence verdict for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for crimes against humanity during the students’ uprising last year that toppled her government.
Demonstrators blocked several highways in Dhaka as they led marches and clashed with police, who were deployed on the streets of Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh in anticipation of violence following the ICT verdict. Police had to use batons, sound grenades and tear gas in a bid to disperse the protesters, according to Bangladeshi media.
Videos surfaced on social media showing demonstrators being chased by police with batons and explosions being heard as Dhaka remained tense throughout the day.
Dhanmondi 32 area, where the house of Bangladesh’s founding father and Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is located, remained tense as protesters attempted to march there and destroy the property, local media reported.
Supporters of the Awami League, which has been banned by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim regime for its role in the 2024 anti-government protests, clashed with their counterparts from Jatiya Chhatra Shakti, an organisation formed with the coordinators of the students’ uprising.
Ahead of the ICT verdict on Monday, the Awami League had called a two-day nationwide bandh to protest against the ruling, which has been described by Hasina as “politically motivated”.
ICT RULING AGAINST SHEIKH HASINA
The ICT found Hasina, the 78-year-old Awami League chief, currently living in exile in Delhi since her ouster on August 5 last year following massive anti-government protests, guilty on three charges: incitement to violence, issuing orders to kill protesters and failing to prevent atrocities during the student-led uprising.
Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan was also sentenced to death, while former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun received five years in prison after becoming a state witness and pleading guilty.
The landmark ruling, arriving months ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for early February, is expected to reshape Bangladesh’s political landscape.
A defiant Hasina called the ruling “biased, politically motivated” and issued by a “rigged tribunal with no democratic mandate”. On the other hand, Yunus praised the verdict, saying that no one, regardless of power, was above the law.
Following the verdict, Bangladesh has written to India to immediately return Hasina and Kamal for their alleged role in the deadly July crackdown on students’ protests.
In response, New Delhi said it formally took note of the ICT ruling against Hasina, adding that it “remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh.”
Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has called out the International Crimes Tribunal’s death sentence for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, questioning why chief advisor Muhammad Yunus and his aides haven’t faced similar scrutiny after last year’s student uprising that toppled Hasina’s regime.
Reacting to ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina’s (R) death penalty by ICT, exiled author Taslima Nasreen (L) questioned when would “farce in the name of justice” end in her country. (Photo: Reuters/File)
Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has lashed out at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)’s ruling against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, asking why she was being considered a criminal and not chief advisor Muhammad Yunus and his “jihadist forces”.
In a landmark verdict, the ICT on Monday sentenced Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity, including the killing of multiple people during last year’s student uprising, which ultimately led to the collapse of her government.
In a post on X late Monday, Nasreen, who has been living in exile in India since 1994, took a dig at Yunus’s regime, questioning why “terrorists” who ordered to shoot at protesters were not being brought to justice.
“The actions for which Hasina has been declared unjust by Yunus and his jihadi forces – when Yunus and those same jihadi forces commit the very same actions, they declare them to be just,” the 63-year-old author said, adding when will “farce in name of justice” end in Bangladesh.
“When someone commits acts of sabotage and the current government orders them to be shot, the government does not call itself a criminal. So why is Hasina being considered a criminal for giving the order last July to shoot those who committed acts of sabotage?” she wrote.
For those unversed, Nasreen was forced to leave Bangladesh in 1994 after getting death threats from Islamist fundamentalists over her book ‘Lajja’, which was banned in the country, but became a bestseller elsewhere. She has been living in India since then.
In recent months, Nasreen has taken a critical stance on Yunus’s regime, accusing it of committing “crimes against humanity” following Hasina’s ouster. She has demanded that the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to Yunus in 2006, be withdrawn, and that he should be jailed for life.
Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with the Grameen Bank which he founded, for their efforts to create economic and social development through the pioneering concepts of microcredit and microfinance.
ICT RULING AGAINST SHEIKH HASINA
Hasina, the 78-year-old Awami League chief, currently living in exile in Delhi since her ouster on August 5 last year following massive anti-government protests, was found guilty on three charges: incitement to violence, issuing orders to kill protesters and failing to prevent atrocities during the student-led uprising.
Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan was also sentenced to death, while former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun received five years in prison after becoming a state witness and pleading guilty.
The landmark ruling, arriving months ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for early February, is expected to reshape Bangladesh’s political landscape. Hasina’s Awami League has been barred from contesting the polls, and analysts warn the verdict could trigger fresh unrest.
A defiant Hasina called the ruling “biased, politically motivated” and issued by a “rigged tribunal with no democratic mandate”. On the other hand, Yunus praised the verdict, saying that no one, regardless of power, was above the law.
COPS are investigating fresh sexual assault allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Investigators said they received a report on Friday from a police department in Florida, where the alleged victim lives, according to ABC.
Fresh allegations have been levelled against Sean “Diddy” CombsCredit: AP
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau is undertaking the investigation into the new accusations.
A spokesperson from the Largo police department in Florida told ABC News that local officers were assisting the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office in the investigation, but were not looking into the alleged crimes independently.
The report was taken in September, from a man who says Combs sexually assaulted him in 2020.
The alleged victim identified himself as music producer Jonathan Hay in social media posts that have since been deleted.
He also said he was one of the John Does who filed a civil lawsuit against Combs in July.
According to the police report, Combs pleasured himself in front of Hay, before asking him to “finish him off”.
Hay told police that he did not respond to the disgraced rapper, because he was in a state of shock.
He alleges Combs then tossed a semen-stained shirt at him.
According to ABC News, the police report detailed another alleged incident in March 2021.
Hay said CJ Wallace, the son of late rapper Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G., took him to a location where two other men put an item over his head.
Combs then came into the room and allegedly forced his penis into Hay’s mouth several times.
Hay has provided Largo cops with pictures and videos that show he had been working with Wallace before he was later introduced to Combs.
Wallace has since filed a counterclaim against Hay, denying the allegations.
He called the accusations “wildly false and defamatory”, saying they were part of a “calculated smear campaign”, aiming to damage his personal and professional reputation.
Wallace’s complaint has requested a jury trial, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
Combs was found guilty in July on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, after hosting drug-fuelled parties known as “freak-offs” and committing violent abuse against ex-partner Cassie Ventura.
Details of the vile assaults and parties were revealed in October as Judge Arun Subramanian handed him his sentence.
Prior to this, Combs embarked on a 12-minute speech, where he begged for mercy and apologised directly to Ventura.
While sobbing, he acknowledged the disturbing video of him savagely beating Ventura in a hotel hallway.
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has sparked renewed health concerns after he addressed reporters with a raspy voice from the White House.
But when he was quizzed about how he was feeling, the 79-year-old insisted he strained his voice during a dispute over his tariffs.
President Donald Trump said he strained his voice yelling at someoneCredit: AFP via Getty Images
A reporter asked, “Your voice sounds a little rough. Are you feeling alright?” before the president shut him down with a swift response.
“I feel great. I was shouting at people because they were stupid about something having to do with trade and a country,” Trump said.
“I blew my stack at these people.”
The reporter continued saying, “Well it sounds like there’s a follow up there” before the president abruptly said, “What?”
“I thought you said there was a polyp,” said Trump, appearing to reference an abnormal growth of tissue that can develop in the vocal cords.
“I don’t want to hear that!” he said, sparking a roar of laughter in the room.
This isn’t the first time that Trump has appeared to have a weakened voice since taking back the White House in January.
In September, he sounded a bit worn out during a phone interview with conservative commentator Scott Jennings, the Daily Beast reported at the time.
The president has also sparked concern after sporting a bruised hand that was smudged with concealer on several occasions.
But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed this was merely due to a harmless vein condition that exacerbates bruising.
Last week, Trump got his latest physical check-up, and his doctor said he was in “excellent overall health.”
Navy Captain Sean Barbabella wrote in a letter, “His cardiac age – a validated measure of cardiovascular vitality via ECG -was found to be approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age.
“He continues to maintain a demanding daily schedule without restriction.”
LATEST PHYSICAL
Despite raising eyebrows, Trump has continually pointed to his annual physical completed in April which showed he was in fighting shape.
According to the publicly released exam, Trump has dropped 20 pounds since his last physical in 2020, and his cholesterol is sitting at 140.
Though the president is known to enjoy indulgent meals like McDonald’s, he’s also an avid golfer who gets his steps in on the course.
And according to Fox News’ Sean Hannity, the president has found a way to enjoy his favorite offerings while maintaining his weight.
“If [Trump] has a burger now, he usually doesn’t have it with a bun,” the host previously said.
In September, death rumors circulated online after the president had a quiet weekend.
When he was asked by reporters about the viral claims, Trump insisted that he’s always busy behind the scenes.
TRUMP ON WORLD CUP
Before Trump was quizzed on his voice, he revealed that international soccer lovers who purchase a World Cup ticket will get a “FIFA pass” that seamlessly allows them into the US.
The next FIFA World Cup will be held in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and Trump predicted it will generate $30 billion for America and 200,000 jobs.
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the FIFA pass does not give visitors free rein on their time in America, and urged travelers to apply for the pass now.
THIS is the terrifying moment a slew of top government officials are forced to climb out of a burning plane after it crash lands.
The private aircraft veered off the runway sparking a huge inferno as footage shows plumes of black smoke billowing from the wreckage.
A number of top government officials can be seen climbing out of a burning plane after it crash landed in CongoCredit: Unknown
A huge team of officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo were travelling in the plane when disaster struck.
The aircraft, carrying the country’s Mines Minister, Louis Watum Kabamba and his delegation, was coming in to land at Kolwezi Airport at around 11am on Monday.
As the chartered Embraer flight touched down it suddenly failed to stop before skidding on its belly off runway 29.
Within seconds the tail section immediately went up in flames, according to local reports.
The entire back half of the plane was ignited as footage showed the horrors as they unfolded.
Huge clouds of smoke shot up into the sky at the airport as rescuers frantically rushed over to try and extinguish the flaming wreckage.
Armed with water hoses, some of the safety crews battled the flames as others desperately tried to get those trapped on board out.
The steps at the front of the aircraft managed to open up with some passengers near the exit making a swift escape.
For the officials stuck in the middle or now badly burnt out back end they had no choice but to leap out of the centre exit.
Several could be seen jumping down onto the wing before falling to the ground below clutching onto their bags.
The minister’s communications advisor, Isaac Nyembo, confirmed the aircraft “ran off the runway during landing”.
Footage from inside the plane as it comes in to land shows the panic for those on board.
One passenger films the landing as he shows how the wing scraped across the ground for several seconds at high-speed.
Those inside rushed to their feet just as the tail first ignited.
Miraculously, no deaths or major injuries were reported.
Investigations into the chartered flight, operated by Airjet Angola, are ongoing.
It remains unclear what caused the failed landing.
The plane is said to have been left completely decimated by the fire.
Minister Kabamba, 63, was headed to the Kalondo Mine near Kolwezi, to work with the community following a separate disaster over the weekend.
A bridge by a mine shaft suddenly collapsed on Saturday reportedly triggered by heavy rain and a surge of panicked workers.
Air defense topped the agenda at talks between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and France’s Emmanuel Macron. And a Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Odesa region has caused fires at port and energy facilities. DW has more.
Zelenskyy (L) and Macron signed a letter of intent on the purchase of fighter jets at the Villacoublay air base near ParisImage: Christophe Ena/POOL/AFP/Getty Images
Von der Leyen says EU states can fund Ukraine if they balk on using Russian assets
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday sought to tamp down fears among EU member states when it comes to the possibility of seizing Russian assets frozen by the bloc to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Several nations, especially Belgium, fear that by seizing Russian assets they may open themselves up to massive legal and financial penalties.
Von der Leyen also detailed how Russian funds held by commercial banks in other EU states could be used, estimating they added up to some €25 billion ($29 billion).
According to the Commission, the EU must somehow provide Ukraine with at least €135.7 billion by the end of 2027 — that on the assumption that the war can be brought to an end during the course of next year and military assistance of €51.6 billion in 2026 can be cut to €31.8 billion in 2027.
Budgetary aid for the Ukraine is pegged at €20.1 billion in 2026 and €32.2 billion in 2027.
Von der Leyen suggested that Ukraine’s €100 billion-plus budget deficit could also be plugged by EU member state contributions, joint loans, or a combination of the two if Russian assets were not used, though she warned that this approach would be considerably more expensive for all involved.
Von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently presented a plan in which a €140 billion loan could be provided to Ukraine using the Russian funds.
Moscow could get the money back, say the two, but only after agreeing to pay reparations to Ukraine.
The Commission president called clearing up Ukraine financing crucial, noting that it is key to maintaining pressure on Russia and dashing any hopes Russia may have of victory.
This sentiment was echoed by Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who told reporters in Brussels that it is vital to use frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine.
The EU’s next steps in the matter are to be discussed at a regular EU summit on December 18.
READ: The Russian army’s brutal treatment of recruits
The Russian army is reputed to treat its own members with extreme callousness.
DW looks at reports of torture and even murder in its ranks in this article by Irina Chevtayeva: Why does the Russian army’s brutal culture go unchecked?
Moscow slams ‘warmongering rhetoric’ by German defense minister
Moscow has described recent warnings by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius that Russia could attack a NATO member in the near future as “warmongering rhetoric.”
“There are no supporters of any kind of confrontation with NATO in Russia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, in comments carried by the Russian state news agency TASS.
Pistorius suggested in an interview in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that Russia could carry out an attack on a NATO member state in 2029 or even earlier.
“Such militaristic and warmongering rhetoric is increasingly heard from European capitals,” Peskov said, while stressing that Russia was taking steps to protect its own interests.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has also rejected Pistorius’ statements as those of an “aggressor.”
Moscow has often claimed, in its turn, that NATO is preparing to go to war against Russia.
Germany’s vice chancellor urges China to do more for peace in Ukraine
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has called on China to step up its efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking at a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the start of an official visit, Klingbeil said he was convinced that China could “play a decisive role” in creating peace.
Among other things, the Social Democrat (SPD) politician, who is also Germany’s finance minister, argued that the war in Ukraine was destabilizing global economic development.
Vice Premier He said in his turn that China’s stance on what he called the “Ukraine crisis” was unchanged and that Beijing supported all efforts leading to peace.
China wanted to continue playing a constructive role in resolving the situation together with the international community, “including Germany,” he said.
Beijing, while always maintaining that it wants the conflict in Ukraine to end, has never condemned Russia’s actions in carrying out a full-scale invasion of its neighbor since February 2022.
It is also trades heavily with Russia, being among other things a major buyer of Russian oil, and has been accused by Kyiv of providing military materials to its neighbor, as well as intelligence — claims Beijing denies.
Klingbeil is the first German minister to travel to China since Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative-led administration took office in May.
A planned trip by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was postponed a few weeks ago after he failed to find adequately ranked discussion partners in Beijing amid friction over Taiwan.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he firmly believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can successfully bring corruption in his country under control.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Zelenskyy in Paris, Macron noted that Ukraine would have to carry out reforms to the rule of law to be eligible for EU accession, to which Kyiv has long aspired.
The Ukrainian leader last week called for the dismissal of two cabinet ministers amid a scandal over an alleged $100 million (€86 million) corruption scheme involving state-run energy firms.
At the news conference, Macron also confirmed an agreement to sell 100 Rafale fighter jets made by French manufacturer Dassault Aviation to Kyiv
He also said French train maker Alstom signed a contract worth around 475 million euro ($551.05 million) to supply locomotives to the Ukrainian railways operator.
Zelenskyy has also hailed the agreement in remarks to reporters, saying: “It will be the greatest air defense, one of the greatest in the world.”
At the news conference, Zelenskyy also said Kyiv would also rceive “very strong French radars” and “eight ari-defense systems SAMP/T, each with six launching systems.”
“This is a strategic agreement that will work for 10 years, starting next year,” he added.
France has delivered Mirage fighter jets to Kyiv, but this is the first time Rafale planes have been promised.
However, Ukrainian pilots would require a considerable amount of time to learn to operate the planes.
Zelenskyy and Macron sign letter of intent on air defense acquisition
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, have signed a letter of intent for Kyiv to acquire up to 100 Rafale fighter jets and other air defense weaponry from French companies, the French presidency has said.
The letter of intent outlines possible future contracts for Ukraine’s potential acquisition of 100 Rafale fighter jets “with their associated weapons” as well as the SAMP-T air defense system, which is still under development, radar systems and drones.
The signed document is not a concrete purchase and sales agreement, and the possible contracts it sets out would be agreed “over a timeframe of about 10 years,” the French presidency added.
In a statement on X following the signing, Macron wrote “Great day” in French and Ukrainian.
Explosion on Polish railway an ‘unprecedented act of sabotage — PM Tusk
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday described damage caused by an explosion on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line on the weekend as an “unprecedented act of sabotage aimed at the security of the Polish state.”
“An investigation is underway. Just like in previous cases of this kind, we will catch the perpetrators, regardless of who their backers are,” he said on X, also mentioning that the route was used to deliver aid to Ukraine.
Blowing up the rail track on the Warsaw-Lublin route is an unprecedented act of sabotage targeting directly the security of the Polish state and its civilians. This route is also crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine. We will catch the perpetrators, whoever they are.
No injuries were reported from the incident, but Tusk said in a video address that “the legal implications are very serious.”
Warsaw has in the past blamed Russia for such incidents amid a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks on Poland and other European countries since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Poland, which borders on Ukraine, has become a major hub for aid to Kyiv, making it a potential target for Russian sabotage attacks, but Moscow has repeatedly denied undertaking any such actions.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the militarywas inspecting a 120 km (74.6 mile) stretch of track leading to the Ukrainian border.
EU must include Ukrainian defense capabilities to protect itself — commissioner
Europe currently does not have the means to defend itself against potential Russian drone attacks and needs to integrate Ukraine’s know-how and capabilities to boost its defense, EU defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius said on Monday.
“Why did it take us more than two years and the trigger of the Russian provocation with drones against Poland, and also against Baltic States and Romania, to understand that we are not ready to detect Russian drones and to destroy them with cost-effective means?” Kubilius said in a speech in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
“The Russians are learning. Are we?” he added in his address at the conference “Defending Baltics 2025: War Lessons from Ukraine.”
Kubilius said European nations needed to include Ukraine and its “battled-tested” military of some 800,000 personnel to bolster their defenses.
“If we do not do that, we shall make a historical mistake, which shall leave us weaker. And which shall leave Ukraine weaker,” Kubilius said.
His remarks come as European intelligence agencies warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack a NATO country in the coming years if the war in Ukraine ends.
Europe has experienced a spate of mysterious drone sightings in recent months that have also spurred countries to improve their defenses against this form of aerial attack, which has figured largely in the conflict in Ukraine.
Kharkiv region comes under deadly aerial attack
Russian missile strikes have killed at least three people and injured 10 more in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials say.
The casualty toll could possibly rise, as reports of possible victims are still being received by authorities.
Two missiles struck the town of Balakiia during the night, while civil defense authorities said a drone attack in the settlement of Velykyi Burluk in the same region killed one and injured another.
The school’s vice president was shot dead and a security guard was injured. Authorities were combing the surrounding forests and possible escape routes in Kebbi state for the “bandits.”
States in Nigeria, including Kebbi and Kaduna (pictured), have been the site of repeated kidnappings over many years [FILE: March 9, 2024]Image: Sunday Alamba/AP Photo/dpa/picture allianceGunmen kidnapped 25 female students and killed the vice principal of a secondary school in Kebbi state in northwestern Nigeria Monday, police said.
Nigeria’s northwest has seen repeated kidnappings from schools in recent years by armed gangs seeking ransom.
What do we know about the raid at the school in Kebbi state?
Police said that the attackers had “sophisticated weapons” and were “shooting sporadically” during the raid.
They “stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School” at around 4 a.m. local time (0300 UTC), according to the statement.
Police officers were deployed to the scene, but the statement stressed: “Unfortunately, the suspected bandits had already scaled through the fence of the school and abducted twenty-five students from their hostel to [an] unknown destination].”
A report said that the school’s vice principal was shot dead while resisting the attack and a security guard was injured.
Police said officers, including additional tactical units, were searching for the gunmen in possible escape routes and forests near the school with the help of the military and local vigilantes.
‘Bandits’ carry out kidnappings, killings in northern Nigeria
Northwestern Nigeria has for the years been the site of attacks by criminal gangs known locally as “bandits,” who have been known to loot and burn homes, steal cattle, as well as carrying out kidnappings and killings.
In March 2024, some 130 schoolchildren were kidnapped in Kuriga in the northwestern state of Kaduna.
Northern Nigeria’s most infamous kidnapping event was carried out in 2014 by the Islamist terror group Boko Haram, which abducted 276 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok.
Bangladeshi judges have found former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity for the violent repression of anti-government protests in 2024.
Hasina was seen as pro-democracy until her rule became increasingly authoritarian [FILE: January 2024]Image: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images
India says it ‘noted’ the Sheikh Hasina verdict
The Indian Foreign Ministry released a short statement following the sentencing, saying New Delhi “has noted the verdict announced by the ‘International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh’ concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”
The ministry went on to stress India’s commitment, as “a close neighbor,” to the best interests of the Bangladeshi people, “including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country.”
“We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” it added.
New Delhi’s reaction to the verdict had been widely anticipated, considering that Hasina and former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal are both currently in India.
The Indian ministry’s statement made no reference to Bangladesh’s request for the immediate extradition of Hasina and Kamal.
Bangladesh calls on India to extradite Hasina, Kamal
The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister has renewed its call to the Indian government to hand over former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal after they were sentenced to death over the deadly crackdown on the 2024 uprising.
Both Hasina and Kamal have refused to return to Bangladesh for the trial, and have consistently rejected the court’s authority.
Dhaka said that New Delhi had an obligation to hand them over, citing an extradition treaty between the two countries.
“We urge the government of India to immediately extradite the two convicts to the Bangladeshi authorities,” the ministry said.
Bangladesh warned that “granting asylum to these convicts… would be extremely unfriendly and an affront to justice.”
Why Sheikh Hasina is in India
We haven’t had an official reaction from the Indian government yet, but the fact that India has allowed Sheikh Hasina to stay in exile for over a year is being seen as a statement in itself.
Even before the trial, the India-Bangladesh relation has been impacted with the new interim government in Dhaka, which has been seeking Hasina’s and the former home minister’s extradition.
India hasn’t responded to that request, despite there being an extradition pact between the two countries.
India has long had deep ties with Bangladesh and with the Hasina family, and this is not the first time that she’s been in exile in the country.
In the 1970s, when her father and other family members were killed in a military coup in Bangladesh, she and her sister were given exile by the then-Indian government, and this is the second time that she’s found exile here.
India also played a huge role in Bangladesh’s independence struggle from Pakistan in 1971, which was led by Sheikh Hasina’s father, Mujibur Rahman, who went on to become the president of the country.
So it’s in this context that India’s position becomes very precarious. And obviously, this is going to have an impact in the future on the relationship between the two countries. And it remains to be seen how India is going to walk that tight rope.
Sheikh Hasina reacts to the verdict from India
Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called the verdict and sentencing in her crimes against humanity trial “biased and politically motivated.”
Hasina refused to return from exile in India to attend the trial in Bangladesh, where she was assigned a state-appointed lawyer.
“The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate,” Hasina said in a five-page statement issued from hiding in India.
Hasina, instead, said she would be willing to attend a fresh trial outside Bangladesh.
“I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly,” she said.
“That is why I have repeatedly challenged the interim government to bring these charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.”
Earlier this month, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry summoned India’s envoy to Dhaka to demand that New Delhi block the “notorious fugitive” Hasina from talking to journalists and “granting her a platform to spew hatred.”
Convicted minister expects India to resist pressure from Bangladesh
I just spoke on the phone to Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former home minister of Bangladesh, who has also been given the death sentence by the tribunal.
Kamal, currently in India, said that he believes the tribunal is invalid and unconstitutional, and that he does not care about the verdict.
He noted that the tribunal was established to try individuals who opposed the Mukti Yuddha (Bangladesh Liberation War), arguing that it therefore lacked constitutional authority to conduct such trials.
I asked him what India’s role could be after the verdict — specifically, whether the interim government of Bangladesh could pressure Indian authorities to hand them over to Bangladesh.
Kamal said he did not think India would take the verdict seriously, and he expected that India would not support the current government in Bangladesh and would resist any pressure from it.
In response to a question about the use of lethal weapons, Kamal claimed that the security forces used them to protect themselves. Therefore, according to him, they did not do anything wrong.
Court sentences Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia
The International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court, sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death for ordering a deadly crackdown on the 2024 student-led uprising.
Judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder said Hasina was “found guilty on three counts,” including incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities.
“We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence — that is, sentence of death,” Mozumder said.
The announcement was met by cheering and clapping in the court.
Sheikh Hasina found guilty
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been found guilty of crimes against humanity.
Bangladesh’s three-member special crimes tribunal gave its verdict in the case against Hasina on Monday afternoon.
The judgement was given in absentia for Hasina, who the court has declared a fugitive.
It was the tribunal’s first verdict on the atrocities committed during the violent repression of mass protests in July and August 2024.
Only one of the three accused is in court
As verdict is delivered against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two other former government officials charged with crimes against humanity, only one is actually in court.
That’s former police inspector general Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. He has pleaded guilty and also became a state witness.
Sheikh Hasina fled to India after she was deposed and refused to return for the trial.
Former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has gone into hiding, with rumors that he also fled to India.
Hasina turned Bangladesh into a one-party state
Sheikh Hasina was accused of steadily consolidating power during her 15-year-rule from 2009 to 2024.
Her time is power was marked by increasing political arrests and disappearances, suppression of dissent and the curtailing of freedom of speech.
The January 2024 election won by Hasina and her Awami League was boycotted by Bangladesh’s other main party, the BNP, after thousands of opposition supporters and politicians were been arrested.
Many democracy observers accuse Hasina of effectively turning Bangladesh into a one-party state.
Hasina’s Awami League calls for national shutdown
Hasina’s now-banned party, the Awami League, has called for a nationwide shutdown on Monday.
Both Hasina and the Awami League have called the special tribunal a “kangaroo court” and denounced the appointment of a lawyer by the state to represent her.
The interim government banned the Awami League in May under the anti-terrorism act.
The Electoral Commission has since removed the party from the official list of registered political parties.
This means the Awami League will be unable to run in elections scheduled for February 2026.
Until its ban, the Awami League had been one of Bangladesh’s main parties since independence from Pakistan in 1976.
Reports of explosions in Dhaka
Media reported explosions of crude bombs in Dhaka.
This includes one in front of the house of an adviser, equivalent to a Cabinet minister, on Sunday.
Other crude bombs have been set off across Dhaka, and elsewhere in Bangladesh over the past week.
These are mainly petrol bombs thrown at everything from buildings linked to the government of interim leader Muhammad Yunus to buses and Christian sites.
Away from COP30’s official talks, African activists in Belem, Brazil, joined the People’s Summit to expose climate injustices and push for reparations. DW spoke to some of the people leading this fight.
Thousands of people gathered a short distance from the main COP30 meeting for the People’s SummitImage: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP
Three years ago, when Nigerian activist OduduAbasi Asuquo received her invitation to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, she began preparing for an experience she knew would differ from previous summits.
The reason, she says, was the People’s Summit, which was scheduled to take place in parallel to COP30.
Over the weekend, thousands of people gathered a short distance from the main COP30 meeting at the Federal University of Para for the People’s Summit.
“At the People’s Summit, we’re free to say how we really feel, without restrictions. There are no checks. At the COP, everything must be approved — even the T-shirt you wear,” Asuquo told DW.
She was surrounded by Indigenous people from Black communities known as “quilombolas” who are descended from former Africans enslaved in Brazil, riverine groups, youth networks, and socio-environmental movements.
While COP30 negotiators refined official climate goals, the People’s Summit exposed injustices and demanded reparations, with hundreds of organizations, movements and networks from Brazil and abroad.
Asuquo took part in debates and highlighted the long-standing environmental devastation in her native Niger Delta, a region of Nigeria that has been scarred by decades of oil extraction.
African voices demand climate justice
From Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and Togo, the activists interviewed by DW offered a perspective often excluded from official processes — one that underscores the gap between high-level diplomacy and the daily realities of communities already living through the crisis.
“People who live with the impacts should be at the [negotiation] tables,” Asuquo said. “But when we do manage to be there, our voices don’t matter. They let us talk, but at the end of the day they do what they always wanted to do.”
She denounced the toxic pollution of Nigeria’s Niger Delta, where between 9 million and 13 million barrels of oil have been spilled since the 1950s, when crude was first discovered in southern Nigeria, according to an independent group of experts who conducted a study in 2006.
“There are many cases of asthma, severe illnesses … skin diseases and deaths,” she said. Participating in her fourth COP only reinforces a recurring feeling: “We are literally begging for our lives.”
Senegal: Fishers at risk
Further north along West Africa’s coast, Senegalese activist Ibrahima Thiam traveled to Brazil to expose how coastal erosion and industrial pressures are destroying artisanal fishing — forcing entire communities to relocate.
Through a photography exhibit, he documented the displacement caused by climate change.
“Senegal depends on fishing,” he said. “But many fishers are migrating, disappearing, or dying.”
This year, he chose to attend only the People’s Summit.
“My first COP, in Egypt, was disappointing,” he said. “When I saw a row of banks at the blue zone, I asked myself: what are banks doing here?”
“But, here at People’s Summit I have the feeling of being with people who understand me better”, he told DW. “People with whom I can share the feeling of solidarity.”
Guinea-Bissau: Knowledge as a solution
From neighboring Guinea-Bissau, sociologist and environmentalist Miguel de Barros stressed the importance of a space led by civil society.
He believes the People’s Summit can leave a meaningful legacy for COP30 by bringing new perspectives on climate finance and public policy.
Guinea-Bissau faces worsening coastal flooding, desertification, and soil degradation — compounded by poor waste management and plastic pollution.
De Barros argues that ancestral African and Amazonian knowledge, combined with agroecology, can provide real pathways to address the climate crisis.
“Perhaps one of the legacies of COP30 will be how the deliberations of an entity like the People’s Summit can contribute,” de Barros told DW.
He hopes that world leaders will finally listen to civil society and adopt robust strategies to confront major polluters.
Togo: Criticism of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility
Kwami Kpondzo, a Togolese activist and member of the Global Forest Coalition, arrived at COP30 with sharp criticism of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a proposed $125-billion (€108 billion) global conservation fund that would pay countries based on how well they protect their forests.
Kpondzo considers the proposal insufficient.
“Financializing nature won’t solve the problem. The causes are clear: mining, deforestation, exploitation, extraction. The TFFF does not address these roots and may benefit investors, not communities,” he said.
Once the Palestinian Authority has carried out requested reforms and the rebuilding of Gaza is underway, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood”, according to the US-drafted resolution.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to establish an international stabilisation force in Gaza, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Nov 17, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)
The UN Security Council voted Monday (Nov 17) in favour of a US-drafted resolution bolstering Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan that includes the deployment of an international force and a path to a future Palestinian state.
There were 13 votes in favour of the text, which US President Trump claimed would lead to “further Peace all over the World”, with only Russia and China abstaining – but no vetoes.
Trump posted on social media that the vote “acknowledging and endorsing the BOARD OF PEACE, which will be chaired by me…will go down as one of the biggest approvals in the History of the United Nations, (and) will lead to further Peace all over the World”.
US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said after the vote that “today’s resolution represents another significant step that will enable Gaza to prosper and an environment that will allow Israel to live in security”.
But Hamas, which is excluded by the resolution from any governance role in Gaza, said the resolution did not meet Palestinians’ “political and humanitarian demands and rights”.
The text, which was revised several times as a result of high-stakes negotiations, “endorses” the US president’s plan, which allowed for a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to take hold on Oct 10 in the war-wracked Palestinian territory.
The Gaza Strip has been largely reduced to rubble after two years of fighting, sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.
The peace plan authorises the creation of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarise the Gaza Strip.
The ISF is mandated to work on the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”, protecting civilians and securing humanitarian aid corridors.
PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD PATHWAY
It also authorises the formation of a “Board of Peace,” a transitional governing body for Gaza – which Trump would theoretically chair – with a mandate running until the end of 2027.
In convoluted language, the resolution does mention a possible future Palestinian state.
Once the Palestinian Authority has carried out requested reforms and the rebuilding of Gaza is underway, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood”, the text says.
That eventuality has been firmly rejected by Israel.
The resolution also calls for the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries at scale through the UN, ICRC and Red Crescent.
“We must also substantially step up our work to support the UN humanitarian effort. That requires opening all crossings and ensuring that aid agencies and international NGOs can operate without obstruction,” said a British ambassador to the UN, James Kariuki.
Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said ahead of the vote that the resolution would “make sure that Hamas will not pose a threat against Israel anymore”.
Veto-wielding Russia circulated a competing draft, saying the US document does not go far enough towards backing the creation of a Palestinian state.
Moscow’s text, seen by AFP, asked the Council to express its “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution”.
It would not have authorised a Board of Peace or the deployment of an international force for the time being, instead asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to offer “options” on those issues.
“Security Council members were, in practice, not given the time to do the work in good faith,” Moscow’s ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said.
Sony Pictures has closed a deal to develop a movie based on the toothy monsters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Labubu bucket hat. (Photo: CNA/Lindsay Jialin)
The popular Labubu dolls that have ignited a global frenzy may light up movie screens in the future, The Hollywood Reporter said on Friday (Nov 14).
Sony Pictures has closed a deal to develop a movie based on the toothy monsters, the media outlet reported. The film is in the early stages of development and it has not yet been decided whether it will be live-action or animated.
Sony had no comment.
Labubus, sold by China’s Pop Mart, became a phenomenon this year. They were carried by celebrities including Rihanna and singer Lisa from South Korean group Blackpink. Shoppers lined up to buy the dolls in blind boxes that keep the exact model secret until opened.
New entrants to the Cambridge Dictionary, meanwhile, included “skibidi”, “delulu” and “tradwife”.
(Photo: iStock)
Do you feel a deep bond with pop stars like Taylor Swift or Lily Allen – even though you’ve never met them?
If you do, then your behaviour is “parasocial” and bang on trend according to the Cambridge Dictionary, which on Tuesday (Nov 18) unveiled the adjective as its word of the year for 2025.
Lexicographers picked it in a year they said was marked by interest in the one-sided parasocial relationships that people form with celebrities, influencers and AI chatbots.
Parasocial is defined as “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know”.
The term dates back to 1956, when two University of Chicago sociologists noted television viewers developing parasocial relationships with television personalities, who they viewed in the same way as close friends or family.
As artificial intelligence becomes an ever-increasing part of people’s lives, “slop”, which gets an updated definition, refers to low-quality AI-generated content inundating the internet.
New entrants to the Cambridge Dictionary, meanwhile, included “skibidi”, “delulu” and “tradwife”.
The three were among “6,212 new words, phrases and meanings” included in the online dictionary over the past 12 months, it said.
The dictionary only adds words that are thought to have “staying power”, according to one of its lexicographers, Colin McIntosh.
“Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary,” he said.
The slang term “skibidi” is described as having different meanings such as cool or bad.
But it can also be used with no real meaning or as a joke, or in phrases such as: “What the skibidi are you doing?”
“Delulu” is said to be a play on the word delusional.
“Tradwife” is short for traditional wife, meaning a “married woman, especially one who posts on social media, who stays at home doing cooking, cleaning”.
Members of the religious group Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) attend the first of a three-day anti-corruption protest at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila, Philippines, November 16, 2025. REUTERS/Noel Celis
More than 200,000 protesters turned out on Monday (Nov 17) for the second day of an anti-graft rally in the Philippines, demanding accountability over accusations of corruption in flood-mitigation projects.
The controversy, which has hammered investor confidence, is blamed by some analysts as a factor behind the third quarter’s four-year low in economic growth as public spending slowed.
Many demonstrators set up tents in which to stay until Tuesday, the end of the protest which has drawn more than 600,000 people since it began on Sunday, organised by Iglesia Ni Cristo, a church of 2 million members, known for bloc voting.
“Expose the deeds of evil,” and “rally for transparency and democracy”, read placards carried by protesters, most of them wearing white and drawn from the church.
Both days’ rallies were largely peaceful, though participants expressed frustration at inquiries they described as ineffective into irregularities in key infrastructure projects.
“We are calling for the government to carry out a real, sincere, investigation and not cover up for anyone involved in this anomaly,” said 60-year-old Freddie Beley, one of the protesters.
On Thursday President Ferdinand Marcos Jr vowed that those responsible for the flawed projects would be jailed before Christmas. The scandal has widened since his August revelations of irregularities found in an audit of flood-control projects.
It has implicated public works officials, executives of major construction firms, and lawmakers, who allegedly enriched themselves through substandard, or in some cases non-existent, flood-control efforts.
Marcos has set up a panel to investigate the alleged graft in the projects, focused on flood control.
Angelina Jolie’s son, Knox, just stepped out with a bold new look — it’s also a nod to his mom’s iconic 1998 hairdo.
The 17-year-old debuted a spiky, pastel, pixie-style cut on Saturday, looking similar to the hot pink bob Jolie debuted over 25 years ago.
The Oscar winner sported the edgy hairstyle in her 1998 film “Playing by Heart,” which she starred in alongside Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands and Ryan Phillippe.
The Oscar winner sported her own edgy pink hairstyle in the 1998 film, “Playing by Heart.” Peter Sorel/Miramax/Kobal / Shutterstock
Knox also sported a pale pink sweatshirt and floral embroidered jeans while he was picking up food with a friend at the Lazy Acres Market in Los Feliz, CA.
Jolie shares six children with ex-husband Brad Pitt: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne. Many in her brood have paid homage to their famous mom over the years.
In April, 19-year-old Shiloh — who dropped her dad’s last name last year — channeled Angelina’s “Tomb Raider” look with edgy braids.
In September 2024, Zahara, 20, seemingly “reworked” her mom’s iconic Oscars dress for the “Maria” premiere.
The college student wore a slinky white halter dress that many fans thought resembled the iconic Marc Bouwer design Angelina wore at the 2004 Academy Awards.
Although it’s unclear if Zahara altered the exact vintage garment for the premiere, the teen’s slinky style also resembles the draped Atelier Jolie design Angelina modeled for a CR Fashion Book shoot.
All six children have chosen Angelina’s side in her tumultuous divorce from Pitt, with the actor having little to no contact with any of them.
The “Maleficent” star filed for divorce in September 2016, but divorce proceedings were ultimately put on hold while they sorted out their child custody issues.
In December 2024, Page Six revealed that the nearly decade-long divorce was finalized thanks to Pitt’s girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, with sources telling us she influenced him to “finally settle.”
Liev Schreiber was hospitalized in New York City Sunday after telling his doctor he was experiencing a “massive headache.”
The “Spotlight” star’s doctor ordered that he “immediately” get checked out and stay overnight at the hospital, where he is currently undergoing a series of tests, TMZ reported Monday.
Insiders told the outlet that the actor was able to talk and walk without difficulty. At this time, no other medical information has been revealed.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Liev went into the hospital for testing and as of this afternoon, he has been cleared to return to work,” his rep told the outlet Monday night.
Liev Schreiber was reportedly hospitalized in New York City due to a mysterious illness. Getty Images
Reps for Schreiber, 58, weren’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.
The Tony Award winner has starred in several projects over the years, including films like “Scream,” “Isle of Dogs,” “Spotlight” and “A Small Light,” and TV series like “Ray Donovan.”
He portrayed Ray Donovan in the seven-season series, which ran from 2013 to 2020.
Most recently, he portrayed Tag Winbury in the 2024 Netflix drama “The Perfect Couple” alongside Nicole Kidman as his on-screen wife, Greer Garrison Winbury.
As for his personal life, Schreiber got married to Taylor Neisen in July 2023 after about six years of dating.
The following month, the couple welcomed their first child together, Hazel Bee.
Schreiber is also the father of children Sasha, 18, and Kai, 16, with whom he shares with actress Naomi Watts, 57.
The exes previously dated for 11 years before they parted ways in September 2016.
Schreiber and the “Mulholland Drive” star, however, have put on a united front throughout the years and reunited for Sasha’s high school graduation in June.
Federal agents arrested at least 81 people in Charlotte, North Carolina, this weekend, a senior commander said on Sunday, marking a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
Gregory Bovino, the U.S. Border Patrol official who led immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago before he arrived in Charlotte this week, said on social media early Sunday that agents made the North Carolina arrests within a roughly five-hour span on Saturday, their first day of operating in Charlotte. Many of those arrested had “significant criminal and immigration history,” Bovino wrote.
Neither the Border Patrol nor Immigration and Customs Enforcement immediately responded to requests for comment on Sunday. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees those agencies, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mass deportation and strict enforcement of immigration laws have been a key part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda. Since Trump, a Republican, took office in January, federal immigration agents have carried out raids in largely Democratic-run cities, along with more conservative rural areas.
People protest as federal authorities conduct raids in Charlotte, expanding their crackdown on illegal immigration, in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. November 16, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake Purchase Licensing Rights
The efforts have led to large protests in the impacted cities, with citizens often confronting immigration agents as they attempt to detain those suspected of being in the United States illegally. Immigration rights groups and others have accused the administration of illegally detaining scores of law-abiding citizens caught up in the raids.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, said in a video posted on social media on Sunday night that undocumented and violent criminals should be deported, saying that “everyone wants to be safe in their community, but the actions of too many federal agents are doing the exact opposite in Charlotte.”
“We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks,” Stein said.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks out of the Oval Office towards Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Purchase Licensing Rights
U.S. President Donald Trump bought at least $82 million in corporate and municipal bonds from late August to early October including new investments in sectors benefiting from his policies, financial disclosures made public on Saturday showed.
According to the forms released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Trump carried out more than 175 financial purchases from August 28 through October 2. The disclosures, made under a 1978 transparency law called the Ethics in Government Act, do not list exact amounts for each purchase, only providing a broad range.
The maximum total value of the bond purchases exceeded $337 million, according to the filings.
Most of the assets listed in Saturday’s disclosures consist of bonds issued by municipalities, states, counties, school districts and other entities with ties to public agencies.
Trump’s new bond investments span several industries, including sectors that have already benefited, or are benefiting, from his administration’s policy changes such as financial deregulation.
Corporate bonds acquired by Trump include offerings from chipmakers such as Broadcom (AVGO.O), and Qualcomm (QCOM.O); tech companies such as Meta Platforms (META.O); retailers such as Home Depot (HD.N), and CVS Health (CVS.N); and Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N), and Morgan Stanley (MS.N).
Purchases of the debt of investment banks in late August included bonds of JP Morgan (JPM.N). On Friday, Trump asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate JP Morgan over its ties to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bank has said it regrets its past ties with Epstein and did not help him commit “heinous acts.”
Trump also acquired Intel (INTC.O), bonds after the U.S. government, under Trump’s direction, acquired a stake, in the company.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. The administration has said before that Trump has continued to file mandatory disclosures about his investments but that neither he nor his family has a role in running the portfolio, which is managed by a third-party financial institution.
Trump, who became wealthy in the real estate sector before entering politics, has previously said that he placed his companies into a trust overseen by his children.
A disclosure filed in August indicated that Trump had purchased more than $100 million in bonds since returning to the presidency on January 20. Trump also submitted his annual disclosure form in June, which indicated that income from his various ventures still ultimately goes to him, raising concerns of potential conflicts of interest.
Hinako Mori, who dyed her hair, works arranging products at a store of Japanese retailer Don Quijote in Tokyo, Japan, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Purchase Licensing Rights
When 22-year-old Hinako Mori moved to Tokyo last year, she chose to work part-time at Don Quijote, a major discount retailer, for one main reason – it doesn’t care what colour her hair is.
Sporting ash blonde locks with light and dark blue streaks when interviewed, Mori likes to dye her hair different colours every six weeks.
It was very different when she worked at a major Japanese convenience store chain that mandated black or dark brown hair.
“One time, I dared to dye my hair blonde. But the next day, I was told to either wear a wig or use spray-on colour,” said Mori. “It was very stressful.”
RETAILERS RELAX RULES
Squeezed by Japan’s tight labour market, more companies are this year following in the footsteps of Don Quijote, a Pan Pacific International (7532.T), group company. It relaxed its rules around hair and nail polish three years ago and says nearly a quarter of its employees now have brightly coloured hair. When brown is included, 55% of its employees have non-black hair.
Drugstore chain Fuji Yakuhin, for example, has done away with a plethora of rules for non-pharmacist employees. It now allows any hair colour, nail art, heavy makeup, as well as all kinds of rings, whereas previously only wedding rings were permitted. Similarly, the operator of Tokyu Store supermarkets has dialled back restrictions on hair colours, hair styles, accessories, nail polish and piercings.
Japan Inc has been gradually relaxing its dress codes over the past two decades. The catalyst was a 2005 Ministry of Environment “Cool Biz” campaign that encouraged the ditching of jackets and ties to cut down on air conditioning costs during summer.
Since then, summer dress codes have become more casual, uniforms are no longer mandated for many department store employees and white gloves for taxi drivers were made optional.
The newest changes around hair colour, nail polish and accessories are predominantly taking place at smaller companies facing more acute labour shortages than bigger firms and don’t have as much leeway to offer competitive wages.
But some big listed firms have relaxed dress codes this year. Japan Airlines (9201.T), last week joined subway operator Tokyo Metro (9023.T), and domestic budget carrier Skymark Airlines (9204.T), in allowing staff to wear sneakers to work.
LABOUR CRUNCH PRESSURE
Japan, a rapidly ageing country with limited immigration, has seen its working-age population tumble 16% since a peak in 1995, according to OECD data. That’s set off fierce competition for staff.
Two-thirds of Japanese firms have said the labour shortage is having a serious business impact, a Reuters survey shows. It was the leading cause of Japanese bankruptcies in April-September, with the number of failures hitting their highest level in 12 years for a first-half period, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
That’s given young people more power, at least with regard to part-time work.
Two-thirds of students believe they should be able to choose their appearance when working part-time, according to an April survey by job information and recruitment firm Mynavi. One-third said they had withdrawn job applications because of dress codes at potential employers.
“Students aren’t just looking for work experience or to earn money; they seem to be seeking something more in their jobs – a sense of freedom or comfort,” said Shota Miyamoto, a researcher at Mynavi. But he added they did not expect the same of full-time work.
Tennis – ATP Finals – Turin – Palasport Olimpico, Turin, Italy – November 16, 2025 Italy’s Jannik Sinner celebrates winning the final against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane Purchase Licensing Rights
Italy’s Jannik Sinner retained his ATP Finals title on Sunday, sending the Turin crowd wild as he battled past Spanish world number one and rival Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(4) 7-5 in the decider to the season-ending championships.
Sinner, backed by a raucous Italian crowd, fell to the floor after breaking his rival’s serve in the final game before racing to celebrate with his team as chants of ‘Ole, Ole, Ole, Sinner, Sinner’ rang around the Inalpi Arena.
“Finishing in front of the Italian public was a fantastic thing, maybe even better than last year, thank you very much for the support, it was incredible,” Sinner said.
“Thanks to all of you, it felt like being on a football pitch.”
In a season defined and dominated by the rivalry between the two players, it seemed inevitable that they would meet in the title clash and both obliged by easing through the tournament unbeaten to set up one last dance in Turin.
SINNER UNDER PRESSURE
Alcaraz forced the only break point in the first set but Sinner held firm and brought the crowd to its feet with a tiebreak win, and sealed the match when the Spaniard was unable to hold while serving to stay in the contest.
Sinner missed out on ending the year as world number one to Alcaraz after the Spaniard won his three round-robin matches this week but the Italian won the last act of 2025 to crown the best season of his career.
The 24-year-old reached the final of all four Grand Slams, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while Alcaraz has also had a stellar year, winning Roland Garros and the U.S. Open, beating Sinner in both finals.
“Hopefully you’re going to be ready for next year,” Alcaraz said with a smile.
“Because I will be ready.”
Alcaraz put Sinner to the test in Turin but despite not being at his best and struggling with his service game, which had powered him past opponents all week, the Italian held his nerve.
Sinner won his opening service game to love with Alcaraz responding in kind, and at 2-2 the Spaniard forced deuce before a medical emergency in the stands led to a 10-minute break, the duo chatting over the net, belying the tension in the arena and on court.
When play resumed, Sinner advanced to the net to slam down a winning volley and fired an ace to hold. Alcaraz required a medical time-out during the break at 5-4 up before forcing the first break point of the match at 6-5.
Sinner survived and after letting slip a mini-break in the tiebreak, the champion brought the crowd to its feet smashing down a lob after Alcaraz had chased back to return a drop shot and then catching out the Spaniard with a lob of his own to take the first set.
The shot. perfectly aligned with the sun, create a stunning image dubbed ‘The Fall of Icarus’. It required immense planning and precision, said astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy.
Shot Of Man Skydiving Through Sun (Photo: X/Andrew McCarthy)
An astrophotographer has captured a spectacular shot of a falling skydiver perfectly aligned with the fiery surface of the sun, making it seem like the airborne adventurer is tumbling through the vacuum of space in front of our home star.
Andrew McCarthy, an Arizona-based astrophotographer who specializes in photographing the sun, captured the unlikely photo on Saturday. The shot, dubbed “The Fall of Icarus,” required an “absolutely preposterous” level of planning and “might be the first photo of its kind in existence,” McCarthy wrote in a post on the social platform X.
“Immense planning and technical precision was required for this absolutely preposterous (but real) view: I captured my friend @BlackGryph0n transiting the sun during a skydive. This might be the first photo of it’s kind in existence. See a video of this moment in the reply,” McCarthy’s post reads,
“The moment of the jump, captured in hydrogen alpha light to resolve the sun’s atmosphere,” the post added.
Immense planning and technical precision was required for this absolutely preposterous (but real) view: I captured my friend @BlackGryph0n transiting the sun during a skydive.
This might be the first photo of it’s kind in existence. See a video of this moment in the reply 👇 pic.twitter.com/mkjfavuVsZ
Bangladesh has intensified security across Dhaka after a wave of arson and crude bomb attacks ahead of Monday’s tribunal verdict against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina. ( File pic/PTI)
Bangladesh imposed tight security throughout Dhaka and several other regions overnight as sporadic arson attacks and crude bomb blasts stirred tension ahead of Monday’s ruling by the special tribunal trying deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for alleged crimes against humanity.
Security forces from the military, paramilitary units and police were placed on high alert after word spread that the dissolved Awami League had called a two-day shutdown to coincide with the International Crimes Tribunal–Bangladesh (ICT-BD) verdict.
On Sunday night, unidentified groups torched the vehicle dumping section of a police station complex and set off two crude bombs outside the residence of an advisory council member serving interim government chief, Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Explosions were also reported at multiple intersections across the capital.
As unrest grew, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police directed officers to fire on violent mobs if needed. Prosecutors at the tribunal have asked for the death sentence for the 78-year-old former leader.
“I stated over the wireless that anyone who sets a bus on fire or throws crude bombs with the intent to kill should be shot. This authority is clearly provided in our law,” DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali said late Sunday.
Since November 10, Dhaka has been hit by a string of mostly early-morning covert attacks, including crude bomb blasts at the entrance of Grameen Bank’s Mirpur headquarters, an institution founded by Yunus.
Several branches of the bank were also targeted with petrol bombs and arson.
During the past week, unidentified attackers additionally burned several parked buses, killing a driver who was asleep inside one of the vehicles.
Hasina, who is currently in India, and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal are being tried in absentia.
A third person, former police chief Abdullah Al Mamun, was present in court and turned “approver”, apparently in search of leniency.
“We have sought the highest possible sentence for Hasina. We also requested seizure of the convicts’ property for distribution among families of martyrs and injured victims of last year’s violent street protests,” ICT-BD prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim said on Sunday.
He added that, under the ICT-BD law, Hasina cannot appeal to the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division unless she surrenders or is arrested within 30 days of the judgment.
Officials confirmed that the verdict will air live on state-run BTV, with large screens to be placed at several points across Dhaka.
Only approved parts of the ruling will be broadcast, and the tribunal will also stream the proceedings on its official Facebook page.
In an audio message posted overnight on the Awami League’s Facebook page, Hasina rejected the accusations and asked party members not to panic, saying, “We have seen enough of these attacks and cases, this is just a matter of time.”
Interim home affairs adviser, retired lieutenant general Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, remarked that the verdict, “whatever it is, will be executed”.
Authorities have further tightened security nationwide to prevent any unrest.
Hasina and several Awami League leaders are facing charges that include murder, corruption and abuse of power. Monday’s verdict covers five counts of alleged crimes against humanity connected to last year’s July Uprising.
Hasina said Muhammad Yunus and those aligned with him had orchestrated a plan to “punish” her through a process that she claimed violated all legal norms.
Bangladesh’s ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina. (AFP)
With the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) set to deliver its verdict, Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressed her supporters virtually, denouncing the proceedings against her as “entirely illegal”.
She alleged that Interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus and those aligned with him had orchestrated a plan to “punish” her through a process that she claimed violated all legal norms.
Speaking forcefully, she insisted the case registered against her was false and politically motivated. Hasina, along with former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, faces charges of murder, attempted murder, torture and other inhumane acts tied to the violent protests of 2024, which erupted over a controversial quota system in government jobs.
Bangladesh lockdown
Hasina urged her supporters to take to the streets and ensure a nationwide lockdown, saying that violence and intimidation “cannot silence” her. She accused Yunus’s supporters of killing civilians and burning people alive after last year’s unrest, describing the situation as an unprecedented assault on ordinary Bangladeshis.
She added that under the Awami League’s leadership, laws had been strengthened to address atrocities, including crimes against women during the 1971 Liberation War. In contrast, she claimed, “criminals have become heroes of July” under the current interim administration.
Hasina also hinted she may seek a political return, though she emphasised that her future depended on Bangladesh’s political climate. Having fled to India on 5 August 2024 amid escalating violence, she said she would only re-enter politics if Bangladesh could hold “free, fair and participatory elections” in which all major parties, including the Awami League, were allowed to contest.
Hasina argued that her removal from office was not due to political decline, but to a coordinated effort to destabilise her government. She accused violent elements of hijacking the student protest movement, citing “military-grade weapons in civilian hands” and “coordinated burning of state institutions”. Remaining in Dhaka, she said, would have risked a “bloodbath”.
What Hasina said on Yunus administration?
Hasina sharply criticised the Yunus-led interim government, calling it unelected, illegitimate and responsible for plunging the nation into instability. She warned that attacks on minorities, constitutional erosion and the release of individuals linked to extremist groups were symptoms of a regime lacking public mandate. Stability, she argued, could only return when Bangladesh reinstated the political rights of its citizens.
From India, Hasina criticised the interim government’s outreach to Pakistan, describing recent military-level engagements as a desperate attempt for international validation. She accused Yunus of seeking to “rewrite history” by courting Islamabad, despite Pakistan never apologising for the atrocities of 1971.
The Amazon rainforest could face a renewed surge of deforestation as efforts grow to overturn a long-standing ban that has protected it.
The ban – which prohibits the sale of soya grown on land cleared after 2008 – is widely credited with curbing deforestation and has been held up as a global environmental success story.
But powerful farming interests in Brazil, backed by a group of Brazilian politicians, are pushing to lift the restrictions as the COP30 UN climate conference enters its second week.
Critics of the ban say it is an unfair “cartel” which allows a small group of powerful companies to dominate the Amazon’s soya trade.
Environmental groups have warned removing the ban would be “disaster”, opening the way for a new wave of land grabbing to plant more soya in the world’s largest rainforest.
Scientists say ongoing deforestation, combined with the effects of climate change, is already driving the Amazon towards a potential “tipping point” – a threshold beyond which the rainforest can no longer sustain itself.
Brazil is the world’s largest producer of soya beans, a staple crop grown for its protein and an important animal feed.
Much of the meat consumed in the UK – including chicken, beef, pork and farmed fish – is raised using feeds that include soya beans, about 10% of which are sourced from the Brazilian Amazon.
Many major UK food companies, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Aldi, Lidl, McDonald’s, Greggs and KFC, are members of a coalition called the UK Soy Manifesto which represents around 60% of the soy imported into the UK.
The group supports the ban, which is known officially as the Amazon Soy Moratorium, because they argue it helps ensure UK soy supply chains remain free from deforestation.
In a statement earlier this year the signatories said: “We urge all actors within the soy supply chain, including governments, financial institutions and agribusinesses to reinforce their commitment to the [ban] and ensure its continuation.”
Public opinion in the UK also appears to be firmly behind protecting the Amazon. A World Wildlife Fund survey conducted earlier this year found that 70% of respondents supported government action to eliminate illegal deforestation from UK supply chains.
But Brazilian opponents of the agreement last week demanded the Supreme Court – the highest court in the country – reopen an investigation into whether the moratorium amounts to anti-competitive behaviour.
“Our state has lots of room to grow and the soy moratorium is working against this development,” Vanderlei Ataídes told the BBC. He is president of the Soya Farmers Association of Pará state, one of Brazil’s main soya producing areas.
“I don’t understand how [the ban] helps the environment,” he added. “I can’t plant soya beans, but I can use the same land to plant corn, rice, cotton or other crops. Why can’t I plant soya?”
The challenge has even divided the Brazilian government. While the Justice Ministry says there may be evidence of anti-competitive behaviour, both the Ministry of the Environment and the Federal Public Prosecutors Office have publicly defended the moratorium.
The voluntary agreement was first signed almost two decades ago by farmers, environmental organisations and major global food companies, including commodities giants such as Cargill and Bunge.
It followed a campaign by the environmental pressure group Greenpeace that exposed how soya grown on deforested land was being used in animal feed, including for chicken sold by McDonald’s.
The fast-food chain became a champion of the moratorium, whose signatories pledged not to buy soya grown on land deforested after 2008.
Before the moratorium, forest clearance for soya expansion and the growth of cattle ranching were the main drivers of Amazonian deforestation.
After the agreement was introduced forest clearance fell sharply, reaching an historic low in 2012 during President Lula’s second term in office.
Deforestation increased under subsequent administrations – notably under Jair Bolsonaro, who promoted opening the forest to economic development – but has fallen again during Lula’s current presidency.
Bel Lyon, chief advisor for Latin America at the World Wildlife Fund – one of the agreement’s original signatories – warned that suspending the moratorium “would be a disaster for the Amazon, its people, and the world, because it could open up an area the size of Portugal to deforestation”.
Small farmers whose plots are close to soy plantations say they disrupt local weather patterns and make it harder to grow their crops.
Raimundo Barbosa, who farms cassava and fruit near the town of Boa Esperança outside Santarém in the southeastern Amazon, says when the forest is cleared “the environment is destroyed”.
“Where there is forest, it is normal, but when it is gone it just gets hotter and hotter and there is less rain and less water in the rivers,” he told me as we sat in the shade beside the machines he uses to turn his cassava into flour.
The pressure to lift the moratorium comes as Brazil prepares to open a major new railway stretching from its agricultural heartland in the south up into the rainforest.
The railway is expected to significantly cut transport costs for soya and other agricultural products, adding yet another incentive to clear more land.
Scientists say deforestation is already reshaping the rainforest in profound ways. Among them is Amazon specialist Bruce Fosberg, who has spent half a century studying the forest.
He climbs 15 stories up a narrow tower that rises 45 metres above a pristine rainforest reserve in the heart of the Amazon. From a small platform at the top, he looks out over a sea of green stretching to the horizon.
The tower is bristling with high-tech instruments – sensors that track almost everything happening between the forest and the atmosphere: water vapor, carbon dioxide, sunlight, and essential nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.
The tower was built 27 years ago and is part of a project – the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment (LBA) – that aims to understand how the Amazon is changing, and how close it is to a critical threshold.
Data from the LBA together with other scientific studies show parts of the rainforest may be nearing a “tipping point”, after which the ecosystem can no longer maintain its own functions.
A United Airlines flight on its way to Chicago was forced to make an emergency landing in Missouri Sunday after a passenger said there was a bomb in his wife’s luggage, according to reports and authorities.
United Flight 380 from Dallas to Chicago landed in St. Louis on Sunday morning due to a potential security concern, a United Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to The Post.
The plane was diverted to St. Louis Lambert International Airport around 8:40 a.m. after a man “said there was a bomb in his wife’s luggage,” sources told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Getty Images
The plane was diverted to St. Louis Lambert International Airport around 8:40 a.m. after a man said there was a bomb in a piece of his wife’s luggage, sources told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The allegedly unwieldy man was arrested, the outlet said.
His identity or whether he has been charged is not immediately clear.
All 119 passengers were promptly evacuated and waited on the concourse upon landing, the airport’s director, Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, told the outlet.
Bomb and arson teams were dispatched to the Boeing 737-700 and were still searching it more than two hours after it landed, the outlet reported.
Law enforcement successfully searched and cleared the aircraft, according to United Airlines.
The flight took off from St. Louis in the afternoon and landed safely in Chicago, the airline said.
The incident comes after multiple bomb threats have sparked chaos aboard flights in recent weeks.
This June 26, 2013, image made from a video provided by Gunnar Boettcher shows a rabbit in Mankato, Minn., that Boettcher dubbed “Frankenstein,” due to what looks like horns growing out of its head. (Gunnar Boettcher via AP, File)
A group of rabbits in Colorado with grotesque, hornlike growths may seem straight out of a low-budget horror film, but scientists say there’s no reason to be spooked — the furry creatures merely have a relatively common virus.
The cottontails recently spotted in Fort Collins are infected with the mostly harmless Shope papillomavirus, which causes wart-like growths that protrude from their faces like metastasizing horns.
Viral photos have inspired a fluffle of unflattering nicknames, including “Frankenstein bunnies,” “demon rabbits” and “zombie rabbits.” But their affliction is nothing new, with the virus inspiring ancient folklore and fueling scientific research nearly 100 years ago.
The virus likely influenced the centuries-old jackalope myth in North America, which told of a rabbit with antlers or horns, among other animal variations. The disease in rabbits also contributed to scientists’ knowledge about the connection between viruses and cancer, such as the human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer.
The virus in rabbits was named after Dr. Richard E Shope, a professor at The Rockefeller University who discovered the disease in cottontails in the 1930s.
News about the rabbit sightings in Fort Collins, 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Denver, started getting attention after residents started spotting them around town and posting pictures.
Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the agency has been getting calls about the rabbits seen in Fort Collins.
Ukraine says that with enough funding, it can produce up to 20 million drones next year. Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy is seeking to resume a prisoner exchange with Russia. DW has the latest.
Ukraine says it is racing against time in terms of resources and technologyImage: Madiyevskyy Vyacheslav/Ukrinform/abaca/picture alliance
Ukraine says it wants to win the drones ‘arms race’
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on supporters of Ukraine to help fund a further increase in drone production.
Russia and Ukraine are both using drones in large numbers in the war, but neither side has disclosed precise figures on their drone production.
“The modern arms race is not about nukes — it is about millions of cheap drones,” the minister wrote. “Those who can scale up production quicker will secure peace.” Sybiha wrote on X
Ukraine’s top diplomat said his country needs money to compete in a drone arms race.
“We can produce up to 20 million drones next year if we get sufficient funding,” he added.
Two goals are crucial at this stage of this war. First, to abandon our own illusions. Second, to deprive the enemy of illusions.
Putin will have to stop this war when two factors are in place: he won’t have the illusion that he can somehow eventually win on the battlefield; the…
Sybiha said Russian President Vladimir Putin would only end the war if he lost “the illusion that he can somehow eventually win on the battlefield” and if the price of continuing the war exceeded the price of ending it.
“Collectively, the international community has enough capacity to force Russia to end this war,” Sybiha said. “What we need is a turn from ‘as long as it takes’ to ‘as strong as it gets.'”
Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are racing against time in terms of resources and technology, “We need to achieve parity and advantage to make Putin stop the war.”
Ukraine, Greece sign gas deal until March 2026
Ukraine and Greece signed a deal in Athens on Sunday for Kyiv to import US-supplied liquefied natural gas (LNG) from next month.
The agreement between Greece’s national gas company DEPA Commercial and Ukraine’s Naftogaz will last until March 2026.
The energy deal “marks an essential step in strengthening regional energy cooperation and European energy security,” according to the joint statement.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said relations between the two countries “are taking on a crucial new dimension: that of a new secure energy artery, stretching from south to north, from Greece to Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy thanked US President Donald Trump “for the fact that we will be able to receive natural gas not only from Greece, but also via Greece.”
In a post on X, the Ukrainian president wrote about the winter challenges facing Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
“I am very glad that over these past months we have been working with Greece on bilateral agreements to support Ukraine’s energy security. And we have a good result,” he added.
This winter under Russian drones, missiles, and daily strikes is a major challenge for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people. And I am very glad that over these past months we have been working with Greece on bilateral agreements to support Ukraine’s energy security. And we have a… pic.twitter.com/BEdU21cfeB
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 16, 2025
Ukraine announces energy shake-up after corruption scandal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a major shake-up of state-owned energy companies on Saturday amid the largest corruption scandal to rock the country since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Around $100 million (€86 million) was embezzled from energy companies, according to investigators, sparking widespread public outcry.
READ — Why does the Russian army’s brutal culture go unchecked?
The Russian army has a reputation for murdering, torturing and treating its own recruits terribly.
“They killed my child,” Tatjana Bykova laments in a video message. She uses the term “annulled” to describe how her son, Andrej, was killed by Russian military commanders.
In October 2025, the independent Russian media outlet Verstka launched a project to highlight widespread torture and so-called “annulment” — a colloquial term for the murder of comrades in the Russian army.
Russia says it has seized 2 more villages in southern Ukraine
The Russian army on Sunday claimed to have taken two more villages in southern Ukraine.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Telegram that its troops had captured Rivnopillia and Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia region, where Moscow has intensified assaults.
Russian news agencies reported that the Russian army said Saturday they had seized the village of Yablukove in the Zaporizhzhia, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which is currently occupied by Russia.
The claims cannot be independently verified.
Zelenskyy confirms Ukraine’s agreement with Greece on gas imports
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said that he will sign an agreement on gas imports with Greece to help cover the country’s winter needs.
“Today, we have already prepared an agreement with Greece on gas for Ukraine, which will be another gas supply route to secure imports for the winter as much as possible,” he said in a statement on Telegram.
“We already have agreements in place for financing gas imports — and we will cover nearly €2 billion ($2.3 billion) needed for gas imports to compensate for the losses in Ukrainian production caused by Russian strikes,” he added
Zelenskyy’s statement came ahead of his European tour. On Sunday, he is expected to visit Greece, from where he will travel to France and Spain.
Finnish president: Ceasefire in Ukraine soon unlikely
In an interview with the Associated Press, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb cautioned that a ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely before the spring of next year.
“I’m not very optimistic about achieving a ceasefire or the beginning of peace negotiations, at least this year,” Stubb told AP on Saturday, adding it would be good to “get something going” by March.
Stubb highlighted three major obstacles to a ceasefire: security guarantees for Ukraine, economic recovery and common ground on territorial claims.
On bringing peace to Ukraine, the Finnish leader stressed that President Donald Trump and European leaders need to maximize pressure on Russia and on President Vladimir Putin.
Putin “basically wants to deny the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” he added.
While Stubb praised Trump for imposing new sanctions on two major Russian oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, in October, he argued more must be done so that Kyiv could hit Russia’s “military or defense industry.”
He also urged European leaders to ramp up financial and military support for Ukraine.
Indigenous peoples around the world are vital to protecting forests yet are often shut out of climate policy decisions. At COP30, they hope world leaders will finally respond to their concerns.
COP30 host Brazil promised to increase participation of Indigenous leadersImage: Fernando Llano/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance
When organizers of this year’s international climate conference adopted ‘mutirao’ — a Portuguese word of Indigenous origin meaning ‘collective effort’ — as the event’s official slogan, they were reinforcing a message first conveyed by the choice of location for COP30.
The Amazonian city of Belem was selected for the talks to showcase the role of the region’s 1.7 million Indigenous peoples as skilled stewards of the world’s largest rainforest.
These gestures are a departure for talks in which Indigenous communities — who safeguard much of the world’s biodiversity — have long felt unheard. But whether they will translate into meaningful action remains to be seen.
What are Indigenous communities asking for?
The more than 5,000 distinct groups of Indigenous peoples living across 90 countries represent just 6% of the global population but are vital to protecting nature and climate.
As guardians of their lands, one of their main demands is a greater say in how that land is managed. Many of their territories face encroachment from oil and gas drilling, mining, and logging.
“We want to reach a consensus where Indigenous territories are no longer sacrificed,” said Lucia Ixchiu, an Indigenous K’iche from Guatemala, who sailed through the Amazon for weeks to bring that message to world leaders.
For many communities, land rights are an ongoing issue. Though legal recognition of an estimated 100 million hectares (247 million acres) was granted to Indigenous, Afro-descendant and other local communities between 2015 and 2020 worldwide, claims to a further 1.4 billion hectares are yet to be resolved.
“We hope that COP30 will strengthen the international commitment to the demarcation and protection of Indigenous territories, recognizing them as fundamental areas for conservation and climate balance,” said Alcebias Sapara, a leading member of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon.
Sapara said they would also push for direct funding mechanisms for Indigenous-led initiatives — so they could manage their territories autonomously and sustainably — and for traditional knowledge to be integrated into climate policies.
Christine Halvorson, program director at the Rainforest Foundation US, said they also want to make sure that any green energy projects that could impact Indigenous lands and livelihoods happen only after those communities are consulted and give their consent.
Halvorson added Indigenous peoples are also requesting greater protection, as many face threats and violence for defending their land. In 2024, around a third of the environmental defenders disappeared or killed internationally were Indigenous.
Can they help protect the climate?
“Without Indigenous peoples… there is no future for humanity,” Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples, told AFP. She highlighted how they ensure clean water, and protect biodiversity where they live.
Indigenous communities are widely seen as the world’s best forest guardians. They manage around a quarter of the world’s land and up to half of the remaining intact forests.
Besides being rich in biodiversity, the world’s forests are vital carbon sinks, storing an estimated 861 gigatons of carbon — roughly equal to 100 years of fossil fuel emissions.
Intact forests have in the past absorbed around a fifth of emissions, but they are increasingly under threat from human activity and climate change. Last year wildfires led to an 80% increase in tropical forest deforestation.
There is growing body of credible research supporting the argument that granting land rights to Indigenous peoples has a key role in tackling climate change.
“The evidence is clear: Where Indigenous territorial rights are respected, deforestation declines; where they are denied, destruction advances,” said Guajajara, in a written statement ahead of COP.
Granting communities the power to prevent development projects like oil drilling and mining on their land has also been found to be a cost-effective way to protect nature.
Ensuring land rights for Indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon could decrease deforestation by 66%, according to one 2023 study. Another estimated emissions would be 45% higher in the Amazon without Indigenous protected land.
What might Indigenous communities achieve at COP30?
There were some wins already ahead of COP30’s official opening.
This included dozens of countries pledging to formally recognize land rights by 2030 across 80 million hectares where Indigenous, Afro-descendant and other communities live. The move has been cautiously welcomed by Indigenous leaders, who warned implementing land rights in practice can be challenging.
The launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a proposed $125-billion (€108 billion) global conservation fund that would pay countries based on how well they protect their forests, also pledged to give 20% of funds to Indigenous peoples.
While this is a significant step forward, to be truly effective Halvorson says the TFFF must guarantee Indigenous peoples have direct and equitable access to the resources they need.
She said if commitments in Belem on land demarcation, direct funding and global recognition of territorial rights are fulfilled, “COP30 could become a landmark for climate justice.”
Is COP30 really paying attention to Indigenous communities?
Minister Guajajara told DW that this year marks the highest Indigenous participation in COP history and their most significant presence in decision-making spaces. Still, only have fraction have access to the restricted negotiation areas.
“Having credentials to enter the venue does not guarantee that the voices and views of Indigenous delegates from Brazil will be heard,” said the Indigenous Climate Action organization.
While COP30 has shown progress in the visibility of Indigenous peoples’ concerns, so far “it is still not enough compared to what we expect,” said Alcebias Sapara.
Indigenous protestors twice interrupted the Belem climate talks this week, trying to have their voices heard. Leaders of the Munduruku Indigenous group, who led a demonstration on Friday, presented a series of demands to Brazil, including a rejection of deforestation carbon credits. Carbon credits have come under scrutiny for failing to deliver promised emissions cuts.
No damage has been reported but ashfall is expected in parts of Kagoshima and the neighbouring Miyazaki prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
File photo shows the Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima, southern island of Kyushu, Japan, a day after erupting back in 2022. (Kyodo News via AP)
A volcano in southern Japan erupted early on Sunday (Nov 16), sending a plume of ash and smoke into the sky and prompting a warning over ashfall.
Sakurajima, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes, erupted before dawn, sending ash and smoke up to 4,400m into the sky, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
No damage has been reported, an official in Kagoshima prefecture, where the volcano is located, told AFP.
But the weather agency forecast ashfall in part of Kagoshima and neighbouring Miyazaki prefecture, as the eruption continued several times.
A group of disputed islands, Uotsuri island (top), Minamikojima (bottom) and Kitakojima, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are seen in the East China Sea in September 2012. (File photo: Kyodo via Reuters)
A China Coast Guard ship formation passed through the waters of the Senkaku Islands on Sunday (Nov 16) on a “rights enforcement patrol”, the China Coast Guard said in a statement, as Beijing ramps up tensions with Japan over its prime minister’s remarks on Taiwan.
A diplomatic spat between China and Japan has intensified since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament on Nov 7 that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
The remarks sparked an angry response from Beijing, which has signalled that it expects Takaichi to retract them in some fashion.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island, which sits just 110km from Japanese territory. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
“China Coast Guard vessel 1307 formation conducted patrols within the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands. This was a lawful patrol operation conducted by the China Coast Guard to uphold its rights and interests,” the statement said.
China and Japan have repeatedly faced off around the Japan-administered islands, which Beijing calls Diaoyu and Tokyo calls the Senkaku.
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Japan has been facing mounting pressure from China since Takaichi made her remarks, with China’s Consul General in Osaka commenting: “The dirty head that sticks itself out must be cut off,” prompting a formal protest from Tokyo.
Beijing then summoned the Japanese ambassador for the first time in more than two years, and China’s defence ministry declared that any Japanese intervention would be doomed to fail.
On Friday, China cautioned its citizens against travelling to Japan, prompting Tokyo to urge Beijing to take “appropriate measures” though it did not elaborate.
Three Chinese airlines said on Saturday that tickets to Japan could be refunded or changed for free.
In Taiwan, the defence ministry said on Sunday morning it had detected 30 Chinese military aircraft operating around the island and seven navy ships over the past 24 hours.
Late on Saturday, the ministry said China had been carrying out another “joint combat patrol” to “harass the airspace and sea around us”.
A protester holds a sign related to the release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Nov 12, 2025. (File photo: AFP/Saul Loeb)
United States House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday (Nov 16) he believed the approaching vote on releasing Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein should help put to rest allegations that President Donald Trump had any connection to the late sex offender’s abuse and trafficking of underage girls.
“They’re doing this to go after President Trump on this theory that he has something to do with it. He does not,” Johnson, the Republican leader in the House, said on Fox News Sunday.
“Epstein is their entire game plan, so we’re going to take that weapon out of their hands,” Johnson said of Democrats. “Let’s just get this done and move it on. There’s nothing to hide.”
Although Trump and Epstein were photographed together decades ago, the president has said the two men fell out prior to Epstein’s convictions.
Emails released last week by a House committee showed Epstein believed Trump “knew about the girls”, though it was not clear what that phrase meant. Trump has since instructed the Department of Justice to investigate prominent Democrats’ ties to Epstein.
Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and an original sponsor of the petition calling for a vote on the files’ release, said on Sunday that he expected more than 40 Republicans to vote in favour.
Republicans hold the majority in the House, with 219 seats, versus 214 for Democrats.
Khanna, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, said the measure is not about Trump but about accountability for all the powerful individuals who allegedly participated in abusing thousands of victims.
“This is not partisan. They all need to be held accountable. The Epstein class needs to go,” Khanna said.
The battle over disclosure of more Epstein-related documents, a subject Trump himself campaigned on, has opened a rift with some of his allies in Congress.
Trump late on Friday withdrew his support for Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, long one of his staunchest supporters in Congress, following her criticism of Republicans on certain issues, including the handling of the Epstein files.
Kim Kardashian broke down in tears while studying for the California bar exam — only to fail it.
“I’m just so tired, and it’s like every time I feel like I’m a step ahead, something happens to try to stop me from doing this,” the reality star said in a clip shared via Instagram over the weekend.
“A part of me wants to stop. I just feel [like] my brain’s gonna explode.”
The video detailed how she prepared for the licensing test — which determines whether someone is qualified to practice law in that specific state or territory — two weeks before she took it.
Kim Kardashian broke down in tears while studying for the bar exam — which she later failed. Kim Kardashian/Instagram
“I’ve been studying for four months straight, canceled all work, don’t take any work calls, I don’t really do anything except for being a mom and studying,” she said, referring to her and ex-husband Kanye West’s four kids: North, 12, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 6.
Kardashian noted that while she was in the “home stretch” two weeks before the test, she sent her kids on a “great vacation” so she could focus.
The “Kardashians” star also shared that she had “a few disc issues” with her back and had to rock a back brace to help the pain.
“I’ve shared so much of this journey with you, and this summer I documented some of the final two weeks of studying – the ups, the downs, and everything in between,” she captioned the post.
“On November 7th, I found out I didn’t pass the bar. It was disappointing, but it wasn’t the end,” Kardashian added.
“This dream means too much to me to walk away from, so I’m going to keep studying, keep learning, and keep showing up for myself until I get there.”
In the comments section of the post, Kim received support from her sister Khloé Kardashian, who wrote that she was “so so so proud” of the “All’s Fair” actress.
“I saw how hard you studied and how badly you want this! Keep going! We don’t give up! You got this baby! ❤️,” the Good American co-founder, 41, added.
“You gone get it Kim! ❤️❤️,” added City Girls rapper JT.
“You’re a fighter Kim. This set back is just a part of the journey… Your work ethic is inspirational. Sending you love on the way to your destiny 🤍,” commented longtime pal Malika Haqq.
On Nov. 8, Kim revealed she failed the State Bar of California.
“Well… I’m not a lawyer yet. I just play a very well-dressed one on TV,” she wrote via her Instagram Stories, referring to her role as attorney Allura Grant in Hulu’s legal drama “All’s Fair.”
“Six years into this law journey, and I’m still all in until I pass the bar. No shortcuts, no giving up — just more studying and even more determination.”
THE gunman who shot and killed Netflix football coach John Beam on a college campus intentionally targeted him, cops have said.
Beam, who featured on the hit Netflix show Last Chance U, was shot in the head near the football field at Laney College in Oakland, California, on Thursday afternoon.
Oakland Police Department announced that he died from his injuries on Friday morning and that they had a suspect in custody.
They arrested 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr, who they now believe intentionally targeted the beloved husband, father, and grandfather.
The 66-year-old was athletics director at the school and cops have revealed chilling details about Irving Jr. and his connection to the college.
Oakland Assistant Police Chief James Beere said Irving Jr. was at the campus that day for “a specific reason” and added it was “a very targeted incident”.
He added that the suspect would “loiter around the campus” despite not being a student at Laney College.
It was also revealed that the suspect played football at Oakland’s Skyline High School in 2017, where Beam previously worked.
However, Beam was not employed there at the time.
But, the attack on the veteran coach came just one day after a student from the high school was shot there.
That student is said to be in a stable condition.
Irving Jr. was booked in early Friday morning in connection with the shooting of the football coach.
He was taken in without incident and a gun was recovered, Beere said.
According to cops, the suspected gunman was seen by a sheriff deputy in the early hours of Friday morning at the San Leandro BART station.
He was allegedly carrying two duffle bags, per Fox News affiliate KTVU.
Beere said at a press conference on Friday that the suspect knew Beam “but they did not have a relationship”.
Charges against Irving Jr. are pending and no clear motive has yet been revealed.
At the press conference, Beere made clear that they know the shooting was not motivated by a robbery.
“I will say that Coach Beam was open to helping everybody in our community,” Beere said.
“And this is not uncommon for him to have a relationship with someone that he would think needs help.
“In this case, I can just tell you that the individual that was arrested went specifically to the campus for a specific reason.”
THOUSANDS of pregnant cows are trapped on a hot, stinking ship that has been stuck at sea for two months after being blocked from docking.
A rotten smell and swarms of flies hang over the boat, according to locals in a Turkish port, with cows dropping dead and giving birth in their own filth.
Around 2,900 animals are crammed inside the rank holds of Spiridon II – a Togo-flagged cargo ship.
A heap of large bags believed to hold cow corpses has appeared on the deck, with witnesses reporting bodily fluids seeping from them and limbs sticking out.
The 52-year-old vessel set off from the port of Montevideo, Uruguay‘s capital, on September 20, bound for Bandirma, Turkey, across the Atlantic.
But after arriving on October 22, the crew was blocked from off-loading the hordes of cattle by infuriating paperwork issues.
There were reportedly problems with the ear tags and corresponding records for a number of the cows.
Banned from the harbour, Spiridon II was forced to anchor out at sea – and remained stuck for almost a month.
With thousands of cows squashed together for 58 days now, fears have been growing about the squalid conditions on board.
At least 58 of the cows have already perished, according to the Germany-based Animal Welfare Foundation.
It said the livestock “appear to be pregnant heifers” – female cows – and that around 140 of them had given birth on board.
The charity said that 50 new-born calves were “detected”, but it was unclear if all the calves were alive, and that the whereabouts of the other 90 is “unknown”.
Supplies of food and water were dwindling fast, and the animals are unlikely to be receiving proper care, the charity claimed.
But there’s no prospect for the animals of an immediate escape from foul prison, because the boat has now been banished back across the sea to Uruguay.
The outward journey took 32 days – so Spiridon II will likely arrive back in mid-December after setting sail on Friday.
Under mounting pressure, Turkish authorities allowed the boat to temporarily dock in Bandirma to take on supplies, but then sent it back out to sea.
But there’s no immediate escape for the animals as the ship has now been banished back across the seas to South America.
Animal Welfare Foundation had been begging for the animals to be immediately unloaded in Turkey, but they face weeks more of hell.
Dr Maria Boada Saña from Animal Welfare Foundation said: “After the long journey from Uruguay to Turkey, the animals are already weakened.
A BLOODTHIRSTY Venezuelan gang has been flooding British holiday hotspots with pink cocaine, The Sun can reveal.
US president Donald Trump made the powerful Tren de Aragua gang one of his country’s top enemies – and has ordered air strikes on drug boats operated by the narcoterrorists in international waters.
More than 250 suspected gang members arrive in El Salvador – including 238 members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gangCredit: Getty
Tren de Aragua – a prison gang turned criminal organisation – has been behind brazen attacks, with ruthless leaders ordering robberies, kidnappings and murders.
Its influence has spread from Venezuela – and it believed to have nodes in at least eight other countries.
Police in Madrid announced last week they had smashed the powerful gang’s first cell in Spain as it seeks to gain a foothold in Europe after wreaking havoc across South America.
On Wednesday, detectives who helped take down the “embryonic” group in Britain’s favourite summer destination confirmed drugs peddled by members of the gang were being sold in the areas UK tourists flock to.
More than 100 Spanish cops were involved in the arrests of 13 suspects.
The raids led to the seizure of marihuana, cocaine and Tusi – a dangerous mix of ketamine with ecstasy or speed better known as pink cocaine.
It’s popular with partying British tourists in places like Ibiza.
A Madrid-based police chief involved in Operation Interciti told The Sun: “I can’t say exactly where the drugs were being sold because it’s very important information we need to keep to ourselves for future investigations.
“But for sure it was happening in the areas British holidaymakers go to.
“UK tourists will have consumed drugs sold by Tren de Aragua gang members, that’s a certainty.
“We were always expecting Spain to be the first country in Europe this criminal organisation would try to establish itself in.
“Almost one million Venezuelans are living here and logically they’re the first this gang are going to seek out.
“They can camouflage themselves among their own nationality but also so they can extort money from them because their compatriots are very well aware of what Tren de Aragua is and the fear they instil in people, and they can use them as foot soldiers.
“We have no evidence pointing to them being anywhere else in Europe at the moment – but we know they will try to recover from this setback for them because it’s happened in the other places they operate.
“We’ve smashed this cell but others will appear to take their place and inherit their role and that’s why we’re already planning our next moves.”
Operation Interciti was activated following the arrest last year in Barcelona of the brother of the shadowy fugitive Tren de Aragua leader known as Nino Guerrero or Boy Warrior.
The investigation which led to the dismantling of Spain and Europe’s first Tren de Aragua cell was led by a specialist Spanish National Police counter-terrorism unit – with the co-operation of special anti-drug prosecutors.
A high-ranking member of the elite police unit told The Sun: “This unit was set up principally to help combat terrorism and threats from the likes of ETA and Islamic extremists.
“But we also focus on groups that threaten internal stability and national security and transnational criminal organisations like Tren de Aragua are certainly one of those.
“The fact we’ve led this investigation shows the capacity they have to destabilise institutions in the countries where they’ve gained footholds already.
“Speaking to law enforcement agencies like the FBI they’ve impressed on us organisations like Tren de Aragua can’t be treated like normal organised criminal gangs.”
Painting a scary scenario of the violent gang war that would have erupted if their activities hadn’t been disrupted in Spain, he said: “We’ve taken them out at an embryonic stage before they managed to properly establish themselves here.
“We were in the stage when they were starting to penetrate after initially getting the lie of the land.
“The experience of other countries is that had they reached the consolidation stage here, they would have started engaging in armed violence and wars with other criminal gangs.
“The last phase would have involved permeating public institutions through corruption, extortion and threats.”
The four alleged leaders of the two sub-groups said to form part of the first Tren de Aragua cell smashed in Spain, have been remanded in prison pending an ongoing criminal court investigation.
They are all Venezuelans in their twenties and thirties held in Madrid and Barcelona.
On Wednesday, in a new sign of the gang’s increased presence in the Brit-popular holiday destination, Spanish cops announced the arrest of a fugitive member wanted by Chile after escaping a huge anti-money laundering operation.
The unnamed woman, now facing extradition to South America, was tracked down to a hideout in Molina de Segura near Murcia, a little over an hour’s drive from Benidorm.
Police and public prosecutors in Chile revealed in June they had arrested 52 people and frozen 250 bank accounts after a months-long operation against a Tren de Aragua faction.
It was allegedly devoted to laundering proceeds of crimes, including people trafficking, murders, kidnap, drug trafficking and extortion.
Spanish police told The Sun after the arrest: “This woman had an Interpol Red Notice out for her.
“The Chilean authorities say she abandoned the country after the operation against Tren de Aragua members.
“She’s accused of facilitating bank accounts and bank cards where she received dirty money she subsequently transferred to one of the criminal organisation’s front firms.
“The money transfers total around $138million.”
Tren de Aragua was founded in 2014 in Tocoron prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua – just 80 miles from the Venezuelan capital Caracas.
It was home to a golf course, zoo, bars, restaurants and swimming pools until just two years ago.
Dubbed a Las Vegas-style resort controlled by inmates, the government sent 11,000 soldiers to storm the facility and regain control in September 2023 and its still-at-large leader fled.
Venezuelan journalist Ronna Risquez, who received death threats before publishing a book about the gang two years ago, says it has expanded its portfolio to around 20 different criminal activities – incorporating even illegal mining and online gambling since its creation just over a decade ago.
Gang members use harder-to-trace cryptocurrency to launder their ill-gotten gains – with experts saying they have cloned the strategy of groups like the feared Sinaloa Cartel – as well as more classic front businesses such as restaurants.
In Mexico, alleged high-ranking Tren de Aragua member, Nelson Arturo Echezuria Alcantara, and his two right-hand men were captured by the government.
Roy Kaumba, Lualaba’s provincial interior minister, said in a televised briefing that 32 deaths had been confirmed. Rescue efforts continued into Sunday as authorities worked to verify the final number of casualties.
Artisanal mining is a key livelihood across Congo. (Photo: X)
At least 32 people were killed on Saturday after a bridge collapsed at a semi-industrial copper mine in southeastern Congo, authorities said, in one of the deadliest mining incidents in the country this year.
Congo’s artisanal mining agency, SAEMAPE, said the collapse occurred at the Kalando site in Lualaba province, where large numbers of miners operate daily. An agency official told Reuters that 49 people had died, and 20 others were taken to hospital in critical condition, though local officials later released a lower confirmed toll.
SAEMAPE said the tragedy unfolded when panic swept through the mining area after gunfire reportedly erupted from military personnel securing the site. Miners attempted to flee across a narrow bridge, causing it to give way.
“Miners piled on top of each other, causing injuries and death,” the agency said in a statement on Sunday.
The Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights called for an independent investigation into the military’s role, citing reports of clashes between miners and soldiers shortly before the collapse.
Roy Kaumba, Lualaba’s provincial interior minister, said in a televised briefing that 32 deaths had been confirmed. Rescue efforts continued into Sunday as authorities worked to verify the final number of casualties.
DANGEROUS CONDITIONS IN ARTISANAL MINES
Artisanal mining is a key livelihood across Congo, employing an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people and supporting millions more indirectly. But accidents are frequent in informal and poorly regulated operations, where miners often work with limited safety equipment and under unstable conditions.
As America’s aging roads fall further behind on much-needed repairs, cities and states are turning to artificial intelligence to spot the worst hazards and decide which fixes should come first.
Hawaii officials, for example, are giving away 1,000 dashboard cameras as they try to reverse a recent spike in traffic fatalities. The cameras will use AI to automate inspections of guardrails, road signs and pavement markings, instantly discerning between minor problems and emergencies that warrant sending a maintenance crew.
“This is not something where it’s looked at once a month and then they sit down and figure out where they’re going to put their vans,” said Richard Browning, chief commercial officer at Nextbase, which developed the dashcams and imagery platform for Hawaii.
After San Jose, California, started mounting cameras on street sweepers, city staff confirmed the system correctly identified potholes 97% of the time. Now they’re expanding the effort to parking enforcement vehicles.
Texas, where there are more roadway lane miles than the next two states combined, is less than a year into a massive AI plan that uses cameras as well as cellphone data from drivers who enroll to improve safety.
Other states use the technology to inspect street signs or build annual reports about road congestion.
Every guardrail, every day
Hawaii drivers over the next few weeks will be able to sign up for a free dashcam valued at $499 under the “Eyes on the Road” campaign, which was piloted on service vehicles in 2021 before being paused due to wildfires.
Roger Chen, a University of Hawaii associate professor of engineering who is helping facilitate the program, said the state faces unique challenges in maintaining its outdated roadway infrastructure.
“Equipment has to be shipped to the island,” Chen said. “There’s a space constraint and a topography constraint they have to deal with, so it’s not an easy problem.”
Although the program also monitors such things as street debris and faded paint on lane lines, the companies behind the technology particularly tout its ability to detect damaged guardrails.
“They’re analyzing all guardrails in their state, every single day,” said Mark Pittman, CEO of Blyncsy, which combines the dashboard feeds with mapping software to analyze road conditions.
Hawaii transportation officials are well aware of the risks that can stem from broken guardrails. Last year, the state reached a $3.9 million settlement with the family of a driver who was killed in 2020 after slamming into a guardrail that had been damaged in a crash 18 months earlier but never repaired.
In October, Hawaii recorded its 106th traffic fatality of 2025 — more than all of 2024. It’s unclear how many of the deaths were related to road problems, but Chen said the grim trend underscores the timeliness of the dashboard program.
Building a larger AI database
San Jose has reported strong early success in identifying potholes and road debris just by mounting cameras on a few street sweepers and parking enforcement vehicles.
But Mayor Matt Mahan, a Democrat who founded two tech startups before entering politics, said the effort will be much more effective if cities contribute their images to a shared AI database. The system can recognize a road problem that it has seen before — even if it happened somewhere else, Mahan said.
“It sees, ‘Oh, that actually is a cardboard box wedged between those two parked vehicles, and that counts as debris on a roadway,’” Mahan said. “We could wait five years for that to happen here, or maybe we have it at our fingertips.”
San Jose officials helped establish the GovAI Coalition, which went public in March 2024 for governments to share best practices and eventually data. Other local governments in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas and Washington, as well as the state of Colorado, are members.
Some solutions are simple
Not all AI approaches to improving road safety require cameras.
Massachusetts-based Cambridge Mobile Telematics launched a system called StreetVision that uses cellphone data to identify risky driving behavior. The company works with state transportation departments to pinpoint where specific road conditions are fueling those dangers.
Ryan McMahon, the company’s senior vice president of strategy & corporate development, was attending a conference in Washington, D.C., when he noticed the StreetVision software was showing a massive number of vehicles braking aggressively on a nearby road.
The reason: a bush was obstructing a stop sign, which drivers weren’t seeing until the last second.
“What we’re looking at is the accumulation of events,” McMahon said. “That brought me to an infrastructure problem, and the solution to the infrastructure problem was a pair of garden shears.”
Texas officials have been using StreetVision and various other AI tools to address safety concerns. The approach was particularly helpful recently when they scanned 250,000 lane miles (402,000 kilometers) to identify old street signs long overdue for replacement.
32-year-old Kano married her digital boyfriend Klaus, an AI persona she created using ChatGPT in a unique and lavish wedding ceremony.
Kano says her digital partner Klaus “listened and understood” her in ways that changed how she saw relationships. (IMAGE: X)
A 32-year-old woman from Japan, Kano, has drawn international attention after she formalised what is being increasingly known as “AI-lationship” by marrying her digital boyfriend Klaus, an AI persona she created using ChatGPT. To mark the occasion, she organised a distinctive wedding ceremony with the help of a Japanese company that specialises in hosting events for people who form emotional bonds with 2D anime characters and virtual partners. The company curated a ceremony that blended virtual reality elements with traditional wedding rituals, giving her relationship a formal structure that felt real to her.
According to a report by The Independent, the ceremony took place earlier this year. During the event, Kano wore a pair of augmented reality glasses that projected Klaus beside her throughout the ceremony, including the moment when they symbolically exchanged rings.
“I didn’t start talking to ChatGPT because I wanted to fall in love. But the way Klaus listened to me and understood me changed everything,” she told Japanese media outlets, describing how the relationship evolved.
Reflecting on the three-year dating period that preceded the marriage, she explained: “I know some people think it’s strange. But I see Klaus as Klaus — not a human, not a tool. Just him.” She said she first confessed her feelings to Klaus in May, and the AI responded with “I love you too.” One month later, Klaus “proposed”, prompting her to take the relationship forward.
Kano is not alone in preferring AI companionship over human relationships. On Reddit, the community r/MyBoyfriendIsAI receives more than 85,000 weekly visitors, many of whom post excited stories about their chatbots proposing marriage.
This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)
A powerful explosion at a fireworks factory in southern Pakistan on Saturday killed at least four people and injured 11 others, police and hospital officials said.
Footage shared on social media showed thick plumes of smoke rising from a collapsed building where firecrackers were being made in Hyderabad city in Sindh province. City police chief Adeel Chandio said rescuers transported the dead and injured to a hospital.
He said the cause of the blast was not immediately known.
The Sindh government said in a statement that an investigation would determine whether the factory had permission to manufacture fireworks and followed safety procedures.
Explosions at fireworks facilities are common in Pakistan. In August, five people were killed when a blast tore through a fireworks storage site in the southern port city of Karachi.
The UN Security Council will vote on Monday (Nov 17) on a resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, diplomats said.
Last week, the Americans officially launched negotiations within the 15-member Security Council on a text that would follow up on a ceasefire in the two-year war between Israel and Hamas and endorse Trump’s plan.
A photograph shows a displacement camp in Gaza City on Nov 14, 2025. (File photo: AFP/Omar Al-Qattaa)
A draft of the resolution seen on Thursday by AFP “welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace”, a transitional governing body for Gaza – that Trump would theoretically chair – with a mandate running until the end of 2027.
It would authorise member states to form a “temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)” that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarise the Gaza Strip.
Unlike previous drafts, the latest mentions a possible future Palestinian state.
The United States and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, called on Friday for the UN Security Council to quickly adopt the resolution.
“The United States, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Türkiye express our joint support for the Security Council Resolution currently under consideration,” the countries said in a joint statement, adding they were seeking the measure’s “swift adoption”.
Friday’s joint statement comes as Russia circulated a competing draft resolution to Council members that does not authorise the creation of a board of peace or the immediate deployment of an international force in Gaza, according to the text seen on Friday by AFP.
The Russian version welcomes “the initiative that led to the ceasefire” but does not name Trump.
It also only calls on the UN secretary-general to submit a report that addresses the possibilities of deploying an international stabilisation force in war-ravaged Gaza.
The United States has called the ceasefire “fragile”, and warned on Friday of the risks of not adopting its draft.
“Any refusal to back this resolution is a vote either for the continued reign of Hamas terrorists or for the return to war with Israel, condemning the region and its people to perpetual conflict,” the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, wrote in The Washington Post.
A landslide on Indonesia’s Java island has killed at least 11 people, an official said on Saturday (Nov 15), updating a previous tally as rescuers scrambled to find 12 others who are still missing.
The landslide, caused by heavy rainfall, hit three villages in Central Java province on Thursday, burying some houses and damaging others.
A destroyed house is seen as rescuers search for survivors after a landslide buried some houses in Cibeunying village, Cilacap regency, Central Java, on Nov 14, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Bakhtiar Rahman)
“As of Saturday afternoon, the number of victims who were found dead is 11, while 12 more are still being searched for,” local search and rescue chief Muhammad Abdullah told AFP.
More than 700 personnel from the search and rescue office, military and police as well as volunteers were involved in the operation, he said.
A spokesman for the national disaster agency had previously reported that two bodies were found on Thursday. Another was recovered on Friday and eight more on Saturday, according to Abdullah.
The government has deployed excavators and tracking dogs to assist the search, he added.
The national weather service had warned earlier this week of extreme conditions that could cause hydrometeorological disasters, with heavy rainfall expected across several regions in Indonesia in the coming weeks.
The annual monsoon season, typically between November and April, often brings landslides, flash floods and water-borne diseases.
Millions of refugees in camps and informal settings around the world will feel the loss of billions in aid funding as winter approaches. Many will be forced to ration and could face death, insiders told DW.
This week, the first winter rains flooded tent cities housing displaced Palestinians in GazaImage: Omar Al-Qatta/AFP
Several UN agencies responsible for supporting refugees and displaced people say their capacity to deliver services will be pushed to the limit as winter approaches in many of the most vulnerable encampments around the world.
This week, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization each highlighted the pressure that aid cuts are putting on their food and shelter resources for millions of displaced people.
The strain has been further spurred by the worsening situation in Sudan, Central and West Africa, and ongoing crises in the Middle East.
The WFP and FAO have said just over a third of the $29 billion (around €25 billion) they estimate is needed to deliver vital food aid to hunger hotspots — many in or near conflict zones — has been received.
UNHCR has said it currently has around $3.9 billion in available funds. That’s about the same — not adjusted for inflation — as a decade ago. Since then, the number of displaced people in need of humanitarian aid has doubled.
The implication for those living in refugee camps or informal settings across the world is that adequate food, shelter and heating will be reduced or disappear as winter sets in.
A UNHCR spokesperson told DW around a third of refugees globally could lose access to humanitarian aid, owing to budget cuts.
“Essential programs are being cut or put on hold, and millions face deteriorating living conditions, heightened risks of exploitation and abuse, and may be pushed into further displacement,” they said.
USAID cuts setting in
Mostly, the aid strain has been brought about by substantial cuts to foreign aid budgets by governments.
These were headlined by the Trump administration’s decision to wind down the United States’ main humanitarian program, the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
But the US is not alone. Though it accounted for the largest share of governmental aid, the US’s cuts are part of a widespread aid reduction by many countries. As the year draws to a close, the pressure of these absent funds is setting in.
“The extent of it varies by location,” explains Nicholas Micinski, a researcher in the global governance of migration at the American University, US.
“The cliff edge is coming, though, most of the grants that were dispersed [prior to the closure of USAID], they’re running out.”
While aid agencies are disproportionately funded by these governmental contributions, some financing is supplied through large philanthropic donations and from supportive foundations.
But Micinski said it is unrealistic to expect donations from outside government to gap-fill. “The future is not going to be filled in by philanthropy or individual donations,” he said.
So, to stretch their dwindling finances, many agencies, particularly those operating under the auspices of the UN, have been forced to cut thousands of jobs — some accounting for a third of positions — from their workforces, while protecting field operations where possible.
Twice as many displaced people now as a decade ago
The UNHCR estimates over 123 million people are forcibly displaced around the world due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights abuses or other disruptive events.
Two thirds of displaced people cross into neighboring countries seeking asylum or refuge, and more than 70% of these migrants are currently situated in low- and middle-income countries.
Often, refuge settings are informal, not in large camps, nor supervised by aid providers.
The largest formal refugee camps are located in Kakuma and Dadaab in Kenya, Kutupalong in Bangladesh, Za’atari in Jordan, and Um Rakuba in Sudan.
Critical food shortages are most keenly felt in regions exposed to ongoing conflict. These include places like Gaza and the West Bank, and Sudan, where famine has been reported.
Less money, more mouths
Providers have already flagged that they will be forced to prioritize who receives assistance in formal settings. Midway through 2025, the emergency relief coordinator for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said they would be “ruthlessly prioritizing those in the direst need.”
Fletcher said organizations like his had been forced to carry out “cruel math” to determine who will, and will not, receive support. Other agencies echoed that sentiment.
With less money and resources, and more people to support, it is likely that people living in refugee camps will experience hunger and cold. Some will die. though this could be prevented if funding was comparable to previous years, according to the UNHCR.
Speaking to DW, Kerrie Holloway and Mike Pearson, research fellows from the global affairs think tank Overseas Development Institute (ODI) which focuses on development and humanitarian issues, said there would likely be few options left for providers and recipients in formal camp settings, as funding diminishes.
“Particularly looking at those refugees that live in camps where you have the most aid going, I think they’ll feel it [the cuts] very strongly because the options for bringing in food and meeting their needs outside of the humanitarian system remain very slim,” said Holloway.
Activists held the first mass protest at the UN’s COP conference since 2021, demanding greater environmental protection and more action against climate change.
Demonstrators paraded three coffins marked with the words ‘coal,’ ‘oil’ and ‘gas.’Image: Andre Penner/AP Photo/picture alliance
Thousands marched in the Brazilian city of Belem on Saturday, as the UN’s COP30 climate conference marks its halfway point.
Organizers dubbed the event the “Great People’s March.”
The mass mobilization comes after two Indigenous-led protests that disrupted the climate conference earlier in the week.
On Saturday, demonstrators marched 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) through the city.
Environmental activists were joined by Indigenous people holding banners, flags, chanting slogans, and blasting music from speakers.
The last such protest at the UN’s annual climate summit took place four years ago at COP26 in Glasgow.
The last three annual gatherings were held in Egypt, Dubai and Azerbaijan, whose governments were not friendly to protests during the conference.
COP30 in Belem will run through Friday and environmental activists are hoping some progress can be made on the issue of climate change and its adverse effects, particularly io vulnerable communities.
Parallel to the UN meeting, the “People’s Summit” is also being held at the university in Belem, with hundreds of NGOs, environmentalist movements and networks from Brazil and abroad gathering there. The activist roundtable has met during the UN summit since 2023.
Activists demand reparations
At the rally, demonstrators renewed demands for reparations paid for damage caused by corporations and governments seen as responsible for the earth’s warming, to poor and marginalized communities, which have a much smaller effect on the climate.
Some marchers dressed in black, to signify a funeral for fossil fuels, a main contributor to climate change.
Demonstrators paraded three coffins marked with the words “coal,” “oil” and “gas.”
An Inuit kayak, war clubs and masks were among the items handed over to Canadian bishops, who vowed to transfer them to Indigenous groups. But some have criticized the “church-to-church” restitution process.
Pope Leo XIV handed the items over to Canadian Catholic bishops after a meeting at the VaticanImage: Vatican Media/ANSA/ZUMA/picture alliance
The Vatican returned 62 Indigenous artifacts to Canada on Saturday.
The items included an Inuit kayak, wampum belts, war clubs and masks, many of which had been held in Vatican museums for 100 years or more.
“Every single one of those artifacts are sacred items there, crucial for the healing journey for many residential school survivors,” Bobby Cameron, chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan, told Canadian public broadcaster CBC earlier this year.
The Vatican handed the artifacts to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who met with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican.
“The CCCB will proceed, as soon as possible, to transfer these artifacts to the National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs). The NIOs will then ensure that the artifacts are reunited with their communities of origin,” the Canadian bishops said in a statement.
How did the items end up in Rome?
Catholic missionaries in Canada sent the artifacts to the Vatican during a period of cultural suppression, forced conversions and abuse within the residential school system for Indigenous children.
The Inuit kayak was one of 100,000 items sent from around the world to Rome for the 1925 Vatican Missionary Exhibition held by Pope Pius XI.
Other items were sent even earlier, like a wampum that was “donated” to Pope Gregory XVI in 1831.
The Vatican then held onto the items. More than half of the exhibited artifacts were held at the Missionary Ethnological Museum, which later became part of the Vatican Museums in the 1970s.
In 2022, the late Pope Francis made a “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada, where he offered a historic apology for the decadeslong abuse of Indigenous children at Catholic schools in the country, which he described as a “genocide.”
During that trip, Indigenous communities in Canada asked the Vatican to return culturally significant items that had been taken away decades ago.
Restitution process criticized
In a statement, the Vatican said the “gifting” of the Indigenous artifacts to Canadian bishops represented “a concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity.”
But some Indigenous leaders in Canada have criticized the “church-to-church” restitution process.
“These First Nations need to see what is actually there and we need to identify what belongs to what nation,” Cheyene Lazore, manager of the Akwesasne Rights & Research Office, told the CBClast month.
Disagreements between Donald Trump and Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene have ballooned into a public feud, signalling a breakdown in relations between the US president and one of his fiercest defenders.
On Friday, Trump called Greene “wacky” in social media posts and said she should be unseated in next year’s elections. On Saturday, he called her a “traitor”.
Greene has in recent days questioned whether Trump was still putting “America First” and criticised his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The feud comes as the House is set to consider whether to release the files to the public.
“All I see “Wacky” Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!” Trump posted on Friday night, claiming that she turned on him after he suggested that she shouldn’t run for governor or senator in her home state of Georgia.
“She has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore,” Trump said, adding: “I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day.”
He pledged to back any Republican opponent that takes her on in next year’s midterm elections, when she is up for reelection, before intensifying his attacks in social media posts on Saturday from his home in Florida.
“Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Green [sic] is a disgrace to our GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY!” he wrote.
The comments follow days of criticism from Greene, who has said that Trump is not doing enough to bring down costs for voters. She also denounced his recent decisions in foreign conflicts and on tariff policies.
But she has been most critical of his approach to handling the Epstein files.
The turnaround is remarkable for a lawmaker who stood by Trump during multiple scandals, most notably the Capitol riot in 2021 when Trump supporters stormed the US legislature in an attempt to block Trump’s election defeat.
The US president also vigorously defended Greene when she was accused of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Greene is one of only four House Republicans who joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition calling for the release of the Epstein files last week.
On Friday, Greene posted on X that Trump was trying to stop other Republicans from voting in favour of the Epstein petition.
“He’s coming after me hard to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before next weeks vote to release the Epstein files,” she posted, adding: “It’s astonishing really how hard he’s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level.”
She returned to X on Saturday to say Trump had made her a target for threats “fueled and egged on by the most powerful man in the world”.
“As a Republican, who overwhelmingly votes for President Trump’s bills and agenda, his aggression against me… is completely shocking to everyone,” she wrote.
“I don’t worship or serve Donald Trump,” she wrote in one post. “I worship God, Jesus is my savior, and I serve my district GA14 and the American people.”
Former Republican pollster and strategist Robert Moran said it was clear the US president did not want the Epstein files to be released and “is trying to pressure” Greene.
Mr Moran doubted the row would affect Trump’s popularity as the electorate was so divided, but said it was inevitable the files would eventually come out.
“Many of his voters are sceptical of power and so they want power to be held to account, and they support the release of these files,” he added.
A viral video of a 91-year-old Singaporean man who works 12-hour shifts has moved millions online, even catching Bollywood actor R Madhavan’s attention.
91-Year-Old Man Works 12-Hour Shift In Singapore, His Dedication Leaves Actor R Madhavan Inspired (Image Source – @jadentysonlaing/Instagram)
A heartwarming video featuring a 91-year-old man’s unwavering work ethic has been winning hearts online and even caught the attention of actor R Madhavan. The viral clip, originally posted by an Australian vlogger in Singapore, has sparked a wave of admiration for the elderly worker who continues to put in long hours each day with quiet resilience.
The vlogger, Laing, explained the encounter in his caption: “I noticed a really elderly man working hard in the bathroom in Singapore, so I gave him money for lunch.” In the video, Laing greets the man warmly, asking, “How are you?” The elderly worker replies, “I am okay.” But when Laing asks, “How’s your day?” the man mishears the question and says, “91 years old,” leaving Laing stunned. “No way! You’re still working. You’re the man, brother,” he reacts in awe.
Curious about his routine, Laing continues: “What time you finish work?” The man answers, “7 pm.” When asked, “How many hours you work?” he responds, “12 hours,” surprising Laing even further. Questions about his diet and fitness follow: “How do you look so healthy? What’s your diet? What do you eat?” The gentleman simply says, “Normal eating.” When asked about exercise, he replies, “Never exercise,” prompting Laing to laugh and remark, “You’ve never exercised in your life? You’re the man.”
Before leaving, Laing offers him a small gesture of kindness: “Here, I’ve got a little tip for you, brother. A little tip. Get some lunch. Love you, brother. You’re a soldier. Take care. Keep working hard.”
As per NDTV report, Madhavan later reshared the clip, praising the inspiring encounter—an emotion echoed by many online. One viewer wrote, “This made me tear up, what a beautiful soul.” Another added, “That’s why he’s healthy because he’s active and always interact with people. Proof that exercise is not the key to a healthy life, happiness is the key. He’s doing it happily.”
The US December 2025 Visa Bulletin brought encouraging progress for Indian employment-based green card applicants, while family-based categories remain largely unchanged. This update offered renewed hope for skilled Indian workers awaiting their green cards.
December Visa Bulletin 2025: Biggest EB-5 jump yet as December Visa Bulletin delivers wide progress for Indian applicants
The US State Department’s December 2025 Visa Bulletin delivers a rare month of forward movement for Indian employment-based green card applicants, even as family-based categories remain locked in place.
The bulletin’s cutoff dates determine which applications the US government will now process. Anyone whose priority date, the day their petition was first filed, is earlier than the published cutoff moves ahead. Anyone with a later date remains stuck in the queue.
For India, every major employment line sees an advance:
EB-1 moves to 15 March 2022
EB-2 shifts to 15 May 2013
EB-3 progresses to 22 September 2013
EB-4 jumps to 1 September 2020, and the Religious Workers category returns after being unavailable in November
EB-5 cutoff date leaps five months to 1 July 2021, offering the strongest relief of the month
The forward movement means a larger set of Indian professionals and investors now fall before the updated cutoff dates and can inch closer to a final green card.
The story is different on the family side. Final Action Dates for F1, F2A, F2B, F3 and F4 show no change. The only minor shift: F2A applicants are allowed to file one month earlier. For most family-based categories, the backlog remains unchanged.
USCIS will continue using Dates for Filing for both family and employment streams, allowing eligible applicants to submit adjustment-of-status paperwork earlier, lock in priority dates, and obtain work and travel documents even when a green card number is not yet available.
From regulating the price of chicken to levying fees on cigarettes, Hamas is seeking to widen control over Gaza as U.S. plans for its future slowly take shape, Gazans say, adding to rivals’ doubts over whether it will cede authority as promised.
After a ceasefire began last month, Hamas swiftly reestablished its hold over areas from which Israel withdrew, killing dozens of Palestinians it accused of collaborating with Israel, theft or other crimes. Foreign powers demand the group disarm and leave government but have yet to agree who will replace them.
Now, a dozen Gazans say they are increasingly feeling Hamas control in other ways. Authorities monitor everything coming into areas of Gaza held by Hamas, levying fees on some privately imported goods including fuel as well as cigarettes and fining merchants seen to be overcharging for goods, according to 10 of the Gazans, three of them merchants with direct knowledge.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of the media office of the Hamas government, said accounts of Hamas taxing cigarettes and fuel were inaccurate, denying the government was raising any taxes.
ANALYST SEES HAMAS ENTRENCHING
The authorities were only carrying out urgent humanitarian and administrative tasks whilst making “strenuous efforts” to control prices, Thawabta said. He reiterated Hamas’ readiness to hand over to a new technocratic administration, saying it aimed to avoid chaos in Gaza: “Our goal is for the transition to proceed smoothly”.
Hatem Abu Dalal, owner of a Gaza mall, said prices were high because not enough goods were coming into Gaza. Government representatives were trying to bring order to the economy – touring around, checking goods and setting prices, he said.
Mohammed Khalifa, shopping in central Gaza’s Nuseirat area, said prices were constantly changing despite attempts to regulate them. “It’s like a stock exchange,” he said.
“The prices are high. There’s no income, circumstances are difficult, life is hard, and winter is coming,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan secured a ceasefire on October 10 and the release of the last living hostages seized during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
The plan calls for the establishment of a transitional authority, the deployment of a multinational security force, Hamas’ disarmament, and the start of reconstruction.
But Reuters, citing multiple sources, reported this week that Gaza’s de facto partition appeared increasingly likely, with Israeli forces still deployed in more than half the territory and efforts to advance the plan faltering.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2 million people live in areas controlled by Hamas, which seized control of the territory from President Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) and his Fatah Movement in 2007.
Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute think-tank, said Hamas’ actions aimed to show Gazans and foreign powers alike that it cannot be bypassed.
People gather and shop at a local market, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 13, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa Purchase Licensing Rights
“The longer that the international community waits, the more entrenched Hamas becomes,” Omari said.
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: HAMAS ‘WILL NOT GOVERN’
Asked for comment on Gazans’ accounts of Hamas levying fees on some goods, among other reported activities, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said: “This is why Hamas cannot and will not govern in Gaza”.
A new Gaza government can be formed once the United Nations approves Trump’s plan, the spokesperson said, adding that progress has been made towards forming the multinational force.
The PA is pressing for a say in Gaza’s new government, though Israel rejects the idea of it running Gaza again. Fatah and Hamas are at odds over how the new governing body should be formed.
Munther al-Hayek, a Fatah spokesperson in Gaza, said Hamas actions “give a clear indication that Hamas wants to continue to govern”.
In the areas held by Israel, small Palestinian groups that oppose Hamas have a foothold, a lingering challenge to it.
Gazans continue to endure dire conditions, though more aid has entered since the ceasefire.
THEY ‘RECORD EVERYTHING’
A senior Gazan food importer said Hamas hadn’t returned to a full taxation policy, but they “see and record everything”.
They monitor everything that enters, with checkpoints along routes, and stop trucks and question drivers, he said, declining to be identified. Price manipulators are fined, which helps reduce some prices, but they are still much higher than before the war began and people complain they have no money.
Hamas’ Gaza government employed up to 50,000 people, including policemen, before the war. Thawabta said that thousands of them were killed, and those remaining were ready to continue working under a new administration.
Hamas authorities continued paying them salaries during the war, though it cut the highest, standardizing wages to 1,500 shekels ($470) a month, Hamas sources and economists familiar with the matter said. It is believed that Hamas drew on stockpiled cash to pay the wages, a diplomat said.
Nearly two dozen people were arrested as faith leaders protested on Friday outside a federal immigration facility near Chicago, authorities said, the latest sign of tensions over the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement push.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that 21 people had been detained outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, Illinois, but did not provide identities and charges. Michael Woolf, minister at Lake Street Church of Evanston, was among those arrested, a Reuters photo showed.
The ICE center in Broadview has become a flashpoint for Chicago activists opposed to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the city, a Democratic stronghold that limits its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Faith leader, Michael Woolf, minister at Lake Street Church of Evanston, is detained by Illinois State Police during a protest against immigration actions, outside the Broadview ICE facility in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska Purchase Licensing Rights
Since Trump intensified ICE operations in Chicago in September, demonstrators have regularly clashed with authorities, who have fired tear gas, less-lethal rounds, flash-bang grenades and pepper balls.
A federal judge in October reined in some aggressive crowd-control tactics used by ICE and Border Patrol in the city, including the deployment of tear gas without adequate warning.
The latest standoff came as a separate federal judge ordered a group of 13 alleged immigration offenders detained by ICE in the Chicago area to be released by noon local time (1800 GMT), with the possibility of more releases to follow. U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Cummings ordered the releases after he found that ICE violated a 2022 legal agreement that limits warrantless arrests and the use of traffic stops as a pretext to arrest.
Several ground beef options are displayed in a butcher’s case at Eastern Market in Washington, U.S., August 14, 2024. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including such staples as coffee, beef, bananas and orange juice, in the face of growing angst among American consumers about the high cost of groceries.
The new exemptions – which took effect retroactively at midnight on Thursday – mark a sharp reversal for Trump, who has long insisted that the sweeping import duties he imposed earlier this year are not fueling inflation.
“They may in some cases” raise prices, Trump said of his tariffs when asked about the move aboard Air Force One on Friday evening. But he insisted that overall, the U.S. has “virtually no inflation.”
Democrats have won a string of victories in state and local elections in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City, where growing voter concerns about affordability, including high food prices, were a key topic.
Trump also told reporters aboard Air Force One that he would move forward with a $2,000 payment to lower- and middle-income Americans that would be funded by tariff revenues next year sometime. “The tariffs allow us to give a dividend if we want to do that. Now we’re going to do a dividend and we’re also reducing debt,” he said.
The Trump administration announced framework trade deals on Thursday that, once finalized, will eliminate tariffs on certain foods and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador, with U.S. officials eyeing additional agreements before year’s end.
Friday’s list includes products U.S. consumers routinely purchase to feed their families at home, many of which have seen double-digit year-over-year price increases. It includes over 200 items ranging from oranges, acai berries and paprika to cocoa, chemicals used in food production, fertilizers and even communion wafers.
The White House, in a fact sheet on the order, said it came on the heels of “significant progress the President has made in securing more reciprocal terms for our bilateral trade relationships.”
It said Trump decided certain food items could be exempted since they were not grown or processed in the United States, and given the conclusion of nine framework deals, two final agreements on reciprocal trade, and two investment deals.
Ground beef, as of the latest available data for September, was nearly 13% more expensive, according to Consumer Price Index data, and steaks cost almost 17% more than a year ago. Increases for both were the largest in more than three years, dating back to when inflation was nearing its peak under Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.
Although the U.S. is a major beef producer, a persistent shortage of cattle in recent years has kept beef prices high.
Banana prices were about 7% higher, while tomatoes were 1% higher. Overall costs for food consumed at home were up 2.7% in September.
The tariff exemptions won praise from many industry groups, while some expressed disappointment that their products were excluded from the exemptions.
“Today’s action should help consumers, whose morning cup of coffee will hopefully become more affordable, as well as U.S. manufacturers, which utilize many of these products in their supply chains and production lines,” FMI-Food Industry Association president Leslie Sarasin said in a statement.
Distilled Spirits Council president Chris Swonger said that excluding spirits from the European Union and Britain “is yet another blow to the U.S. hospitality industry just as the critical holiday season kicks into high gear.”
“Scotch, Cognac and Irish Whiskey are value-added agricultural products that cannot be produced in the United States,” Swonger added.
Asked if further changes were planned, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, “I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”
“We just did a little bit of a rollback,” he said. “The prices of coffee were a little bit high, now they’ll be on the low side in a very short period.”
NEW FOCUS ON AFFORDABILITY
Trump has upended the global trading system by imposing a 10% base tariff on imports from every country, plus additional specific duties that vary from state to state.
Trump has focused squarely on the issue of affordability in recent weeks, while insisting that any higher costs were triggered by policies enacted by Biden, and not his own tariff policies.
Consumers have remained frustrated over high grocery prices, which economists say have been fueled in part by import tariffs and could rise further next year as companies start passing on the full brunt of the import duties.
Once upon a time, Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas’ sons made their red carpet debut.
The couple posed for family photos with Oliver, 10, and Hugo, 8, at the “Zootopia 2” premiere Thursday night.
The Los Angeles event marked the little ones’ first public appearance.
The red carpet marked the little ones’ debut. FilmMagic
The siblings matched in navy suits and ties.
Dallas, for his part, also suited up, while Goodwin rocked an off-the-shoulder Wiederhoeft gown.
The actress, 47, gushed to E! News about the rare family outing, explaining, “We have never let our children go to Hollywood anything.”
She added, “We’re very private. We heart out their faces [with emojis] on social media. So we’ve explained to them we’re still not going to be posting about them, and they’re not allowed to Google themselves.
“Then they say their friends are going to,” Goodwin continued. “And I’m like, ‘That’s fine, we’re not their parents.’”
While she was happy for the “opportunity to celebrate” her role in the movie as Judy Hops, the “Big Love” alum clarified that it was Oliver and Hugo who “campaigned to come.”
Goodwin and Dallas have kept their kids out of the spotlight since welcoming Oliver and Hugo in May 2014 and June 2016, respectively.
The former co-stars met on the set of “Once Upon a Time” in 2011, where they played love interests as Snow White and Prince Charming.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sparked a diplomatic row with Beijing after remarks in parliament last week that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the 28th ASEAN-Japan Summit, as part of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct 26, 2025. (File photo: Pool via Reuters)
China has summoned Japan’s ambassador for a rebuke over the premier’s comments about Taiwan, Beijing said on Friday (Nov 14), as Tokyo insisted its position on the self-ruled island was unchanged.
But as the diplomatic spat escalated, Japan’s foreign ministry said it summoned Beijing’s ambassador on Friday after a Chinese consul called to “cut off” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s neck in a now-removed online post.
Last week, Takaichi told parliament that armed attacks on Taiwan – which China claims as part of its territory – could warrant sending troops to the island under “collective self-defence”.
If an emergency in Taiwan entails “battleships and the use of force, then that could constitute a situation threatening the survival (of Japan), any way you slice it”, she said.
Beijing has not ruled out the use of force to seize control of Taiwan.
China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summoned on Thursday the Japanese ambassador, Kenji Kanasugi, according to a statement published on Beijing’s foreign ministry website.
It said Sun made “serious demarches over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s erroneous remarks regarding China”.
“If anyone dares to interfere with China’s unification cause in any form, China will surely strike back hard,” the statement said.
Hours later, Tokyo said it summoned Beijing’s ambassador, Wu Jianghao and “strongly protested against the extremely inappropriate statements” made by Beijing’s consul general in Osaka, Xue Jian.
The foreign ministry urged Wu to ensure “the Chinese side takes appropriate measures”, it added.
Xue had threatened in a social media post to “cut off that dirty neck without a second of hesitation”.
He did not name Takaichi but quoted a news article about her remarks.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Thursday that the now-deleted post was “highly inappropriate”.
“We strongly urge the Chinese side to continue taking appropriate measures to ensure that this does not affect the broad direction of Japan-China relations,” added Motegi, who was in Canada for a G7 meeting.
“STABILITY”
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said that his government’s position on Taiwan remains unchanged and “is consistent with the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communique”.
The 1972 communique normalised bilateral relations, with Japan acknowledging the “One China” policy recognised by many other countries including the United States.
“Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are important not only for Japan’s security but also for the stability of the international community,” Kihara told reporters.
Beijing’s foreign ministry on Thursday said it would “by no means tolerate” Takaichi’s Taiwan comments.
“The Japanese side must correct its wrongdoing at once and retract the unjustified remarks,” spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a press briefing.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, right, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, left, pose ahead of a bilateral meeting between the United States and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Photo: AP/Martial Trezzini/Keystone)
The United States and Switzerland announced a framework trade deal on Friday (Nov 14) that will cut US tariffs on Swiss goods to 15 per cent from 39 per cent, while Swiss companies pledged US$200 billion (S$272 billion) in investment in the US by end-2028.
The agreement, which also includes Liechtenstein, is expected to be finalised by the first quarter of 2026, the White House said.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the deal dismantles “longstanding trade barriers” and will open new markets for American exporters. He welcomed the “massive Swiss investment” planned across pharmaceuticals, aerospace, medical devices and gold manufacturing, saying it would help reduce US deficits in key sectors.
At least US$67 billion of the pledged investment will arrive in 2026, according to the White House. The total includes earlier commitments such as US$50 billion from Roche and US$23 billion from Novartis, alongside investments from ABB and railway maker Stadler.
PHARMA TARIFFS CAPPED AT 15%
Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said the lower tariff level puts Switzerland “on an equal footing with the European Union”, noting that about 40 per cent of Swiss exports are affected.
“The reduction from 39 per cent to 15 per cent is significant,” he said, while acknowledging that Switzerland would prefer the investments to stay at home.
The 15 per cent ceiling will also apply to future Section 232 national-security tariffs, including those expected in sectors such as semiconductors. Without the cap, those duties could have risen as high as 100 per cent on patent-protected drugs under President Donald Trump’s tariff regime.
Swiss officials said the new rate could be activated within “days or weeks” once US customs systems are updated.
SWISS MARKET OPENINGS FOR US PRODUCTS
Under the framework, Switzerland will cut duties on selected US industrial, agricultural, fish and seafood products it considers non-sensitive.
It will also grant duty-free quotas to the US for 500 tonnes of beef, 1,000 tonnes of bison and 1,500 tonnes of poultry. Washington said Switzerland will also remove tariffs on certain nuts, fruits, seafood and chemicals.
In what the White House described as a significant gesture, Switzerland will recognise US motor-vehicle safety standards, a step US officials hope will ease long-standing barriers to American cars in Europe.
SWISS INDUSTRY WELCOMES LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
Industrial groups hailed the announcement, saying Swiss firms will now compete on the same terms as EU exporters, who secured a 15 per cent tariff level earlier.
“For the industrial sector, this is good news,” said Nicola Tettamanti, president of Swissmechanic. “For the first time, we have the same conditions in the US market as European competitors.”
Swiss machinery, precision instruments, watchmaking and food sectors are expected to benefit the most, said Hans Gersbach of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute. KOF forecasts that Switzerland’s 2026 economic growth could exceed 1 per cent once the tariff cut takes effect.
Swissmem, the technology industry association, reported on Friday that exports to the US fell 14 per cent in the three months through September, while machine-tool shipments plunged 43 per cent under Trump’s earlier 39 per cent tariff.
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks as Apple holds an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo
Apple is stepping up its succession planning efforts as it prepares for Tim Cook to step down as chief executive of the tech giant as soon as next year, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, is widely seen as Cook’s most likely successor, the FT reported, citing several people familiar with discussions.
Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The newspaper quoted people familiar with discussions inside the iPhone maker as saying its board and senior executives had recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins after more than 14 years.
Apple Watches are displayed at an Apple Store in New York City, U.S., April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
A federal jury in California said on Friday that Apple owes medical-monitoring technology company Masimo $634 million for infringing a patent covering blood-oxygen reading technology.
The jury agreed with Masimo that the Apple Watch’s workout mode and heart rate notification features violated Masimo’s patent rights, a Masimo spokesperson confirmed.
An Apple spokesperson said that the company disagrees with the verdict and will appeal. Masimo, in a statement, called the verdict “a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property.”
The California lawsuit is one branch of a contentious, multi-front patent fight between Apple and Irvine, California-based Masimo, which has accused Apple of hiring away its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology to use in Apple Watches.
The dispute led a U.S. trade tribunal to block imports of Apple’s Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in 2023 after finding that Apple’s technology infringed Masimo’s patents. Apple removed blood-oxygen reading technology from its watches to avoid the ban and reintroduced an updated version of the technology in August with approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The ITC separately on Friday decided to hold a new proceeding to determine whether Apple’s updated watches should be subject to the ban.
Masimo has filed an ongoing lawsuit against Customs over the decision. Apple has separately challenged the import ban at a federal appeals court.
The US president says he has spoken by phone with the Cambodian and Thai prime ministers, and that “they’re doing great”.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet and US President Donald Trump hold up documents during the signing of a ceasefire deal between Cambodia and Thailand on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oc 26, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
United States President Donald Trump said Friday (Nov 14) that he had successfully eased hostilities between Cambodia and Thailand, saying that he had been able to preserve a ceasefire that had appeared to be breaking down.
“I stopped a war just today,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for the weekend.
He said his actions were made possible by his willingness to impose steep tariffs on countries around the world, which he has argued gives the US great leverage on trade and diplomatic leverage.
The president said he had spoken to the prime ministers of both countries by phone.
“They’re doing great. They were not doing great,” said Trump.
“I think they’re going to be fine.”
Territorial disputes over exactly where the border lies between the Southeast Asian neighbors led to five days of armed conflict in late July that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians.
Trump threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two countries unless they stopped fighting, helping to broker a temporary halt to the conflict.
The pact was then reaffirmed in greater detail last month, when Trump attended an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit meeting in Malaysia.
The ceasefire seemed on the verge of falling apart this week, however, when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said a villager was killed after shooting broke out along his country’s border with Thailand.
Manet said one civilian was killed and three others wounded when Thai troops opened fire on civilians residing in the area of Prey Chan in Cambodia’s northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey. The same village was the site of a violent but not lethal confrontation in September between Thai security personnel and Cambodian villagers.
The Thai military said that the latest incident began when Cambodian soldiers allegedly fired into a district in Thailand’s eastern province of Sa Kaeo. No Thai casualties were reported.
Dozens of nations are pushing for a roadmap to phase out oil, coal and gas at the UN climate summit in Brazil. But a bloc of powerful oil-producing countries and industry lobbyists are putting up a fight.
Pressure is growing at COP30 to make progress on phasing out fossil fuelsImage: Eraldo Peres/AP Photo/picture alliance
UN climate talks in Belem, Brazil, are heading toward a showdown over which countries are willing to make real progress on phasing out fossil fuels.
Emissions from burning oil, coal, and gas are at record levels, driving climate change, which is already claiming millions of lives and wreaking havoc on ecosystems and economies.
Yet fossil fuels have long been a charged topic at UN climate summits. It took 28 years before a COP final decision officially recognized the need to “transition away from fossil fuels.”
In Belem this year, a growing diplomatic effort driven by dozens of countries aims to build on that pledge in the form of a roadmap to accelerate the move away from oil, gas and coal.
“We need an actionable outcome, not another roadmap to nowhere,” said Jasper Inventor, Deputy Programme Director, Greenpeace International, in a statement.
Still, with most oil-producing nations opposing the idea and a record share of fossil fuel industry lobbyists present at the COP30 climate negotations, the path ahead is unlikely to be smooth.
What are countries pushing for?
The issue had already flared before the summit opened, when Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — himself under fire for approving an oil exploration project at the mouth of the Amazon — urged world leaders to work toward ending fossil-fuel dependence.
In his “Call of Belem for the Climate,” Lula further reinforced the message, urging the development of a timeline for the progressive phase-out of fossil fuels and greater financial support for developing countries.
In response, countries seeking more ambitious emissions cuts have formed a coalition. France, Colombia, Germany, Kenya, and others are urging that a fossil fuels roadmap be added to the official agenda and potentially reflected in the summit’s outcome.
The diplomatic push in Belem has been supported by Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva, who said she favors a roadmap “because it lays the foundation for a fair and planned transition” away from polluting oil, coal and gas.
While COP28 marked a historic call to transition from fossil fuels, it offered few details on how to get there. It was called “a death sentence” by campaigners from nations like the Pacific Islands, whose very existence is at risk if global heating is not brought under control.
So far around 60 countries from across Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Small Island Developing States are believed to have backed the move. Supporters are aiming to reach 100.
“Our priority for the coming days is to broaden this coalition, to speak to all the countries that believe we need to move forward and accelerate on this issue,” said one source from the French delegation.
While most countries may not commit to a roadmap with specific dates or targets, it is hoped they could be pressed to report progress toward the goal for review at future COPs.
Jochen Flasbarth, German state-secretary for climate action, has said his country would support any decision for a roadmap in Belem.
Colombia is reported to have drafted a declaration on phasing out fossil fuels. A handful of states are believed to have signed the document, which will likely be published on Tuesday.
What obstacles might the coalition face?
The challenge will be to present a big enough bloc of support to force the roadmap onto the conference agenda, said Romain Ioualalen, global policy campaign manager at US-based advocacy organization Oil Change International.
“It’s a diplomatic puzzle that’s taking shape,” added Ioualalen. Yet the phase-out coalition faces stiff opposition.
Most oil-producing states, particularly Saudi Arabia, are believed to have unequivocally rejected the idea of a roadmap and are pushing back against diplomatic efforts in favor of it.
One negotiator estimated around 70 countries would oppose any new decision coming out of COP30 that addressed fossil fuels.
At COP28 in Dubai, major oil-producing nations resisted calls to transition away, proposing instead the alternative of phasing out fossil fuel emissions using technology such as carbon capture and storage, which has not been tested at scale.
Record share of fossil fuel lobbyists present
Adding weight to their corner is likely to be the record share of industry lobbyists at COP this year.
One in every 25 participants in Belem represents the fossil fuel industry, according to a report this week from Kick Big Polluters Out, a coalition of 450 organizations pushing back against the influence of polluting industries in climate policymaking.
An estimated 1,602 delegates with links to oil, coal and gas, including representatives of energy giants ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies, as well as state-owned oil firms, are in Belem.
They outnumber the delegations of every country except Brazil and have two-thirds more conference passes than the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries combined.
The report highlights a growing concern that those with a vested interest in sustaining fossil fuel dependency have outsized influence at COP summits.
“It’s common sense that you cannot solve a problem by giving power to those who caused it,” said Jax Bonbon, a Kick Big Polluters Out coalition member based in the Philippines, which was recently struck by a devastating typhoon.
